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After Hammering McCain for Skipping A Stimulus Vote, Clinton Skips A Stimulus Vote
February 07, 2008 5:23 PM
Last night through a spokesman and this morning in an interview with ABC News, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY, assailed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., for skipping a vote on the economic stimulus package Wednesday afternoon.
"I feel a real sense of urgency to do something," she said. "Unfortunately the Republicans, including Senator McCain, don't share that view...Senator McCain failed to vote and I think that's wrong...
"I think we need to do something to deliver solutions to the people who need it most. That's why I was the first candidate to come out with a detailed and comprehensive economic stimulus package. And it's why I left the campaign trail to go back to the Senate to vote on a proposal aimed at jump starting the economy….this was a vote that is so clearly directed at what we have to do. There's no disagreement for the need for a stimulus and it has to be timely, which is why we're working so hard to get it done."
BUT…
This afternoon Sen. Clinton missed a vote on an amendment to the economic stimulus package, to add seniors and disabled veterans to the list of those getting rebates, which passed 91-6.
And she missed the vote on final passage of the bill, which passed 81-16.
As with McCain's failure to vote Wednesday, her absence made no difference factually in terms of what happened.
But it would seem to undercut some of her forceful rhetoric against McCain's absence.
- jpt
UPDATE: I had put in the earlier post, linked to above, that while the amendment McCain failed to vote for was defeated narrowly, McCain said he would have voted against it, meaning his absence had no impact on whether the bill would have passed or failed. As with the votes Clinton skipped Thursday.
February 7, 2008 | Permalink | Share | User Comments (30)
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Jake, you write that "As with McCain's failure to vote Wednesday,
her absence made no difference factually in terms of what happened."
That is false. McCain's vote meant everything and Hillary's meant nothing.
The vote that Hillary missed was 81-16. Her abasence had no effect on the bill.
On the vote McCain skipped, the Dems failed to break the Repub filibuster 58-41. Facially, this looks like two votes short, but it's been reported everywhere that Senator Reid only voted against cloture on Wednesday so that (under Senate rules) he as the Majority Leader could bring the bill back later. Had McCain showed up and voted for cloture it would have passed 60-40. In other words, McCain was THE DECIDING VOTE.
McCain has said he would have voted "no," but all that means is that he refused to show up so that he could avoid a potentially damaging vote. This is obvious because McCain purposefully avoided going to the Senate, even though Sens. Lieberman and Graham who were on the same plane as McCain made it to the vote.
I can't believe that you don't know all this and yet you write this item in order to give people the exact opposite impression.
Shameful.
Posted by: mxh | Feb 7, 2008 8:49:40 PM
Dan S.
The Clinton campaign has made the same charge repeatedly over the past year, including a couple weeks before the Iowa caucus. The Obama campaign had rebuffed it by invoking statements by an Illinois Planned Parenthood official, who said the "present" votes were part of a deliberate strategy to protect other pro-choice legislators, other than Obama, in vulnerable districts.
Please take the time to learn the facts. The media is not against HRC; she just is a train wreck that they report on. She’s just like Brittney Spears… You reap what you sow.
Posted by: susan Haskell | Feb 7, 2008 8:32:23 PM
Hillary isn't the savior of America she is the dazzeled Odicious who wants to clean house for everyone. Humility brothers and sisters is her staff.
Posted by: jackmax | Feb 7, 2008 6:58:30 PM
Dan S., your comparison would be valid IF Sen. McCain would have voted FOR cloture. But Sen. McCain said he would have voted NO. So the final vote would have been 58-42.
Posted by: James Danley | Feb 7, 2008 6:55:18 PM
Anyone with an ounce of decency and half a brain would recognize the difference between missing a vote that passes 91-6 (Clinton) and missing a vote that FAILED to reach the filibuster-proof 60 votes by a 59-40 margin. (McCain). (The final vote was 58-41 because the majority leader switched his vote at the last moment for parliamentary procedural reasons.) In other words, McCain was absent when ONE vote could have made the difference, while Clinton missed a virtually unanimous vote. The media's hatred of Hillary Clinton marches on.
Posted by: Dan S | Feb 7, 2008 6:25:55 PM
Obama would have just voted Present anyway. Do we need someone running the country thats afraid to vote yes or no?
Posted by: Richard | Feb 7, 2008 6:12:44 PM
Well said BO.
I love Clinton and Obama both - I really do...but more and more I find myself pulling for Obama.
Posted by: Ryan | Feb 7, 2008 5:54:26 PM
No. He missed it too. But, of course, he wasn't out there putting his foot in his mouth like Clinton.
Posted by: BO | Feb 7, 2008 5:42:49 PM
Obama didn't vote either, but why clutter a good Hillary bash with any facts like that...
Posted by: Jake | Feb 7, 2008 5:42:44 PM
Did Obama vote?
Posted by: BO | Feb 7, 2008 5:25:21 PM
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