Posted on 07/07/2004 5:33:04 PM PDT by summer
A tale of 2 trial lawyers
Published July 8, 2004
Both men have that down-home charm and populist appeal. They came from humble beginnings, worked hard and achieved. And both are seen by many in their respective political parties to be the key to the White House in at least one pivotal state -- Florida.
But that's where the similarities end between Florida's Republican Senate candidate Mel Martinez and North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, the Democrats' new golden boy. [....}
Though Edwards and Martinez are like night and day when it comes to their political beliefs, Senate Republican hopeful Bill McCollum has no compunction in linking the two. He has trotted out the GOP bogeyman: The Trial Lawyer.
On the McCollum campaign's Web site, Edwards and Martinez are compared as two trial lawyers who have contributed to Democratic candidates in past congressional campaigns. (For Martinez, that was almost two decades ago, but, hey, there's no political gain for McCollum to put into context such things. Apparently, all those Democrats Ronald Reagan inspired to switch parties, among them Martinez, don't count in McCollum's estimation.)
Here's the curious part: McCollum was among only five Republicans to join the Democrats to try to maneuver against a $250,000 cap on punitive damages in product-liability lawsuits when he was a member of the House. [....]
That McCollum's own voting record during his decades in the House strayed from the GOP line on tort reform four or five times should matter. Not because he voted the "wrong" way -- that's debatable. But if he's going to attempt to liken the moderate-to-conservative Martinez to a liberal like Edwards, then surely McCollum has to be prepared to explain his own "liberal" voting record to benefit lawyers, of which he is one.
And McCollum should have to explain, too, why it was perfectly fine to accept tens of thousands of dollars from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America PAC from 1981 to 1998, and cast votes in their favor.
[....]
(Excerpt) Read more at orlandosentinel.com ...
FYI.
FYI.
Interesting article....thanks for the ping!
Another excerpt:
On the McCollum campaign's Web site, Edwards and Martinez are compared as two trial lawyers who have contributed to Democratic candidates in past congressional campaigns. (For Martinez, that was almost two decades ago, but, hey, there's no political gain for McCollum to put into context such things. Apparently, all those Democrats Ronald Reagan inspired to switch parties, among them Martinez, don't count in McCollum's estimation.)
Here's the curious part: McCollum was among only five Republicans to join the Democrats to try to maneuver against a $250,000 cap on punitive damages in product-liability lawsuits when he was a member of the House. He voted to send the bill back to committee, a tactic to kill any chance of passage. This was after the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress when Speaker Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" was all the buzz.
That McCollum's own voting record during his decades in the House strayed from the GOP line on tort reform four or five times should matter. Not because he voted the "wrong" way -- that's debatable. But if he's going to attempt to liken the moderate-to-conservative Martinez to a liberal like Edwards, then surely McCollum has to be prepared to explain his own "liberal" voting record to benefit lawyers, of which he is one.
And McCollum should have to explain, too, why it was perfectly fine to accept tens of thousands of dollars from the Association of Trial Lawyers of America PAC from 1981 to 1998, and cast votes in their favor.
Yes, it is. Thanks for taking the time to read it, Julie. I certainly didn't know many of the points made in this article, which was written by an independent. (She has said that about herself in other editorials she's written.)
Bump!
Now, why is it that when Miguel Estrada works hard and achieves, he is no longer representative of his "people".
But when Edwards does, it qualifies him to be VP?
Becki
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