Until his botched grandstanding over the financial crisis last week, John McCain hadn't set foot in the US Senate since last April. That doesn't mean he wasn't doing business as usual, though:
The Bush administration is currently in discussions to send $6 billion in arms to Taiwan. Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) sent a letter to President Bush, urging him to "add more submarines and new fighter jets to the package" as Taiwan had requested:"The package will not include submarines or new F-16 aircraft. I urge the administration to reconsider this decision, in light of its previous commitment to provide submarines and America's previous sales of F-16s," McCain said. "These sales -- which could translate into tens of thousands of jobs here at home -- would help retain America's edge in the production of advanced weaponry and represent a positive sign in these difficult economic times." [via Politico]McCain's desire to increase arms sales to Taiwan, however, raises questions about yet another conflict of interest involving his chief foreign policy adviser Randy Scheunemann, who previously lobbied for the Taiwanese government. (Think Progress)
Schuenemann is a top McCain advisor and a top Washington lobbyist. He was the lobbyist for the Republic of Georgia, John McCain's Big Stick he won't Talk Softly about. His firm has lobbied McCain 47 different times since 2001. John McCain knows what to do about crooked lobbyists distorting the political process. He hires them.
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JM hasn't set foot in the senate since April 2008 or 2007? And where did this info come from and how does it compare to Obama?
I would love this information!!!
Thanks!!!
Posted by: Faith | October 9, 2008 6:01 PM
The last time McCain voted in the Senate was April 10, 2008, according to The Moderate Voice.
In addition, McCain has missed 64% of the votes cast during the current 110th Congress.
As of September 9, 2008 McCain has missed 408 out of Senate 639 votes cast in the current Congress, or 63.8%, the worst Senate attendance record of the current 110th Congress (Jan 2007 - Dec 2008).
The second-worst Senate attendance record is held by Tim Johnson (D-SD), who suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 13, 2006 and spent several months recovering. Johnson has missed 311 votes, or 48.7%.
Obama comes in third, with 291 votes missed, or 45.5%.
Source: The U.S. Congress Votes Database. 110th Congress / Senate / Members who missed votes. Washington Post. accessed September 9, 2008 via McCain Fact Check
Feel free to Fact Check.
Posted by: revere | October 9, 2008 6:29 PM