Kerry Chooses Edwards
Amid newly minted Kerry-Edwards banners and the cheers of flag-waving supporters, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry formally announced Tuesday that he has chosen John Edwards as his running mate, calling the senator from North Carolina “a man who understands and defends the values of America.”
And so the board is set. Well, I guess it makes sense: Edwards has a reputation for missing votes, just like Sen. Kerry.
July 6th, 2004 at 7:18 am
Heh! Our first dual post on the same topic.
July 6th, 2004 at 7:19 am
Hey, you know what they say: Great minds are a terrible thing to lose. Or something.
July 6th, 2004 at 10:43 am
Well, I guess it makes sense: Edwards has a reputation for missing votes, just like Sen. Kerry.
Missing votes in the Senate is neither uncommon nor unique to Democrats. I fail to see why those on the right keep bringing it up.
A more accurate measure might be how many important votes a senator missed. And by “important,” I mean votes that are close enough that one or two senators could make the difference.
July 6th, 2004 at 11:27 am
I bring it up because it’s their damn job to be there. However, since Edwards nominally represents me, I guess I should count my blessings that he’s not there; he would most likely vote the opposite of what I’d prefer. Hell, if the entire Congress didn’t show up and pass new laws for a year or two, I probably wouldn’t complain.
Oh, and I don’t much care for McCain either. Finally, for the record, I’m not “on the right.”
July 6th, 2004 at 12:09 pm
Like that recent medicare bill that passed by one vote, IIRC?
July 6th, 2004 at 2:03 pm
Uncle:
I never said that neither ever misses important votes; I simply said it was a better measure.
Thib:
OK, I’ll correct myself. I should have said “those who purport to hate the left more than they purport to hate the right.” Better? ๐
And it wasn’t just McCain in that article; it discussed several senators who are serial vote skippers (although some of them, such as Helms from your home state, are no longer senators).
July 6th, 2004 at 5:27 pm
should have said those who purport to hate the left more than they purport to hate the right. Better?
Well, that’s a whole ‘nother discussion.
Democrat, Republican, it doesn’t matter; they all need to show up for their jobs. As I said, the lot of them may go to the devil for all I care.
At any rate, Kerry and Edwards are the ones who, presumably, are interested in my vote. This is just one of the many (oh so many) reasons they won’t be getting it.
July 6th, 2004 at 6:28 pm
All Senators and Congress-persons miss lots of votes when they run for President, be they Republican or Democrat or whatever. The exception to this rule was Bob Dole in 1996.
July 6th, 2004 at 6:38 pm
So how does Edwards match Kerry on the flip-floppery?
July 7th, 2004 at 5:28 am
I don’t Edwards has had enough time to flop; he’s only finishing up his first term now.
July 7th, 2004 at 9:54 am
Thib:
If “showing up for your job” is a concern, then the incumbent should be a problematic choice for you also, having shattered the previous record for vacation days taken during a single term.
July 7th, 2004 at 10:44 am
Nice try, but the President’s job is different from a Senator’s.
But I know what you really meant to say was “I hate Bush! Why don’t you pick on HIM?”
July 7th, 2004 at 1:00 pm
I never judged Bush’s attendance record against those of senators; since, as you point out, the jobs are different, that would be unfair. I did compare Bush’s attendance record to that of his contemporaries, and he fails on that mark.
I don’t see how it’s an unfair comparison at all; nor do I see how a thinly veiled “I hate Bush” is somehow not an acceptable response to a thinly veiled “I hate Edwards.” ๐