On Wed, 9 Aug 2000, Max Sawicky wrote:
> This is interesting because it looks padded.
> #'s 1,2,7,8, and 10 look to be votes for the
> status quo (or less) funding of existing programs.
> I'm not sure what 'budget plan' is, unless it's
> Clinton's budget. I guess that's only a correct
> vote if the only alternative is the Repugs.
> Judicial nominee is trivial in context.
The budget items were generally on conservative amendments, such as the one vote saving of NLRB funding (#1). Here is the UAW description:
1. NLRB Funding Senate Defeats Effort to Slash Funding for the NLRB During consideration of the Labor-HHS appropriations bill, GOP Sen. Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas offered an amendment that would have slashed funding for the National Labor Relations Board by $25.5 million. The UAW and the rest of the labor movement opposed this amendment, which would have crippled the ability of the NLRB to enforce our nation's labor laws. Thanks to our efforts, the Senate tabled (i.e., killed) the Hutchinson amendment by a vote of 50-49 (R 5-48; D 45-0; I 0-1). Sept. 30.
This kind of vote does not distinguish among Dems, but sure highlights why the Dems are a "greater good" in some cases than the overwhelming number of GOP politicians.
Similarly, the "judicial nominee" vote was the racist Ashcroft assault on Missouri's Ronnie White's nomination to the bench. The GOP rejected him on a party-line vote.
> The minimum wage is ambiguous, since it could
> be combined with noxious legislation or not.
The two minimum wage bills are clear pro-worker and boondoogle-laden versions of the bill (Lieberman like most Dems voted yes on the first version and no on the second).
I agree that the UAW scorecard is not that useful for choosing between Dems, since a lot of the votes are party-line divisions. The worst of the Dems only voted wrong on three votes, getting a 76% rating.
But then again, the best of the GOP on labor issues, Arlen Specter, only got 56% and other "moderate" GOPers like Vermont's Jeffords only voted right four times (30%). The more typical GOP Senator voted wrong on every single issue.
-- Nathan Newman