The issues listed here were "key bills" in the US Senate, as identified by WaPo http://projects.washingtonpost.com/... Below the fold, I rated each of McSame’s votes for 2007 with either a +1 or a –1 and I keep a running total.
Jan 18th 2007, McSame votes in support of a bill to add greater transparency to the legislative process by better defining the role of lobbyists. Except for the fact that McSame has had to remove leading members of his campaign staff because of their lobbying interests, this was a good vote. plus 1 for McSame, total for McSame = 1.
Feb 1st, 2007 McSame votes in support of increasing the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25. Overall I question the philosophy of a minimum wage, so I am skeptical of changes in that wage, but I think its good that employers pay employees enough to live on. Again a good vote. plus 1 for McSame, total for McSame = 2.
March 15th, 2007 McSame fails to vote on revising US policy on Iraq which included a phased withdrawal of troops. I guess McSame was to busy to vote on the #1 issue to Americans. Not sure where McSame stands on this issue because he probably didn't want to take a stand. Failure to vote on an issue as important as the Iraq war, minus 1 for McSame, total for McSame = 1.
March 29th 2007 McSame votes no on a bill to fund the troops that included a deadline for troop withdrawal. Either McSame doesn't want to fund the troops, or he doesn't want to get the troops out of a war we shouldn't have started in the first place. Either way minus 1 for McSame, total for McSame = 0.
April 26th 2007 McSame fails to vote on another war funding bill which includes a deadline for troop withdrawal. Again, either he was to busy campaigning to vote or he doesn't want to fund the troops or he doesn't want to get American troops our of harms way over a war we should never have started in the first place. minus 1 for McSame. Total for McSame = negative 1
May 24th 2007 McSame votes to approve a bill funding the troops without a timeline for withdrawal. Bush had vetoed two previous war-funding bills and so the Democrats felt they had to fund the troops, even if they couldn't get those troops out of harms way. In this case McSame did a good job voting to support the troops financially, but his previous vote made no effort to get those troops home from a war we should never have started. I guess he deserves a plus 1 for bothering to show up and vote and for financing Bush's fiasco. Total for McSame = 0.
June 7th, 2007 McSame fails to vote, again, this time on a cloture motion regarding immigration. That means that if the cloture vote had passed (it didn't), the Senate either had to vote yes or no immediately. Since this bill failed, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007" was effectively killed. I can't really give a +1 to any Senator that fails to show up to do his job. This leaves me unsure of McSame's position on immigration reform. Perhaps McSame will take whatever position he thinks his audience wants to hear regarding immigration. minus 1 McSame. Total for McSame = negative 1
June 11th 2007 McSame fails to vote, again, this time to register the Senate's official opposition to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, whose tenure was plagued by controversy. Apparently McSame was still to busy to do his job. I wonder if he stayed away from this vote to try to distance himself from the Bush administration. Minus 1 McSame. Total for McSame = negative 2.
July 26th, 2007 McSame fails to vote, again, this time on an amendment to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 was made in order to implement the recommendations made by the 9/11 commission. I guess poor old McSame was to tired from his presidential campaign to vote on something as trivial as homeland security. Minus 1 McSame. Total for McSame = Negative 3
August 2nd, 2007 McSame bothers to show up to vote against a bill that would provide health care to children born into poverty. I can't imagine anything more despicable than to deny innocent children medical care especially if you believe life is precious enough to try to deny woman their right to choose. If the life of an unborn embryo is so important to Republicans, why is the life of an impoverished child so trivial? minus 1 McSame. Total for McSame = negative 4.
August 3rd, 2007 McSame once again failed up to do his job. This time it was an amendment to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. Once again, we don't know where McSame stands on the issue of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance. This amendment did pass by a huge margin, so McSame's vote was not really necessary, but failing to vote will always earn minus 1 McSame. Total for McSame negative 5.
2007 was not a good year for McSame. He would have scored much higher if he had showed up to vote on many of the "key bills" but there is no excuse for a Senator to not vote. From where I am sitting, McSame didn’t show up to do his job as a Senator in 2007, and probably won’t show up to do his job as President if, by some miracle, he gets elected. Will 72 year old John McSame be available to do his job when the phone rings at 3 AM?