Members georgestrings Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 ... He has voted "Present" nearly 130 times during his tenure as a US Senator - how exactly does that show his abilities as a leader and decision maker??? - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J. Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 It's a canard. In the Illinois state legislature, voting "present" is a technique to get a bill fixed. If you support a bill that's generally good but has some significant flaw, you can vote 'present' to signify that. If the bill gets enough present votes, it goes back to committee so it can be amended. He voted "present" while in the IL legislature, not in the US Senate. Obviously there's no rule like that in the US Congress, but in the IL legislature it's a perfectly valid technique. I don't like Obama's ideas at all, but I don't believe his present votes are a valid source of criticism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members y-o-y Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 pwned Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lug Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I look at how often members vote party line. Of the current potential prez candidates who are in Congress: Clinton 97%Obama 97%McCain 87%Paul 74% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members collinwho Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I vote based on who I think will have better facial hair. So far Hillary is in the lead. . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ThudMaker Posted January 24, 2008 Moderators Share Posted January 24, 2008 It's a canard. In the Illinois state legislature, voting "present" is a technique to get a bill fixed. If you support a bill that's generally good but has some significant flaw, you can vote 'present' to signify that. If the bill gets enough present votes, it goes back to committee so it can be amended. He voted "present" while in the IL legislature, not in the US Senate. Obviously there's no rule like that in the US Congress, but in the IL legislature it's a perfectly valid technique. I don't like Obama's ideas at all, but I don't believe his present votes are a valid source of criticism.Generally speaking you are correct. I would be more concerned that he's been pushed by the Chicago machine and Dick Durbin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jannda Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I vote based on who I think will have better facial hair. So far Hillary is in the lead. . . GETS MY VOTE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members georgestrings Posted January 24, 2008 Author Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 It's a canard. In the Illinois state legislature, voting "present" is a technique to get a bill fixed. If you support a bill that's generally good but has some significant flaw, you can vote 'present' to signify that. If the bill gets enough present votes, it goes back to committee so it can be amended. He voted "present" while in the IL legislature, not in the US Senate. Obviously there's no rule like that in the US Congress, but in the IL legislature it's a perfectly valid technique. I don't like Obama's ideas at all, but I don't believe his present votes are a valid source of criticism. Thanks for pointing that out - I'm just starting to look into his track record... - georgestrings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToeJamFootball Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've never understood how the voting and all that works in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jannda Posted January 24, 2008 Members Share Posted January 24, 2008 I've never understood how the voting and all that works in the US. Thats OK Niether do we. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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