‘Present’ Perfect

[SkyIsGrey]

By ABNER J. MIKVA
Published: February 16, 2008

SENATOR HILLARY CLINTON should probably be forgiven for not remembering the course on the state Constitution that she would have had to take as an eighth grader in Illinois. But had she remembered it, she would have known that Senator Barack Obama was not ducking his responsibility in the Illinois Senate when he voted “present” on many issues.

Unlike Congress and the legislatures of most other states, each chamber of the Illinois Legislature requires a “constitutional majority” to pass a bill. The state Senate has 59 members, so it takes 30 affirmative votes. This makes a “present” vote the same as a no. If a bill receives 29 votes, but the rest of the senators vote “present,” it fails.

Rest here.

[Maddy McCall]

1. So? It's still straddling the fence.

Instead of taking a stand, and voting yes or no, he voted "present," which means "here but not wanting to actually cast a vote."

[cbayer]

2. Sometimes straddling the fence is not only following your beliefs, but a very good idea. nt.

[thunder rising]

3. Hillary sure took a stand for the war!! Not just "Present" but loudly vocal in support.

There's more to Chicago politics than I think you understand, so I'll leave it with that polite remark.

[October]

5. And he took a stand by voting to fund the same war he's against

[Clovis Sangrail]

4. how about a bill that says

"We declare that all Muslims are terrorists and should be hunted down"
but down further says
"we also think that we should continue funding heating subsidies so that old ladies don't freeze to death"

I think the 'Present' vote is a pretty good way to deal with that if a constitutional majority of postive votes is required.
You can vote NP and not worry about some schmuck saying "but but but he voted NO to funding of heating subsidies for freezing old ladies"

[SkyIsGrey]

7. Read the bold bit.

Unlike Congress and the legislatures of most other states, each chamber of the Illinois Legislature requires a “constitutional majority” to pass a bill. The state Senate has 59 members, so it takes 30 affirmative votes. This makes a “present” vote the same as a no. If a bill receives 29 votes, but the rest of the senators vote “present,” it fails.

Read the entire article

[TexasObserver]

6. Hillary is purposely mischaracterizing those votes as a deception, and knows it.

Everyone who isn't ignorant or biased knows those votes were designed to signal the legislator would vote YES if the bill is made right, either by taking something out or adding something to it.

It's yet another scheming lie told by Hillary.

[Yossariant]

8. Even when he's "present," he's sometimes, "Yes" "No" and "Undecided." The war and

"But two of Obama's bumbles came on more-sensitive topics. On Nov. 14, 1997, he backed legislation to permit riverboat casinos to operate even when the boats were dockside.

The measure, pushed by the gambling industry and fought by church groups whose support Obama was seeking, passed with two "yeas" to spare -- including Obama's. Moments after its passage he rose to say, "I'd like to be recorded as a no vote," explaining that he had mistakenly voted for it.

Obama would later develop a reputation as a critic of the gambling industry, and he voted against a similar measure two years later. But he was clearly confused about how to handle the issue at the time of his first vote, telling a church group on a 1998 campaign questionnaire that he was "undecided" about whether he backed an expansion of riverboat gambling. And, months earlier, he had voted in favor of a version of the bill.

The senator who led the opposition to the gambling measure, Republican Todd Sieben, said he took Obama at his word that the initial vote was an error. But Sieben also said the thin margin of victory was a sign that perhaps there was more to the vote than met the eye. "He was obviously paying attention to this vote. It was a major, major issue in the state, and it was a long debate," Sieben said. 'The inadvertent 'Oops, I missed the switch' -- I'd be kind of skeptical of that.'"

I agree that an 8th grader who passed civics could figure Obama out.

:rofl: