Dole Quits Senate To Campaign Full Time

ALL Politics / CNN / Time ^ | May 15, 1996 | AllPolitics

[truthfreedom]

WASHINGTON (AllPolitics, May 15) -- Sen. Robert Dole (R-Kan.) electrified Washington today, resigning from the Senate to campaign full time for the White House (256K WAV sound).

"I announce that I will forego the privileges not only of the office of the majority leader but of the United States Senate itself, from which I resign effective on or before June 11th," a choked-up Dole told a Capitol Hill news conference, flanked by Republican lawmakers and a few Democrats. "And I will then stand before you without office or authority, a private citizen, a Kansan, an American, just a man."

...

Republicans, who learned of Dole's intentions early today, were quick to laud the decision. "This is exactly the right thing to do," House Speaker Newt Gingrich told reporters after the announcement. Praising the boldness of the strategy, Gingrich said it was the most effective speech he had heard Dole give. Republican National Committee Chairman Haley Barbour said Dole's decision was "absolutely" right.

[ansel12]

So the notion that the venomously anti-Romney PalinChoir are former Fred supporters doesn’t wash. Fred’s supporters had malice towards none.

That is another one of your many lies, in my next post I will post the link to this so that people can compare names, Names such as Jim Robinson.

[ansel12]

What I am wondering about is those that are the most vocal about Palin in a negative way are just as afraid of her popularity as the Dems are. In other words they do not want a conservative President. They want a moderate.

Most of them like counterpunch are pushing Mitt Romney.

[deport]

did he quit 3 and a half years before the election?? Or after he had the nomination sewn up?

---

Just for info to the thread. Dole had the nomination won on Super Tuesday, Mar., 19, 1996. He resigned his Senate seat on June 11, 1996 to concentrate on the Presidential race. Kinda different than resigning prior to getting into the next race..

[Cyropaedia]

No one called Dole a quitter when he resigned. Most people here are using the moral argument against Palin. But they have never tried to speak of morality when comparing Palins resigning with Doles resigning.

I'm sorry, but even within that context there is still no equivalence.

Dole had spent half his life on Capitol Hill by the time he was running for President in '96. He had already completed multiple terms in both the House and Senate.

Sarah was able to run on the national presidential ticket while simultaneously juggling her gubernatorial responsibilities in Alaska.

Now the election has been over for eight months, and she is claiming "victory" over ethics complaints against her. Yet she still wants to walk away from her job as Governor in the middle of her FIRST term...??

Even if the waits till the new Governor is sworn in, she will still have nearly two years of free time to run for President.

And she can still lay the groundwork will serving in public office. Good Lord, everyone does that sort of thing nowadays.

She has now allowed her enemies and detractors to label her a "quitter".

[from occupied ga]

I do no like McLame in any way, think him a RINO, amnesty loving p.o.s. and still he is heads and shoulders above this socialist punk.

There we disagree. I think that the parties have gotten so similar that they have the same end point just how long they take to get there is the only difference. I think all of the lampposts in DC need new ornaments hanging from them.

[Arizona Carolyn]

When people complain ask them if they wanted to cover her rising legal bills........ and ask how they would like their children being publicly mocked and then when she defended them the GOP, which should have been speaking out against the crap, criticizes her for being too thin-skinned; as a matter of fact, what would people be saying if comedians were mocking Meghan McCain for being fat and stupid? Even though she is an adult I imagine all hell would break loose.

[curth]

Obama DIDNT” quit the senate , though HE SHOULD HAVE, since he only showed up for work a little more than 100 days though he had the balls to collect his full salary while campaigning for two full years.

[Victory Rocks]

Great post! I couldn’t agree more.

[dirtboy]

Newt was the only person offering free-market, cost-neutral alternatives to the Democrats’ Cap’n Tax proposals. He was there to counter Pelosi’s plan, not sign on to it.

He should have held to the position that AGW was a bogus liberal position instead of giving it credence.

And computerized medical records is just a good idea.

Using billions in federal dollars is not. Especially when Hillary is involved.

Are you anti-computer too? How do you get on FR without one?

I was using computers ages ago. What I am is anti-RINO. And anti lying dipweed.

[truthfreedom]

Yes, this is what Palin might say. Obama neglected his job. Palin did not want to neglect her job.

[truthfreedom]

I still haven’t seen any reason why one person who resigns is labeled a “quitter” and someone else who does isn’t labeled a quitter.

