Dec. 19, 2010
Manchin Proclaims Technicalities, Then Parties, Rather Than Vote
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Washington, D.C. (HNN) – Freshman WV Senator Joe Manchin found a way to avoid voting against two issues that President Obama and the Democrats strongly favored: He had a previously (as in before he was elected Senator) arranged family gathering in his home state at which his presence was required.
The strategic timing could not have been more appropriate. He missed voting on the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy and the so-called DREAM Act, which provides a method for children of illegal aliens born in the U.S.A. to qualify for citizenship.
However, during his razor-thin special election win over John Raese, the former governor had distanced himself from the unpopular Obama administration, prompting a few media comments that he was a fiscally conservative Republican in disguise.
Speaking through a spokesperson in an email to the Charleston Gazette, Sara Scarboro stated, “he planned a holiday gathering over a year ago with all their children and grandchildren as they will not all be together on Christmas Day. While he regrets missing the votes, it was a family obligation that he just could not break."
Scarboro indicated the new Senator had previously issued statements that he supported the measures voted upon but only under certain conditions. Manchin believe that DREAM act students should have to earn a degree, not acquire a minimum of two years of college. As for the gay/lesbian DADT policy, he has concerns about repealing it at the present time.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) criticized Manchin’s no-show.
“So much for Joe Manchin taking ‘dead aim’ at the Obama agenda as he did in his fancy campaign commercials. When it came time to stand up and be counted in Washington today, Joe Manchin ducked,” said Brian Walsh NRSC Communications Director.
Walsh continued, “ Unfortunately, this type of fence-straddling by Joe Manchin is exactly what Republicans predicted, and it’s what West Virginians should expect for the next two years as Manchin seeks to advance his political career [into] a six-year term. Joe Manchin is a career politician who will say anything, do anything, or as we saw, shoot anything, to get elected to the Senate, and it’s what he’s going to do right up until November 2012.”
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Manchin Proclaims Technicalities, Then Parties, Rather Than Vote
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Washington, D.C. (HNN) – Freshman WV Senator Joe Manchin found a way to avoid voting against two issues that President Obama and the Democrats strongly favored: He had a previously (as in before he was elected Senator) arranged family gathering in his home state at which his presence was required.
The strategic timing could not have been more appropriate. He missed voting on the repeal of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy and the so-called DREAM Act, which provides a method for children of illegal aliens born in the U.S.A. to qualify for citizenship.
However, during his razor-thin special election win over John Raese, the former governor had distanced himself from the unpopular Obama administration, prompting a few media comments that he was a fiscally conservative Republican in disguise.
Speaking through a spokesperson in an email to the Charleston Gazette, Sara Scarboro stated, “he planned a holiday gathering over a year ago with all their children and grandchildren as they will not all be together on Christmas Day. While he regrets missing the votes, it was a family obligation that he just could not break."
Scarboro indicated the new Senator had previously issued statements that he supported the measures voted upon but only under certain conditions. Manchin believe that DREAM act students should have to earn a degree, not acquire a minimum of two years of college. As for the gay/lesbian DADT policy, he has concerns about repealing it at the present time.
Meanwhile, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) criticized Manchin’s no-show.
“So much for Joe Manchin taking ‘dead aim’ at the Obama agenda as he did in his fancy campaign commercials. When it came time to stand up and be counted in Washington today, Joe Manchin ducked,” said Brian Walsh NRSC Communications Director.
Walsh continued, “ Unfortunately, this type of fence-straddling by Joe Manchin is exactly what Republicans predicted, and it’s what West Virginians should expect for the next two years as Manchin seeks to advance his political career [into] a six-year term. Joe Manchin is a career politician who will say anything, do anything, or as we saw, shoot anything, to get elected to the Senate, and it’s what he’s going to do right up until November 2012.”
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