John McCain casts a high-profile Senate vote
May 30th, 2007, 3:46 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Paul Giblin
John McCain touched on his Senate voting record in an e-mail to supporters on Wednesday. It’s been a touchy issue along the presidential campaign trail in recent days.Through last week, McCain had missed 50 percent of the Senate’s votes this year because the Arizona senator has been campaigning in New Hampshire, Iowa and South Carolina, among other early primary states. Critics had siezed on his frequent no-shows for Senate votes, complaining that he was shirking his day job.For example, McCain’s critics — both of the Republican and Democrat variety — have been happy to point out that Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have voted on proposed legislation with far greater regularity.However, the notion that Arizona would be better served if McCain resigned from the Senate to campaign for the Republican presidential nomination is pretty shaky.Consider this: If McCain resigned, Gov. Janet Napolitano would be responsible for naming a Republican replacement to serve the rest of McCain’s term. It’s a sure bet that she would not select a qualified and respected successor along the lines of Jeff Flake or John Shadegg.No, not a chance.Napolitano, a Democrat who might have eyes on the Senate seat herself in 2010, likely would name either a way-past-prime-time clock-puncher or a nowhere-near-qualified pretender to hold the seat until she or another strong Democrat runs for the office.In any event, McCain was sure to point out a recent Senate vote in his e-mail to supporters."Last month, when I officially announced my candidacy for President of the United States, our campaign kicked off a series of events all over the country. It’s been a busy month campaigning throughout Iowa, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Washington, D.C.," McCain wrote. "But even though I have been campaigning all over the country, I am mindful of my duties and responsibilities as a United States Senator. Just last week, I voted to continue the funding necessary to support our proud and dedicated service men and women on the frontlines. I was profoundly disappointed that my Senate colleagues, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, instead chose political expediency over leadership as two of the eleven Democrat Senators to vote against the funding appropriation," he wrote.The e-mail conveyed two important messages to supporters: 1) McCain voted; and, 2) He differed with Dem front runners Clinton and Obama on a critical issue.
