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McCain Misses Key Vote on Stimulus Package -- Or Did He?

February 06, 2008 10:16 PM

Senate Democrats this evening failed in their effort to substitute their $200 billion more expensive economic stimulus package, for the leaner version negotiated by House Democrats and the White House.

It was a close vote -- 60 votes were needed to invoke cloture to allow a full up-or-down vote on the amendment. Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Barack Obama, D-Ill., were corralled from the campaign trail and roped back to the Senate floor to vote "Yea" on the amendment offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid., D-Nev.

It failed, 59-40.*

GOP Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine, Norm Coleman of Minnesota, Pete Domenici of New Mexico, Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina, Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, and Gordon Smith of Oregon joined with the Democrats to pass the Reid substitute.

(Quiz question -- how many of those Republicans are up for re-election this year?)

You may notice that one senator missed the vote entirely -- that was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

And he took a drubbin' from Democrats looking for a campaign issue for the presumptive GOP nominee.

"John McCain had a chance to stand up for America's working families and help fix our ailing economy, but chose to protect his campaign instead," said Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean.  "While he says one thing on the campaign trail, when the time came to act, John McCain was absent.  America doesn't need four more years of a president who puts what's good for him ahead of what's good for our country."

Clinton campaign spokesman Phil Singer said, "Tens of millions of Americans were counting on the Senate to take action tonight on a much-needed economic stimulus package, and by failing to stand up as the deciding vote, John McCain let our families down. Sen. McCain already told us he doesn't understand the economy, now he's proven that he doesn't understand the economic struggles our middle class families face as our economy slides into a recession. Tonight's events prove, once again, that we need a president who will be ready from day one to act in the interests of middle class families and turn our ailing economy around."

But here's the thing: McCain campaign spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker says McCain would have voted "No." He supports the version negotiated by President Bush and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., not the Senate Democrats' version.

And that means that factually, as a matter of Senate substance, his absence doesn't matter. Those seeking to achieve cloture need to reach 60 votes -- the onus is on them. In that case, an opponent of cloture can vote No, or he can skip the vote. So the Democrats' implication that his presence would have changed the outcome doesn't appear to be true.

"John McCain is making his case to the American people on a daily basis, and the Clinton campaign should know better than to launch silly attacks over a procedural vote where the senator's absence wouldn't have affected the outcome," says Hazelbaker.

Generally, of course, it's considered good practice for senators to actually vote. Kind of their jobs.

So while his absence may not have changed the final outcome, that's not to say it's what in high school we might call an excused absence -- whether as a matter of image, a matter of tending to Senate business, and a matter of being present for key votes. And the stimulus package is pretty high-profile right now. McCain was the only one in the entire Senate to have missed the vote, including two others who are running for president.

In fact, in the 110th Congress, out of 450 votes, McCain missed 56.7% of them. The only one who missed more was a senator who had a brain hemmorhage.

- jpt

* Reid later changed his vote to "No," for procedural reasons that allow him to bring the amendment up again if he wants. So, the final tally actually stood at 58-41.

February 6, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (16)

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User Comments

Obama misses many votes. However, before he started campaigning he made it to almost all of them. Any 'percentages' thrown out there will make it look terrible, but he's been campaigning for president for about half the time he's been in the Senate.

Posted by: Matt Schlichting | Feb 7, 2008 5:41:33 PM

If it was money for helping Charles Keating, he would have been there, that's for sure.

Posted by: Jim | Feb 7, 2008 2:32:08 PM

The thing everyone seems to be missing is last week on the Senate floor Majority Leader Reid told the Senate he would need 24 hours to get Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and Senator McCain back to vote on the stimulus package. Can anyone tell me why a majority would want a minority senator back for such a vote ?

Posted by: Colleen | Feb 7, 2008 12:07:54 PM

>>Senate Democrats this evening failed in their effort

>>It was a close vote -- 60 votes were needed to invoke cloture to allow a full up-or-down vote on the amendment.

