The ad cites “Senate Vote #116, 108th Congress, 1st Session” as proof of this accusation. True, Allen did vote to table this motion to an amendment. He voted that way because it was April of 2003, the amendment was specific ONLY to National Guard and Reserves, and the appropriation for it was ONE BILLION DOLLARS.
Remember what was going on April 2, 2003 when that vote was made? Well, on March 20, 2003 the Iraq war started. On April 9, U.S. ground forces occupied Baghdad. Landrieu’s amendment for ONE BILLION DOLLARS was an honorable intent to support our military, but given the timing it seemed fiscally questionable since our forces were beating the $*@t out of Iraqi forces and racing to Baghdad. McCain, Hagel, and Warner voted with Allen to table. [John] Kerry did not even vote.
Of course we learned later that our forces would need more funding and better equipment because of the insurgency. What the most comical thing about this is that Allen did vote to appropriate funds for body armor and better equipment in an emergency supplemental appropriations later that year (vote #400). That vote #400 is the same vote that got Kerry into so much trouble. He voted “no” on #400, and later told a crowd that “I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it,”
So. There.
;-)