Liberman and Kerry missed Medicare Reform vote to campaign

[cthrumatrix]

Lieberman skips final Medicare vote to campaign

By KATHERINE HUTT SCOTT
Norwich Bulletin

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WASHINGTON -- Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman missed the final Senate vote approving an overhaul of Medicare to help seniors pay for prescription drugs Tuesday because he was campaigning for president on the Medicare issue in Arizona.

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Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and John Edwards of North Carolina, two of Lieberman's rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination, attended Monday's procedural votes. Edwards voted against final passage of the Medicare bill on Tuesday and Kerry missed the vote to campaign in Iowa.

http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/stories/20031126/localnews/710427.html


on edit -- my thanks to kerry supporters for helping me understand that he was against the bill

[boxster]

1. Kerry missed the vote, but felt it didn't matter.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Politics/ap20031125_1317.html

Edit: "There was no question about the passage," said Kerry, who was stumping in Iowa on Tuesday. "The vote was not going to make a difference in the outcome."

Second Edit: Sorry, I misinterpreted the original poster's question to include an ulterior motive that was not intended.

[cthrumatrix]

3. i just looked it up...with no comments added...

thank you

[aquart]

11. That's the kind of answer that doesn't work for me.

[JI7]

14. well

not everything can work for everyone. that's just the way things are sometimes.

[boxster]

15. Sorry, but it was in the news at the time and anyone that was paying

attention to the Medicare bill should probably have known that Kerry and Lieberman didn't vote on it. It was discussed often on DU, and it took me five seconds to find a link doing an internet search. The original poster could have certainly done the same.

I apologize for seeing an ulterior motive (a subtle dig at Kerry and/or Edwards) if one truly did not exist.

[cthrumatrix]

17. i found it right away after and posted as such...i don't think this is

a big deal...no motive...I am not bashing anyone..in fact I complimented Kenendy (who supports kerry) on his efforts.

He shared his views against it by satellite -- I didn't know that...and I'm glad he did.

[boxster]

19. Sorry, I misinterpreted your intent.

I have changed my initial response to indicate that.

Sorry about that. I guess that there's just been so much subtle innuendo on DU lately that I'm now seeing it where it doesn't exist. x(

[Redbear]

2. They both fought it.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2003/11/26/questioning_kerrys_focus/

[Karmadillo]

5. deleted/posted in wrong place

n/t

[Renew Deal]

4. They were there for the filibuster if I remember.

It was a lost cause at that point. Politically it was a good move.

[cthrumatrix]

6. I remember kennedy "fighting the fight"....he was awesome

[adadem]

13. You are correct

They both returned from the campaign trail to fight the Medicare bill and only left congress when it was evident that the pugs had more than enough votes to pass it. Nothing wrong here. More sour grapes .. this is old, old news.

[Monte Carlo]

7. Yes, they did. They also pushed a filibuster...

... that didn't get enough votes, so why stick around to formalize a loss when there's campaigning to be done? Why does everyone think vote outcomes are the alpha and the omega of Congress?

[JI7]

8. kerry on record as opposing by harry reid

told reid to say he(kerry) would have voted against it since he was not going to be there. kerry left campaigning and a debate to filibuster this. but they allowed kerry and edwards to debate by sattelite.

[Karmadillo]

9. Here's a link to Kerry's plan for Medicare

http://www.johnkerry.com/issues/100days/medicare.html

Four-Step Plan to Restore Medicare

John Kerry today outlined a four-step plan to restore Medicare and provide real prescription drug relief for all Americans. In his first 100 days as President, Kerry will propose a bill that keeps Medicare strong, instead of privatizing it, and allows seniors to choose their doctor, instead of forcing them into HMOs.

“If you want to see a prime example of Republican’s working for powerful interests, just look at this latest Medicare bill. This bill is less about prescription drug benefits and more a prescription to benefit big drug companies,” said John Kerry. “Say what you want about President Bush, it’s clear his powerful campaign contributors get what they pay for. But we’re getting left with the tab. The AARP pays actors to play seniors in TV commercials. But real-life seniors are getting left out in the cold.”

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[UTUSN]

10. They Were There for the Vote That Mattered, Cloture

After that the actual vote wouldn't have changed the results. These candidates work their tails off and every bit of their time is overwrought: Since there is no hope of reforming a nutso electoral process, could we cut them the teeniest bit of slack, please?

[Cocoa]

12. possibly the phoniest issue out there

missed votes.

[KittyWampus]

16. Kerry Has Effectively Castrated Himself On This Issue

He cannot take Junior to task.

He has lost this arrow in his quiver.

[cthrumatrix]

18. as person who started the thread...this is nothing more than an

understanding of where he was ...as long as he fought it verbally..that's fine...his vote didn't matter.

let's not bash Kerry or anyone