Help Me Debunk This ASAP!

[slinkerwink]

I post in this liberal community and this conservative made this post:

"When Bob Dole ran for President, in 1996, he did something very honorable. Knowing full well that his bid to become President would take him away from the Senate he resigned. Bob Dole did not want the people of Kansas going without representation and missing vital votes in congress because of his personal quest for the Presidency.

It is clear, by this move, that he put the people he was elected to represent before his own political career. Remember, Bob Dole was never leading in the polls. When he resigned, he was over 10 points behind what’s his name. (I am trying to forget it.)

Senator John Kerry, and full time candidate for President, has not resigned his seat. Although it goes almost unnoticed by the press John Kerry has missed some major votes in the senate. Why is this not news?

“For Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, this is a day for forging alliances within his own party. It includes a cameo appearance on Capitol Hill …” (Wolf Blitzer, CNN’s “Wolf Blitzer Reports,” 3/11/04)

To date John Kerry has missed a total of 339 votes, 65% of the votes this year. To See A Detailed Listing Of Roll Call Votes Kerry Missed In The First Session Of The 108th Congress, Visit: http://www.gop.com/RNCResearch/Read.aspx?ID=3833

“‘In the age of telecommunications, Sen. Kerry is in daily contact with his chief of staff,’ Meehan said. ‘Voting is just one small part of being a U.S. senator.’” (Jonathan Wells and Maggie Mulvihill, “Kerry Not On Roll With Voting,” Boston Herald, 3/1/04)

Wednesday, November 26, 2003:
”Kerry, Lieberman Miss Historic Medicare Vote.” - Headline for AP

Kerry Has Missed FIFTY-THREE Judicial Nominee Votes. Rep. Dennis Kucinich has a better voting record this year then Kerry and he also ran for the nomination.

No Name calling - Just the facts!

In addition, lets see someone actually defend this without resorting to mentioning Bush and his vacations.

Logic anyone?"

Here's the link: http://www.livejournal.com/community/liberal/1390270.html?view=21630654#t21630654

[slinkerwink]

1. kick

[Cocoa]

2. he's not resigning the Senate

a reporter brought up this "issue" to him, and he laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. A sincere laugh, he really thought it was a stupid issue.

[slinkerwink]

5. and what's this about how if he resigns, gov.romney replaces him

with a republican?

Didn't the MA legislature create a special election for Kerry's seat which matt romney tried to veto, but they overrode that veto?

[MaineDem]

6. Yes there will be an election

Romney vetoed the bill and the Legislature overturned the veto.

This just happened within the last day or so.

[slinkerwink]

8. is there a link?

[slinkerwink]

7. I swore I saw a news release about this earlier, but can't find it

[MaineDem]

14. Here's the DU link

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2129222

[slinkerwink]

25. thanks!

:hi:

[wryter2000]

16. Partial link

http://www.mass.gov/portal/govPR.jsp?gov_pr=gov_pr_040723_vetoes_senate_vacancy_bill.xml

This was written before the veto was overriden.

[goju]

3. Dole new it was the end of his career

Of course he resigned.

[Catch22Dem]

4. Well, here's how I see it.

First of all, Kerry is under no legal obligation to resign that seat.

Second, the votes Kerry missed were terribly one-sided. It doesn't matter if the vote was their side or our side, the ones he missed wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Kerry shows up for the ones that matter.

I'm not saying that some don't matter, I just mean his 1 vote wouldn't swing the overall outcome.

[nose pin]

18. Not completely true

http://edition.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/05/11/kerry.vote/

Kerry missed an important vote in May that was defeated by one vote.

[HawkerHurricane]

24. Except that the Repubs rigged it.

to lose by one vote in thier effort to smear Kerry.

They had enough votes to defeat it, but had some change sides to make Kerry look bad.

[nose pin]

29. Good point n/t

[MajorFlaw]

19. Also, Kerry has 4 years remaining in his current term. If shrub

manages to steal another election, why shouldn't Kerry remain in the Senate. IIRC, Dole resigned primarily because he didn't like being minority leader.

[Democat]

9. Did Bush resign as governor when he ran in 2000?

Just curious.

[DemoTex]

23. Bu$h did not resign as governor.

That was another broken promise. When he ran for re-election he stated that if he decided to run for president in 2000, he would resign as governor.

[still_one]

Doyle did the same the Gephart did

If Kerry vacated his seat, who would be appointed in his place? probably a republican, and the Senate is so closely divided that it would not be a good thing.

This is a sly strategy which means nothing. Why doesn't the person who is critisising Kerry talk about how the republicans changed the rules so the medicare prescription plan could go through.

Ask the bastard how he could support anyone who would ban stem cell research, a research that could help thousands of people with terrible diseases. Does he hate those people???