The truth of the matter is that Palin is being labeled a quitter by those who don’t like her, who want to destroy her, and they don’t have anything valid. Resigning office for whatever reason is extremely common. Perhaps if you want to support your position, try to find links that support your position, where politicians other than Palin are called a quitter. I’ve found one that supports my position.

Now, you can go find one.

[Cyropaedia]

I still haven’t seen any reason why one person who resigns is labeled a “quitter” and someone else who does isn’t labeled a quitter.

Quit being ridiculous. There is no comparison between what Dole did in '96 and what Sarah just did this week.

Again, Dole had already completed multiple terms in both the House and the Senate. Dole resigned in the middle of a Presidential race; and only after he had already secured the Republican nomination. If a an elected official wants to resign their office after becoming one of the two major party nominees for President, that is their prerogative. At that point, half the electorate will be expecting them to carry their water, so to speak, in the all important race for the highest office in the land.

If Sarah had actually continued as Governor into 2012, and then resigned her office after securing the GOP nomination ( which is what Dole did ), that would be a completely different story.

The truth of the matter is that Palin is being labeled a quitter by those who don’t like her, who want to destroy her, and they don’t have anything valid.

More nonsense. It is a very valid argument. You certainly don't have to "hate" Sarah to realize that she just made a big mistake.

Again, resigning in the middle of your first term as governor is not what you do if you have genuine Presidential aspirations.

She has now allowed herself to be labeled a "quitter". She fought to get those frivolous ethics charges dismissed, and for what...?? So she could then turn around and walk off the job...? That makes no sense whatsoever.

Look, it seems that Mark Sanford might very well try to hang on till the end of his term despite numerous calls for his resignation.

So, Sanford can stick it out till the end of his term, - but Sarah couldn't...? You know how that is going to look...?

Resigning office for whatever reason is extremely common.

OK, right off the bat, who was the last governor who actually resigned from office, simply because they *wanted* to do so, and not due to ethical, criminal, or medical reasons ( and not because they got elected to another political office ).

And, remember, Sarah has gotten those frivolous ethics charges against her dismissed.

[truthfreedom]

Dole is not the only politician who ever resigned to do something else. They’re rarely called quitters. Or, maybe I’m wrong, maybe they’re called quitters all the time.

Find me the links to other politicians who are called quitters for resigning. If it was as common as you think, you should have no problem finding those links.

Palin resigned in part to help Republicans get elected in 2009 and 2010.

Also, typically, when you put a word in quotes, like “hate”, there’s an assumption that the person you’re arguing with used that word. I didn’t.

Palin is not “allowing herself to be labeled a quitter”. You are labeling her a quitter. Most of the people here are explaining to you why it is wrong for you to call her a quitter. Again, many have resigned for many reasons, without being called a quitter. I have proved my point. You have not proved your point.

There is no reason to put caveats on what are considered
justifiable reasons to resign. H Clinton is a quitter, K Sebelius is a quitter.

[Cyropaedia]

Dole is not the only politician who ever resigned to do something else. They’re rarely called quitters. Or, maybe I’m wrong, maybe they’re called quitters all the time.

Get off it. You're being profoundly disingenuous.

Senator Dole, as the Republican Presidential nominee, had two jobs; - each with its set of duties and responsibilities.

As the Republican nominee, he had an obligation to the party and to registered Republicans throughout the country to do everything in his power to win the Presidential election. Sometimes, a nominee feels it is best to relinquish one set of duties and responsibilities to fully commit to the other set of duties and responsiblities.

By that point, Dole had already spent 30 years in the Senate. He was a senior citizen and in his twilight years.

You're trying to make it seem as if he left the Senate to work as a floor manager at a department store out in Witchita.

Campaigning for President of the United States as the Republican nominee is NOT just "doing something else". Get real.

Find me the links to other politicians who are called quitters for resigning. If it was as common as you think, you should have no problem finding those links.

Again, I asked you to find another governor who quit simply because they felt like doing so, not because of ethical violations of their office or medical reasons; -much less a governor who did so in the middle of their first term. You couldn't.

Palin resigned in part to help Republicans get elected in 2009 and 2010.

Another bogus argument.

IIRC, Governor Palin had already helped Saxby Chambliss win re-election to the Senate out there in Georgia.

None of the people that she is going to try to help in Congressional races were expecting her to quit her job governor.

