Republicans create delay in Senate voting

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Kerry Drops Campaign Trip for Senate Vote That Wasn't

 

By Paul Farhi and Helen Dewar

Washington Post Staff Writers

Wednesday, June 23, 2004; Page A07

 

Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kerry abruptly interrupted his campaign yesterday to return to Washington for a Senate vote that, as it happened, never happened.

 

Kerry decided late Monday to cancel campaign stops in New Mexico scheduled for yesterday and flew back to the capital, arriving at a deserted Reagan National Airport at 2 a.m. The senator from Massachusetts wanted to register his vote in support of an amendment that would have guaranteed federal funding for veterans' health care.

 

In the end, however, Kerry never got to vote. Republicans declined to bring the Democratic-sponsored amendment to the floor while the candidate was here. So Kerry hung around for a while but then headed back to the campaign trail. Meanwhile, Republicans were mulling what to do.

 

In between these events came a cascade of blame. Kerry's camp angrily charged that GOP leaders had used procedural maneuvers to shelve the vote in an attempt to disrupt his campaign and deny him an issue he has championed. Republicans shot back that Kerry, who has had long absences from the Senate during his campaign, was using the issue to grandstand.

 

At one point, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) dismissed Kerry's pleas for a vote, saying, "Senator Kerry, who hadn't been here all year, who's missed 80 percent of all votes, parachutes in for a day and then will be taking off once again."

 

(Note: KKK alert for incoming "Kerry is a veteran" revelation)

 

By the end of the day, it was hard to say who got the better of whom. The GOP maneuvers disrupted Kerry's plans, but may have succeeded in calling attention to Kerry's credentials as a combat veteran and a veterans supporter, both of which have been centerpieces of Kerry's efforts to woo voters. In a brief floor speech late in the day, Kerry said that despite the inaction on the bill, "my support [for veterans] will never wane and my commitment to them will never be diminished."

 

Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) had offered the amendment that Kerry and nine veterans service organizations supported. It would mandate annual spending for veterans' medical needs for the next 10 years, including an $8 billion increase next year. The amendment was offered as part of the $447.2 billion defense authorization bill that Congress has been working on for more than a month, and which Republicans are eager to pass.

 

Frist's comment about Kerry's Senate attendance understates his record. According to an analysis by Congressional Quarterly -- which the Bush campaign pointed reporters to -- Kerry has missed 89 percent of the Senate's votes this year (118 of 132) as of Monday, and 64 percent last year. This included several votes on veterans' health care issues.

 

Kerry campaign operatives fired back that President Bush, while campaigning for president in 2000 as Texas governor, was out of the state five times longer than he was there during the primaries.

 

Presidential candidates often ignore their elected duties to pursue higher office, which can become a campaign issue. Sen. Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) quit the Senate in 1996 when his campaign schedule became overwhelming. Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) was rarely seen in the House during his recent run for the presidential nomination. Kerry's absence last week during a vote on an unemployment insurance benefits bill prompted Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney ® to call on Kerry to quit his Senate seat.

 

In addition to the veterans issue, Kerry had another good reason to be in Washington yesterday. The Senate had its official photo taken in the chamber, and had Kerry missed it, he would have been the only absentee.

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Jun22.html

 

I'm sure someone will say that this is just payback for the filibusters that occured during the whole judge nominee thing, and it'll simply prove my point that this kind of crap goes both ways.

[Guest MikeSC]

No --- it's trying to make a man DO THE JOB he's paid to do.

 

A man should not remain a Congressman and run for President. It basically signals to your constituents that they are definitely not your first priority.

 

Kerry should follow the Dole example and resign, allowing somebody else to do the job he refuses to do.

-=Mike

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Should George W Bush have resigned from Governor of Texas while running for President in 2000? Texas pretty much had an out-of-office governor leading into the election.

[Stephen Joseph 0]

Yes.

[Guest MikeSC]

Should George W Bush have resigned from Governor of Texas while running for President in 2000? Texas pretty much had an out-of-office governor leading into the election.

Yes. If you can't do your job while campaigning, you have to choose one or the other.

-=Mike

[Jobber of the Week 0]

Good choice. However, the job of getting a replacement Senator is left to the Governor. Who happens to be Republican.

 

While your position is agreeable, and I actually agree with it, you can't deny there certainly is dirty politics all the way around. The GOP is manipulating Kerry to leave and persue his Presidential race so that they can get an edge in the Senate.

[Guest MikeSC]

Good choice. However, the job of getting a replacement Senator is left to the Governor. Who happens to be Republican.

 

While your position is agreeable, and I actually agree with it, you can't deny there certainly is dirty politics all the way around. The GOP is manipulating Kerry to leave and persue his Presidential race so that they can get an edge in the Senate.

Of course they are. It's called smart politics. If you can't do your job, you should give up the job. I'd do the exact same thing.

-=Mike

[kkktookmybabyaway 0]

Very informative article -- I didn't know Kerry served in Vietnam.

 

Question about W.: Isn't Texas one of those hippie states that does a budget every two years, and wasn't 2000 the "off year," thus letting Bush shake hands, kiss babies and supress the minority vote?...

[Rob E Dangerously 0]

Kerry should follow the Dole example and resign, allowing somebody else to do the job he refuses to do.

Actually.. Kerry resigning now would work out better than resigning if he's elected.

 

If he resigns now, then wouldn't they have a special election in November for his seat? Which would give his seat back to the Democrats. As opposed to having a Republican Senator for 2 years.

 

the same thing happened when Dole resigned in 96. Graves appointed Sheila Frohm, who was promptly beaten by Sam Brownback in the primary

[Guest cobainwasmurdered]

I'm sure the Vet's loved the Grandstanding.