John Kerry is so compassionate

[DinoDoc]

Good going John. He's probably the Rep. from a safe seat they had vote yay.

[JohnT]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
Yes, but like you said, then it becomes known that it was Bush's Republicans which ultimately prevented extending unemployment.

Well, that's what they did anyway and look at how this thread (and the news stories) are turning out.

[JohnT]

And that's how they're playing it:

Senate rejects jobless benefits extension
On campaign trail, Kerry misses vote
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 Posted: 9:49 AM EDT (1349 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate rejected by one vote Tuesday a proposal to extend unemployment benefits to jobless Americans, and the vote quickly became an issue in the presidential campaign.

Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, was the only senator to miss the vote. He was campaigning in Kentucky, and Republicans seized on his absence.

In a statement, President Bush's re-election campaign said Kerry was "too busy playing politics" to do his job.

But Democrats shot back that Republicans in the Senate -- most of whom opposed the measure -- engineered Tuesday's vote to embarrass Kerry, who has publicly supported the measure to extend unemployment insurance for an additional 13 weeks for those who have already exhausted their benefits.

"John Kerry has fought again and again to extend unemployment benefits for workers left behind in the Bush economy," said Kerry campaign spokesman David Wade. "The reason we haven't succeeded is because George Bush opposes extending unemployment insurance, and so do his allies."

The proposal to extend benefits was offered by Democrats as an amendment to a corporate tax bill. Senators voted 59-40 in favor of the measure -- but that was one vote short of the 60 needed to win the procedural vote under Senate rules.

"Last month, John Kerry was pushing for the extension of unemployment benefits. Today, he had the chance to actually vote on that question but was too busy playing politics when he would have made the difference in the Senate," said Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt.

"John Kerry's rhetoric on the campaign trail is hiding a long list of missed votes and empty promises on the issues he claims are priorities."

But a spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-South Dakota, charged that Republicans engineered the vote to embarrass Kerry, suggesting that if he had been on hand Tuesday to vote for it, Republicans would have persuaded one of the 11 GOP senators who voted for the measure to change sides, killing it anyway.

Eleven Republicans sided with the Democrats in favor of the measure; one Democrat, Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia, sided with most of the Republicans who opposed it.

The 11 Senate Republicans who supported the benefits extension were John McCain of Arizona; Christopher Bond and Jim Talent of Missouri; Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island; Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine; Mike DeWine and George Voinovich of Ohio; Gordon Smith of Oregon; Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania and Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina.

[JohnT]

I'm glad I made my arguments before I read that article. Perhaps I'm in the wrong business.

Oh, yeah: link.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well it's a small news story... it doesn't play prominently on CNN.com at all (you have to dig around for it). So, small news story, not a big deal.

[Sava]

I don't doubt this was engineered, as the article mentions... but Kerry is a dumbass for allowing the Repukes to play him like this.

I've said it before... Kerry was the wrong choice. It's still a long ways until November, but he's not on pace for a victory.

[JohnT]

Imran: Took me two clicks. One to the Politics section, the next to the article itself.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Tiamat
.well here goes.

Just a general high five, Tia. What DF fails to understand is that employers and employees both want unemployment insurance. If he opposes this type of insurance, why doesn't he oppose all types of insurance?

[Imran Siddiqui]

Took me two clicks. One to the Politics section, the next to the article itself

Exactly. How many people dig around the bottom headline part of CNN.com to click on 'Politics' in the first place?

[JohnT]

[Imran Siddiqui]

Yes, but you and me are dorks... admit it .

[Whoha]

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui

such statements clash violently with Kerry’s subsequent declaration to The Wall Street Journal: “I’m not a protectionist. I never have been. I’m not about to be.”

But they don't.... there is NO clash!

Being a free trader doesn't mean that you don't want manufacturing jobs in Detroit! It simply means you want those manufacturing jobs in the US to be more efficient to compete in the global market place. Thereby the consumers benefit and manufacturing workers benefit. Wanting jobs to stay in America doesn't mean you can't be a free trader .

If you say so:

"He also pledged “to keep car manufacturing jobs in the country” if elected."

sounds kinda like protectionism to me.

[Whoha]

Originally posted by Sava
The bill passed 59-40... his vote was irrelevant. Perhaps if his vote was the sole deciding vote, then I could see where this would be a legitimate issue. His vote wasn't... so it's not.

it needed 60 to pass because it exceeded last years budget

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Sava
it was probably a Senate vote that was part of a garbage bill...

if you looked hard enough, you could find Senator * voted to eat babies!



diplomat and his ilk can't find any legitimate issues to talk about, so they praddle on about dubious Senate votes.

unemployment benefits are a legitimate issue! If you were unemployed I doubt you would call "dubious" a senate vote to give you money that you badly need to live on.

So, you guys want to bash Bush for losing jobs and claim you can do better, but when it comes time to actually help unemployed survive, you call it "dubious". typical.

[Imran Siddiqui]

If you say so:

Yeah, I do say so .

You can be for free trade and yet wish that American companies become the most productive and efficient companies in the world and stay in the US. They are not inconsistent. IN FACT, that is what free trade is supposed to do for your economy, make it super-efficient.

"He also pledged “to keep car manufacturing jobs in the country” if elected."

sounds kinda like protectionism to me.

He's a politician, they have to sound like they back things they don't really support.