Senators help candidates running for office, members of the House help candidates that are running for office, and governors help candidates running for elective office. This happens all across the board with with everyone.

Palin is not “allowing herself to be labeled a quitter”. You are labeling her a quitter.

Palin is allowing herself to now be labeled a "quitter". If Sarah had come out this past week, and said that she was determined to remain in office, - no matter how hard her enemies tried to force her from the governorship, people across the board here at FR would be cheering her resolve as a politician. And justifiably so.

So how can people cheer her when she does the exact opposite and announces that she is resigning in the middle of her term...? Again, that makes absolutely no sense.

There is no reason to put caveats on what are considered justifiable reasons to resign. H Clinton is a quitter, K Sebelius is a quitter.

More nonsense. Clinton and Sebelius resigned their offices after they had been appointed by the President of the United States to serve as Cabinet Secretaries in the Executive Branch. Clinton serves as head of the nations's State Department. Sebelius now serves as the head of this country's Department of Health and Human Services.

If there had been no offers to serve in President Obama's cabinet, and Hillary *still* decided to resign her Senate seat, then, yes, she could be labeled a quitter.

Both Clinton and Sebelius had already completed one full term in office by the time they received their their Presidential appointments, BTW.

Now if Palin ( hypothetically ) had resigned her office after being selected as the new Secretary of Energy, that would be a completely different situation.

Needless to say, she's not even going to receive the Ambassadorship to some third world country in the Obama administration.

[truthfreedom]

Again, I asked you to find another governor who quit simply because they felt like doing so, not because of ethical violations of their office or medical reasons; -much less a governor who did so in the middle of their first term. You couldn't.

Sebelius. Your turn. Give me the link to someone else who was called a quitter.

By your logic, Sebelius was a quitter. You asked for a Gov who wasn't elected to something else who resigned. Sebelius wasn't elected to anything new, Obama was. The people of Kansas elected Sebelius to serve, and she resigned. The people of Kansas didn't elect Sebelius to serve unless someone offered her a better job.

Find the links calling Sebelius a quitter, or anyone else a quitter.

And, to split the difference here, there are at least somewhat valid criticisms of Palin - for one - "what, Palin resigned because she thought 3 years was too much experience" . Try using something like that.

Or try to prove your point. If there's some sort of official list of "good reasons to resign" and "bad reasons to resign", I think that might help to make your case.

To this point, your argument consists of a dislike of Palin and a desire to see Palin called a quitter.

Recap: you need 1) evidence that others were called "quitter" 2) an agreed-upon list of acceptable reasons to resign and unacceptable reasons to resign.

[Cyropaedia]

Sebelius. Your turn. Give me the link to someone else who was called a quitter.

'Good Lord, do you even bother to glance at my posts before responding...??

In post # 214, I specifically explained why Hillary and Sebelius had valid reasons for resigning. Both had been appointed by the President to serve as Cabinet Secretaries in the Executive Branch of Government.

Sebelius now serves as this nation's Secretary of Health and Human Services. The Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, Office of the Surgeon General, the Public Health Service, and the National Institute for Health are just some of the Federal agencies that fall under her jurisdiction.

Now if Sebelius had simply resigned without being invited to serve in Obama's cabinet, then, yes, she could be labeled a quitter.

I gave Sarah the same kind of allowance. I specifically said that if Sarah had received a cabinet level position such as Secretary of Energy she too would have a valid reason for resigning.

Or try to prove your point. If there's some sort of official list of "good reasons to resign" and "bad reasons to resign", I think that might help to make your case.

There are not necessarily "good" reasons for resigning as Governor, it is that there are valid reasons fore resigning.

For example, I already mentioned medical issues as a valid reason. Being appointed a Cabinet Secretary in a Presidential Adminsitration as was the case with Clinton and Sebelius are valid reasons.

Even being given an ambassadorship, as was the case with ex-Massachusetts governor William Weld, would have been a valid reason.

Sarah is resigning simply to become a private citizen again.

To this point, your argument consists of a dislike of Palin and a desire to see Palin called a quitter.

Nope. It is a perfectly valid argument. See reasons listed above. You're the one grasping at straws.

Let me put it to you this way : do you think that John McCain would have ever even considered to select an ex-governor, who would up resigning in middle of their first term in office, as his Vice-Presidential running mate...??

No, absolutely not.

So how can you claim that resigning during her first term doesn't undermine her Presidential prospects...?