Senate voted on the issue.
Two people abstained.
I'm struggling, but I really don't understand it. I can understand, if one lobbies beforehand, and caucuses well, that one can use abstention as a powerful tool to signal protest. But this requires a significant number to abstain. But as an individual... and there were *two* of them! Why drag yourself to a meeting called for the purpose of voting on an issue... and then abstain from voting???? If you don't like the proposal, vote against it. If you don't care, why are you there? If you don't know which way to vote, why not ask questions when the opportunity was given?
The Senate, in terms of its composition, would to the uninformed appear to represent an intelligent, enlightened gathering. One would then assume that those intelligent people would behave in an intelligent manner. (I'm an elected member, so the requirement of "intelligence" is not a prerequisite.) But this leaves me completely baffled.