Classic. I love how instead of saying that Republicans blocked and obstructed their effort, you say the "Democrats failed." Also, "60 votes were needed" -- you twist yourself into the passive voice to avoid stating the obvious: the Republicans FILIBUSTERED the measure.

Just remember, the headline is "Democrats failed," not "Republicans block stimulus package." We've only seen this pattern out of the "liberal media" 1,000 times over the past 2 years.

Posted by: jim | Feb 7, 2008 11:13:54 AM

Let the economy work itself out. Sending checks to every American is crazy. If we keep propping this thing up it will fall hard when it does. We need to let it correct itself. These morons who loaned people money they knew could not pay back is criminal. I don't want my hard earned money going to bail out those that made poor decisions. McCain is too old, he keeps touting that his mother is in her 90's well his father passed away at 70. Romney is the only one with the smarts to fix this mess

Posted by: paul | Feb 7, 2008 11:10:29 AM

McCain gets my vote!

Posted by: Mary | Feb 7, 2008 11:07:46 AM

The big deal is McCain voiced such strong support for the package. To say he "would have voted no" is not the same as having you name in the Federal Register. If there was corporate welfare in the package McCain and the GOP would have voted yes in droves.

Posted by: CC | Feb 7, 2008 10:29:42 AM

Joel Martinez - yeah right!

Ok the holdup here is fully on the Dems/;ibs see they could pass this bill right away and then work on a second bill to add what they want to add since it seems they are not taking anything away just adding more money we cant afford anyhow.

See the dems in the senate want to add illegals! They want to lower the amount given to citizens so they can give to illegals!

Still over all Obama has msissed the most in the last two years since he became a senator.

Posted by: spock | Feb 7, 2008 9:56:32 AM

As a Democrat I could have seen myself voting for McCain if the election came down to Obama and him but this no vote on the stimulus package just to appease the Rush Limbaughs of the conservative right has made me reconsidered ever supporting the once maverick senator.

Posted by: Joel Martinez | Feb 7, 2008 9:37:19 AM

Still time to vote for a conservative "under dog" - the only conservative left - the one who understands the economy, who actually worked in the "real world"....... VOTE FOR MITT ROMNEY!!! and get a "real" stimulus package!!!!!

Posted by: Bob | Feb 7, 2008 9:18:13 AM

Why climb a fence when you can sit atop it? This is what McCain does best.

Posted by: Paul | Feb 7, 2008 9:16:52 AM

The stimulus package, while far from perfect, needs to be acted upon NOW. If the economy tumbles any more as evidenced by the decline in jobs in the service sector, we will have Sen. Reid, in his eminently misguided attempts at expanding the package and delaying it further, to thank--or to blame.

Posted by: chuck | Feb 7, 2008 8:43:01 AM

Elizabeth Dole is the Senator from NORTH Carolina NOT South Carolina. Lindsey Graham and the ultra right-winger Jim DeMint are the two Senator's from South Carolina.

Posted by: Uteman | Feb 7, 2008 8:26:08 AM

Tanner, Joe and Lindsey are not running for president of US, they are McCain's friends but that is not important in this case. McCain had added insult to injury, because he was absent during the vote and said through his people that his vote is No. Economic Recession is a serious threat and will shape the outcome of the elections.

Posted by: BKMC | Feb 7, 2008 8:08:07 AM

Dirty Harry is playing politics with the economy. This is a stimulus package and not a welfare check. Please check your ego at the door.

Everyone obviously wants a stimulus package to go through. Pass the more lean one. Harry, if you have enough political support later for your transfer payment plan, then go for it.

Posted by: Rob | Feb 7, 2008 2:39:30 AM

Do you happen to know the percentages of votes missed for Clinton and Obama too? I would like to know how often my oongressman and senator miss also.
It appears to me that Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman have also missed many votes. I do not understand why they have to appear at every single rally or speech that John McCain has.

Posted by: Tanner | Feb 6, 2008 10:35:53 PM

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