Thread: Dole..hard-line illegal immigration foes ...

Dole voting more often with Dems as Election Day looms
By Manu Raju and Andrea Fuller

Posted: 07/22/08 07:19 PM [ET]

http://tinyurl.com/648b4x

[quote]Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), a top target for Democrats this year, has broken with her party far more than she did in 2007, according to an analysis of her voting record.

With about six weeks left in the legislative session, Dole has voted with a majority of Democrats — and against a majority of her party — 25.5 percent of the time. That compares to 6.6 percent of the time in 2007.

And it represents a shift since Dole was first elected to the Senate in 2002. In the 109th Congress, she voted with Democrats and against her party 6.4 percent of the time, compared with 4.3 percent in the 108th Congress.

The Hill examined the number of times Dole and other GOP senators voted with a majority of Democrats, instead of a majority of Republicans, and excluded both missed votes and times that the majorities of both parties voted the same way. In the past two years, the majorities in both parties were at odds on about half the votes taken.

Of the most endangered Republicans facing reelection, Dole’s voting shift is the most significant.

Most of the other Republicans senators in tough races — Ted Stevens of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Gordon Smith of Oregon — have largely stayed consistent while voting more frequently with Democrats, according to the voting analysis.

Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.), who faces a tough road to keep his seat, has sided far less frequently with Democrats, voting against his party 16.7 percent of the time in 2007, compared to just 11.3 percent this year.

Dole, who has $2.7 million in cash on hand through the end of June, has held double-digit leads over Democratic challenger Kay Hagan in many statewide polls. But Democrats sense that the popularity of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) in North Carolina, particularly among black voters, could help Hagan to an upset in November. Hagan has $1.2 million in campaign cash, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has indicated that it may pump millions into televised advertising in the fall.

Facing a tarnished GOP brand and sagging approval ratings for President Bush, Senate Republicans have increasingly sought independence on domestic issues, with their top strategists warning of big losses in November.

Dole disputed that she was making an election-year trek towards the middle, saying her position depends on the issue and that she does what’s “best for the people of my state.â€

Sen. Dole has career and recent grades from ABI of A. She is an anti-amnesty fighter and deserves our support.

Originally Posted by Populist

Sen. Dole has career and recent grades from ABI of A. She is an anti-amnesty fighter and deserves our support.

I've felt that way about her too Populist; but I'm wondering what was behind this vote:

Dole also has voted to kill a GOP amendment by hard-line illegal immigration foes to ensure federal assistance is not provided to cities that do not have tough immigration rules.

Populist wrote:

Sen. Dole has career and recent grades from ABI of A. She is an anti-amnesty fighter and deserves our support.

I agree! We would be hard pressed to find anyone in the U.S. Congress that was right on the issues that are important to us 100% of the time. For example, I was disappointed in Tom Tancredo's "yes" vote in support of the Peru FTA last November.

More Post via ALIPAC members of Senator Dole:

Eye on the Senate: Latest Round-up of Polls
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-124795.html


Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-125057.html