For important votes where his vote would matter, i.e. it was not a sure majority one way or another, Kerry would always come back to vote. What the wonderful republicans in congress have been doing is insuring that when he came back to vote on an issue, they would delay the vote. This is what they did the last time.

[wryter2000]

10. Lemme ask

Is this a liberal asking the question? Because a liberal deserves a thoughtful answer.

The main thing is the Governor of Mass would appoint a repug to take Kerry's seat, and we can't be losing seats in the Senate to them. To save our country, we're going to need at least on house of Congress as well as the Presidency. You might also point out that Kerry tried to go home for the vote on veterans' benefits, and the repugs held off the vote until the next day. That's the sort of crapola we're dealing with now. That wasn't the case when Dole was running.

Things aren't business as usual in the Congress now. The repugs are strong-arming even members of their own party. We can't lose any ground to them. Period.

If a conservative made the post, remind him of *'s vacations. :evilgrin:

[JCMach1]

11. Dole could NOT function as a Senate leader, that's why he

resigned.

Also, the Repugs would gain a Senate seat if Kerry resigned.

[salin]

12. Did bush resign as Governor when he started running

for president just months after winning his second term in Texas?

Didn't think so.

[The Doctor.]

13. His Facts are pretty close to the mark

But many Senators put off votes WITHOUT the excuse of running for president.
Many play golf, take 'personal' days and abstain in absentia.

I'd like to see this guy pull up the voting records of some of the other Senators and Congressmen... I'm sure a few are close if not over.

Of course Kucinich has a better record- he lost the nomination.

Now for the fun part - ask this guy how many 'emergency' votes were called while Kerry was across the country. I'm aware of a couple, but I'm sure they're trying to stick him.

I don't have time to do the research right now - but I'll post some later today.
After we rebut his position we should make a point that Bush* has taken a RECORD number of vacations just to get his goat.
Oh yeah, Bob Dole really was a good guy.

[lumberingbear]

15. I believe that would be between...

Kerry and the people of Mass. Since we know how well he is being supported there, I greatly doubt, they are upset he hasn't resigned!

[wryter2000]

21. Good point

Welcome to DU :hi:

[lumberingbear]

26. Thanks wryter 2000

Glad to be here ;)

[Zen Democrat]

17. Bob Dole did resign in June 1996, but he was already leaving the Senate

and turned the Majority Leader position over the Trent Lott. Dole was not that popular with the ultra-right wingers that had taken control of the Senate. He had reached that age - 73 - when he wanted to be president, but was not going to continue in the Senate.

FYI: John F. Kennedy did not resign his Senate seat in 1960. And LBJ was on the ballot twice in Texas in 1960, for Vice President and for the Senate. He won both.

Bottom line: Bob Dole is the only Senator to have resigned his Senate seat to run for President. He was a 73 year old man who was leaving the Senate anyway.

[Eric J in MN]

20. Bob Dole didn't resign over "honor," he resigned because he

thought it would help his lousy poll numbers.

[JPJones]

28. Ding ding ding! Right answer.

Anything else is revisionist.

http://www.cnn.com/US/9605/15/dole.resignation/

"The source told CNN that Dole has been rehearsing the resignation speech for several days. In the speech, the source said to expect a "re-announcement of the Dole campaign." Dole was elected to the Senate in 1968.

"You will see a very committed Bob Dole, dedicating himself to a job of unseating Bill Clinton," the source said.

However, the source added that Dole could change his mind. Dole, who is trailing Clinton in polls, has previously rejected suggestions from aides and GOP officials to give up his reign as majority leader, because of the heavy work load. The aides told Dole that running for president while serving as majority leader was a nearly impossible task.

Those urging the Kansan to step down have told him that one reason his campaign is flagging is that he has been occupied with daily Senate battles over the minimum wage and other issues, leaving little time to frame the campaign."

[mmonk]

22. How about he

is doing something very honorable. He won't resign while running because he cares too much about the direction of the country. So when an important vote comes up of an issue that needs his vote, in order to facilitate the right decision, he votes even though he is running for president.

[blm]

27. WRONG. Dole left because he was in CHARGE of the Senate and its schedule

which put him in the position to USE the Senate schedule as a political tool against Clinton.

Notice the way Frist has been using it to prop up Bush's campaign agenda and drive the news?

BIG difference. Kerry as a Senator of the minority party doesn not have the same conflicts. He is also not 70+ years old like Dole.

Whoever is pushing that crap is deliberately distorting the circumstances or is just ignorant of the role of the Senate majority leader vs. a regular Senator.

[rumguy]

30. This is one of those 'who cares?' issues

Did Bush resign as gov. of Texas when he ran for the presidency?

On every single vote that counts Kerry is there - and his staff is always there to help his constituents.

This is nothing but a purely partisan attack. The kind of charge they level only at those they disagree with.