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.

[truthfreedom]

I’m with you. Dole showed integrity, Palin is showing integrity. Best to just remind people of Dole when Palin is called a quitter. Gingrich and Barbour praised Dole when Dole quit the Senate to campaign for President.

The media doesn’t like Palin, yes, but Palin is the most popular Republican around, and after she helps the GOP pick up seats in 2010, she’ll be the clear front-runner. Media attacks would be unlikely to derail her. The media has been pretty nasty, and she’s still able to draw 20k in a little town in upstate ny.

[angkor]

Counterpunch: I notice that you've made about 120 anti-Sarah Palin posts in less then the last 24 hours.

I'm buy no means a Palin cheerleader, but I have to ask:

What's that all about?

[GregH]

Did Dole quit in 96 to campaign for the 2000 elections.

There is no real comparison between his and Sarah’s decision.

[Recon Dad]

I’m with you. Dole showed integrity, Palin is showing integrity

If I was trying to put a spin on Palin’s resignation I would counter by asking whether it's better to get elected to the Senate, and within a year start running for President ignoring all your duties as Zero did. He needed the platform and paycheck.
Palin is doing it the proper way.

[truthfreedom]

I understand your argument. You think so much of your lengths of time that you need to put them in CAPS. What you haven’t explained is the exact line, in time, when it becomes, for lack of a better term, “acceptable quitting”. The voters of Kansas were deprived of Bob Dole’s services as a Senator for 2 AND A HALF YEARS when he quit.

If your argument has anything to do with quitting a job that the voters hired you to do, it matters little how many months of campaigning they have to do. Why at all, to the voters of Kansas or Alaska, does it matter how many months or years away a Presidential election is? The voters elected Dole to a Senate term - he had more than 2 years left. The voters elected Palin to a Gubernatorial term - she had less than 2 years left.

[counterpunch]

I've engaged in a couple discussions about Sarah Palin recently, and every post has been in response to replies I have given.
It's a pretty topical subject right now, you know.
I don't think they are 'anti-Palin' as you state, but simply debating with some pretty obvious Palin diehards that she is not the best person to run against 0bama in 2012, because of stuff like this, and because she's already been on the losing end of that once before. I've mostly stuck to the historical record that rematches never turn out well.
I believe quite strongly that if the GOP is to recover and have a chance of taking 0bama out of office, we are going to have to return to being the party of serious individuals, like we were in the 80s and 90s.

I've also done other stuff recently, though. Like this animation:

[syriacus]

Good one!

[truthfreedom]

You’re comparing apples to oranges. Dole quit with more than 2 years left. Palin quit with less than 2 years left.

In Doles case, the election was 6 months away. In Palins case, the election was over 3 years away.

But the voters of Kansas or Alaska don’t care about the Presidential election. They care about finishing the term.

[angkor]

I’m not gonna’ respond, in the hopes that you’ll cool your jets.

[counterpunch]

You're comparing apples to oranges.

No, actually you're comparing apples to oranges.
I'm one of the people pointing that out to you.
 

[counterpunch]

Then why did you respond to tell me you weren’t going to respond?

[syriacus]

Her real reason for quitting is so she can write a book and cash in on her fame

Writing a book is a good idea. Obama's book helped him be a familiar (although faked) figure to the American voters .

THEN he ran for President.

[truthfreedom]

The voters of Illinois voted for Obama to be their Senator in Washington, DC, not to run for President. Obama did not represent the voters of Illinois at all well. He missed votes, because he wanted a better job. He should have resigned, like Palin did, because the voters of Illinois deserve a Senator that will show up for work.

But you think that a Senator who doesn’t show up for votes (Obama) is better than a politician who quits their job because they feel their constituents deserve a politician who can give 100% (Palin).

Obama making less than a quarter of Senate votes -
http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/02/obama.missed.votes/

[counterpunch]

And Newt Gingrich has written 20 books.
I guess that makes him a shoe in!

[janee]

and were the democrats critical of Kathleen Sebelius (and others) for resigning to take up Obama’s cause? her Lt. Governor had to balance the state’s budget.

but that’s quitting for a different reason right?

[truthfreedom]

Sarah Palin is the natural leader of the Republican Party. It will be much easier for her to lead now that she’s not Governor of Alaska anymore. She’s the most popular R, drawing 20k.

[syriacus]

Great Obama/Chavez/Obama/Chavez morphing!!!

[AUH2O Repub]

Sarah is quitting to form a CONSERVATIVE PARTY. This is something that will take a lot longer than just running for a major party nomination. The Republicans will not rid themselves of the RINOs so it is time for us to rid ourselves of the Republicans. It’s Republicans in Alaska that have caused her so much heartache, they are no longer the friend of the CONSERVATIVE! Sarah can do this! She has time to create a third party that can WIN for CONSERVATIVES. We are on our way to a better America. RUN SARAH RUN!

[counterpunch]

I think 0bama is lousy all around.
But Palin could have finished out her term and THEN went on to write her book, run for some other office, etc.

This just makes her a quitter.
That’s fine if she was done with politics or wanted to make more money for her family.
But it’s about the worst thing to do if she’s trying to position herself for higher office.

I suspect she’s not.
I think she’s ready to go back to being a wife and mom, and maybe make a little money with her book and on speaking engagements.

[counterpunch]

Thanks.
Feel free to pass it along.