First the disclaimer. I support Edwards (and Gore?) first, Obama next. (ABH after that.) This diary is NOT to bash-Barack. (I would not do that as long as he may stop Hillary.)
This diary is to remind the senator, and those that may wish to support his campaign, that he has a rather important job for which he is,btw , being paid to do. Namely, VOTE on the senate floor, and which he has not done in some time.
What prompted this diary is the discovery that "we" (democrats) narrowly dodged a serious bullet last week (7/20)on a Senate vote Sen Obama was to busy campaigning to do his job.
Make the jump.
We won the vote 49-47, but only because R's Brownback and Lott did not vote. Do the math and we see that there must have been 2 other NV's, both Dems. And those would be - T. Johnson (out sick), and B. Obama (out campaigning).
The specific issue was S.Amdt. 2353 (to HR HR 2669 (College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 ) - To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the individual alternative minimum tax.
(Sorry, but I don't know how to post links. Is there a tutorial on dKos to help with that? )
OK, so no one likes the AMT anyway, including me. But wait, there are other important issues involved here.
First the amendment was sponsored by Jon Kyl, which is reason alone for ny respectable Dem to vote it down. It was also a "Culture War" issue, decided (barely) on a 100% partisan vote.
But what Really sticks in my craw, and prompted this diary, is that Obama could have been (and damn near was) the excuse for the odious Dickhead Cheney to (gleefully) cast his first tie-breaking vote. God, I would have hated that.
That would have been a disaster in itself, but suppose the issue had been on something that really was important? Are we to believe that Barack would have honored his obligations in that case? Or that he was prescient enough to know that at least one repub wouldn't vote and that we had a lock? BS.
More importantly, he is not the only senator campaigning, and the other one seems to be a able to do both - campaign and her job as a senator.
(And just happens to be both the front running and DLC, candidate.)
Now, for voters that are not political idealoques, and are yet undecided between Barack and Hillary, and then became aware that Hillary could manage to be responsible to her constituents while campaigning, and Barack didn't seem able to manage that, I wonder whom they might consider to be the better presidential timber?
So Obama people, please consider this a friendly heads-up to tell the guy to start showing he is responsible enough to be POTUS. (And to keep The Dickhead out of my senate and the DLC out of the White House.)
VOTE Barack, VOTE!