Look at which Republican lite senators voted with Edwards and Clinton on these bills!

[jackson_dem]

There are a few bills supporters of one candidate use to swift boat his rivals. They never provide the context for those votes. To learn more about them I looked at the vote totals and roll call for them. I was shocked to learn that progressive heroes like Ted Kennedy, Paul Wellstone, and others are or were closet Republicans. The biggest Republican of them all was surprisingly Patrick Leahy, though.

Patriot Act

Passed 98-1.
For it: Leahy, Kennedy, Wellstone, Edwards, Clinton
St. Obama: not present since he was in Illinois

No Child Left Behind

Passed 91-8 (47-2 among Democrats).
For it: Leahy, Kennedy, Wellstone, Edwards, Clinton
St. Obama: not present since he was in Illinois


Normal trade relations with China

Passed 83-15
For it: Kennedy, Leahy, Edwards, Clinton
St. Obama: not present since he was in Illinois

Bankruptcy bill of 2001

Passed 83-15
For it: Leahy, Edwards, Clinton
St. Obama: not present

Ted Kennedy now says No Child should be reformed, became "against" the Patriot Act because he wanted it to be reformed, thinks China didn't work out as intended. How can we trust someone who voted wrong three times on three carefully flyspecked bills? His rhetoric doesn't match his record. He is a flip flopper. Don't trust him. Vote for the one candidate who didn't get it wrong on these issues: Barack Obama. He has never made a mistake. Just ask his supporters or him.

To illustrate how easy swiftboating a Senator's record is, I could have easily posted them same list and stocked it with names like "Lieberman, Nelson" to make Edwards and Clinton look worse. Don't accept the bull you are told about folks' records. Look it up if you care about a particular bill. Find out the context. You can learn a lot simply from looking at who voted for it and the vote tally. Maybe a bill that passed 91-8 that progressive like Kennedy, Leahy, and Wellstone supported didn't look that bad at the time? Nah, it can't be! They were rethug lites who sold out! Ted Kennedy: pawn of the DLC!

[aquart]

1. Thanks, but the truth is irrelevant to the followers of St. Obama.

They have, after all, access to the Greater Truth.

[jackson_dem]

6. Will any of the Obama swiftboaters risk embarassment and show up in this thread?

Or will they pretend they never saw it and continue to swiftboat good Democrats?

[B Calm]

2. So Obama always a no show? He takes more time off than Bush!

[smokey nj]

3. Obama wasn't a member of the US Senate when these bills came up for a vote.

[jackson_dem]

4. No. He wasn't in Congress at the time. That is why Obamites flyspeck bills before 2005

They don't want to have to compare Obama's record directly with Hillary's because it is the same.

[B Calm]

5. BINGO!

[Tennessee Gal]

7. Thanks for this clarification.

It was greatly needed.

Go John!

[jackson_dem]

8. swift?

[Terry_M]

9. Thank you for demonstrating yet again

how useless the people we keep voting for are.

[jasmine621]

10. While you are at it, remind Obama that John Kerry cannot be trusted

to use good judgement either since he, too, voted for the IWR. Further proof of his lack of judgement is his support for Obama.

[jackson_dem]

11. Kerry also voted for the bills listed above. Obama loved Kerry in 2004 and still does