Oklahoma Senators Vote Against a (Horrors!) Pro-Labor Secretary of Labor

Who would have thought the U.S. Secretary of Labor would be in favor of working people and labor unions?

Certainly not Oklahoma's two anti-labor senators, Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn, who were among the 17 senators to vote against Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor.

The Republican objection to Solis seemed to be that she has a record in favor of supporting labor.

Heavens! How could we have such a person in charge of the Labor Department? Why it's downright un-American to look after the interests of the working class.

Here's a summary of today's vote from our friends at Americablog:

Earlier today, GOP Senate Leader Mitch McConnell canceled the GOP filibuster against the confirmation of Hilda Solis as Secretary of Labor. That meant no cloture vote.

A few minutes ago, the Senate confirmed Solis by a margin of 80 - 17.

This is a huge victory for progressives and, especially for working men and women. They'll have a Secretary who is on their side. And, it's also the first victory in the campaign to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. The Republicans made this nomination about that legislation -- and Solis won big despite their repeated efforts to block her.

UPDATE: The 17 GOP no votes are pretty much the worst of the worst, including the GOP's leading voice, David Vitter.