Kerry Cancels Trip to New Mexico - Vets Benefits Vote in Senate Looming

[VolcanoJen]

There's a bit of an anti-Kerry bias in this article, but it's slight. At any rate, it's interesting that he plans to make the vote, and it will be even more interesting to see what Republicans plan to do about it, as they likely scheduled the vote to embarrass Kerry...

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/ats-ap_politics10jun22,0,6207902.story?coll=sns-ap-toppolitics

WASHINGTON -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry canceled a trip to the swing state of New Mexico Tuesday to make a rare appearance in the Senate.

The Massachusetts senator wants to vote for a measure that would require mandatory funding of health care for veterans, a key constituency that he's trying to win in his race against President Bush. Kerry is a Vietnam War veteran who rarely gives a speech without calling for better benefits for those who have served in the military.

<snip>

Kerry had planned to fly from Denver to New Mexico Monday night, then deliver a speech describing his plan for federal investments in science and technology on Tuesday morning in Albuquerque. But about an hour before Kerry was scheduled to leave Denver, his campaign announced that he was flying back to Washington instead.

Kerry has missed the vast majority of votes this year, including other votes to increase veterans benefits.

Of 132 votes in the Senate this year, Kerry has voted just 14 times, according to an Associated Press tally. Massachusetts Republican Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey last week called on Kerry to resign from the Senate because he's missed so many votes, but Kerry said he's serving his constituents well by running for president.

[AndyTiedye]

1. slight?

Just echoing some of the current Rovian talking points.
The media will help them milk this until they hound Kerry out of the Senate,
so the Republican Governor can replace him with a Republican.

[brainoverload]

2. criminy

Check out the link below to read some facts about the proposal omitted by the Newsday article that had a "a bit of an anti-Kerry bias in this article, but it's slight."

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/20040617/pl_usnw/sen__daschle_praised_for_veterans_health_care_amendment_to_defense_bill137_xml

[The Backlash Cometh]

3. Were any of those votes close?

If they weren't, this point is moot.

[JayS]

4. It is being reported here as "Kerry skipped campaigning today...

...to make a rare appearance in the Senate." This is from our most liberal station...so I can only imagine how it is being covered elsewhere.