Filed for future reference: the 40 Senators who voted for vouchercare **UPDATE: Krauthammer warns GOP

You’ll be seeing this list a lot, I suspect, as we head into 2012. Hell, you’ll probably see it in 2014, too.

Here are the “ayes” for the Republican/Paul Ryan “switch out Medicare for coupons” bill (with stars by their status if relevant to the next election):

YEAs —40
Alexander (R-TN)
Ayotte (R-NH)
Barrasso (R-WY) **up in 2012, but let’s face it, Democrats don’t win in Wyoming
Blunt (R-MO)
Boozman (R-AR)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coats (R-IN)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN) **up in 2012, narrowly won the seat in 2006 against Harold Ford Jr.
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hatch (R-UT) **up in 2012
Heller (R-NV) **voted for this turkey twice: once in House, now as appointed Senator/seat up in ’12
Hoeven (R-ND)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kirk (R-IL)
Kyl (R-AZ) **retiring/open seat in 2012
Lee (R-UT)
Lugar (R-IN) ** up in 2012
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Portman (R-OH)
Risch (R-ID)
Rubio (R-FL)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Toomey (R-PA)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS) **up in 2012

The Republican “Nays” were Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Scott Brown (MA), the two gentle-ladies from Maine, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe (because they want to remain the gentle ladies from Maine…) and Rand Paul. Brown and Snowe face re-election campaigns in 2012.

Not voting were Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, who’s retiring, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts.

Here’s the Washington Post’s take.

Meanwhile, Marco Rubio tries to get ahead of the blowback with an op-ed in the Miami Herald, which I’m sure is being replicated in about 39 other states with Republican Senators.

**UPDATE: On Fox News yesterday, Charles Krauthammer warned Republicans that if Paul Ryan doesn’t personally “get ahead” of the issue, Medicare vouchers will sink the GOP: