Posted on 06/22/2003 6:54:00 PM PDT by Rebelbase
North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is on pace to miss more than half the Senate votes in a month for the first time since launching his campaign for president. The North Carolina Democrat has not cast a vote in Washington for more than a week as he crisscrosses the country raising money for his White House bid and puts in appearances in early nominating states.
Since the start of June, Edwards has been present to vote 14 times. He has missed 16 votes, including two on Friday -- one to allow lower-cost drugs to be imported from Canada -- while he was campaigning in Iowa and Illinois.
The votes that Edwards has missed include a bid to block a study of oil and gas reserves off coastal states, including North Carolina, and a provision to speed up the introduction of generic drugs into the marketplace. Edwards has championed the latter measure on the campaign trail, blaming President Bush for its failure to become law.
Aides point out that Edwards' attendance record this year has been better than that of three of his Senate colleagues who are also seeking the presidency.
They also note that none of the votes he missed has been close enough that his presence would have swayed the outcome.
Still, Edwards' absences are certain to add to the ammunition that Republicans are gathering against Edwards if he seeks re-election to his Senate seat, which is also on the ballot in 2004. "It's bad for the people he represents," said Marc Rotterman, a Republican political consultant who splits his time between Raleigh and Washington. "They hired him to do a job that he's not fulfilling, and now he wants a promotion."
A key aide said Edwards is doing an admirable job representing the state while running for the presidency. "When you run for president, you've got to make those hard scheduling decisions about how you balance your time," said Ed Turlington, a Raleigh lawyer who is serving as general chairman of Edwards' presidential campaign. "I think John is doing a good job with balancing his responsibilities to North Carolina with running for the highest office in the nation."
Since January, when Edwards announced his White House bid and Congress reconvened, he has missed about one of every five Senate votes. He sometimes has gone to great lengths to get to Washington from the campaign trail when votes are expected to be close.
On April 10, for example, he flew to Charleston, S.C., where he had a breakfast meeting scheduled the next morning in that early primary state. When a vote was called that afternoon on the Senate budget resolution, Edwards canceled several campaign events and flew to Washington to cast his vote.
The GOP-backed budget wound up passing, 51-50, with Vice President Dick Cheney casting the tie-breaking vote. Edwards flew back to South Carolina later and resumed his campaign schedule with a reception in Myrtle Beach.
Edwards delayed the start of a campaign swing through New Hampshire on May 23 so he could stay in Washington for a close vote on a tax bill. Much of Edwards' travel in recent weeks has been related to fund raising.
Edwards raised more than any of his eight Democratic rivals $7.4 million during the first quarter of the year and is under great pressure to stay among the leaders in the money chase.
That alone makes me mad. I would hope all the democrats take up this tatic more often. What ever happened to quiet voting.
Every person I've met in recent months who has discussed Edwards mentions the fact that he hasn't been there for his constitutents.
This is coming from people I would guess are not nearly as well versed on political news as we are.
If the average voters are that aware he's been playing hooky, he can forget using a second Senate term as a "safety" when his Presidential bid fails.
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