Dole Dodges Duties; Ducks Debates

October 14, 2008

GREENSBORO, NC- Ranked 93 out of all of her colleagues, a senator who “has spent her first term largely as a back-bencher who is more likely to co-sponsor major legislation than author it, more likely to join a group of negotiators than lead it,” Senator Elizabeth Dole again took to the airwaves to rewrite history and distort Kay’s record in the process. Spending only 33 days in North Carolina over the course of 2 years and ducking every statewide televised debate proposed, it’s clear to North Carolina voters who is truly dodging both the voters and the issues.

“It’s ironic, to say the least, that Senator Dole, who has ‘quashed debates at every turn,’ ‘passive-aggressively failing to commit to them rather than outright refusing” would lecture Kay on being responsive and taking a leadership role on any important issues of the day,” said Hagan Campaign Communications Director Colleen Flanagan. “You see it on issue after issue – on the Outlying Landing Field (OLF), the Gang of 10, Senator Webb’s 21st Century GI Bill, and speaking up on behalf of North Carolinians as the state’s senior U.S. senator and a member of the Senate Banking Committee. Elizabeth Dole just takes her sweet time, waiting to see what the politically expedient response might be instead of doing what is best for North Carolina. We agree it’s probably hard to get a sense of what your constituents want you to do when you only spend a few days each year with them, but we suggest Sen. Dole take a look at Kay to see what a real leader looks like.”

“Dole hasn’t really made an effort to spend time around North Carolina voters over the past six years, but probably even more telling than dodging North Carolinians is the fact that Elizabeth Dole is now dodging her bosom buddy, President Bush, whom she’s voted with 92% of the time,” Flanagan said. “Apparently she’s realized the politically expedient thing to do is dodge him now, even though she was quite content to take direction from him for years.”

DOLE DODGES TAKING A POSITION ON OLF:
• John Drescher, the executive editor of the Raleigh News & Observer wrote, “Dole sat on the sidelines for years as residents of Washington and Beaufort counties fought the landing field and filed lawsuits. She sat there after others in the congressional delegation opposed the landing strip. Maybe Dole, who is spotted in North Carolina only occasionally, didn’t know those counties are in North Carolina…Dole stayed uncommitted — until spring 2007, shortly after The N&O published a front-page story about her indecision. Then Dole finally told the Navy she was opposed to the proposed location for the landing field.” [Editorial, Raleigh News & Observer, 10/11/08]

DOLE DODGES THE GANG OF 10:
• On August 4, 2008, Senate candidate Kay Hagan announced her support for the “Gang of 10” bipartisan energy plan. Furthermore, the Hagan campaign called for Senator Dole to announce her support for the bipartisan plan in order to “provide both short-term and long-term solutions to this problem.” [Hagan Campaign Press Release, 8/4/08]
• A day after Kay Hagan announced her support for the “Gang of 10” bipartisan energy proposal, Dole’s reelection campaign announced that she too supported the idea, but complained that “[Hagan’s] telling us to sign onto a bill that doesn’t exist,” said Dole spokesman Hogan Gidley. [Raleigh News & Observer, Under the Dome blog, 8/5/08]
• On Tuesday, August 26, six senators, including three Republicans, joined the bipartisan “Gang of 10” in support of bipartisan energy legislation that “will break the stalemate over offshore drilling in Congress,” according to the Raleigh News and Observer. Dole was still not among the senators who supported the bill. [Raleigh News & Observer, 8/27/08]
• On September 11, Dole finally joined the bipartisan group of senators supporting the New Energy Reform Act of 2008. [Raleigh News & Observer, Under the Dome blog, 9/11/08]

DOLE DODGES WEBB’S NEW GI BILL:
• On April 21, 2008, U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan challenged Senator Elizabeth Dole “to cosponsor legislation introduced by Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) that would sharply expand educational benefits for veterans.” [Hagan Senate Campaign Press Release, 4/21/08]
• In April 2008, Dole signed on as a co-sponsor to John McCain’s weaker version of the GI Bill, which increased veterans’ benefits in conjunction with their length of service. Senator Webb’s bill, which Dole did not co-sponsor, provided full college scholarships to those who serve in the military for three years. [Dole Press Release, 4/30/08; Associated Press, 5/23/08]
• More than a month after U.S. Senate Candidate Kay Hagan called on Senator Elizabeth Dole to support the 21st Century GI Bill, Dole voted in favor of the legislation in the U.S. Senate. [Hagan Senate Campaign Press Release, 5/22/08; Vote 137, 5/22/08]

DOLE DODGES RESPONSIBILITY ON CRUMBLING ECONOMY:
• According to the Associated Press, Dole wanted “to use her seat on the Senate committee that oversees the nation’s banking industry to examine the causes and implications of turmoil in U.S. financial markets.” Furthermore, Dole said, “In the Senate Banking Committee, we will be closely examining how these events occurred and what their implications could be for the U.S. economy and global markets.” In a statement, Dole said, “We need to carefully assess how to help return stability to the financial sector.” [Associated Press, 9/16/08]
• As a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Elizabeth Dole made no remarks and asked no questions of witnesses during at least 61 hearings held by the committee or its subcommittees on which she sat. [CQ, Congressional Transcripts, Accessed 9/15/08]

DOLE DODGES PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH:
• In a 2002 interview, Dole said the White House encouraged her to enter the Senate race. At one point at a reception at the White House, Bush told Dole, “I hope you are really thinking about this.” [Charlotte Observer, 1/29/02; Raleigh News and Observer, 2/9/02]
• From 2003 to 2007, Dole has voted with President Bush 92% of the time. In her first year in office, she supported his positions 98% of the time. [Congressional Quarterly Vote Studies, viewed 3/3/08]
• Dole has changed her voting pattern by voting with Democrats 25.5% of the time when, during the 109th Congress, she voted with Democrats only 6.4% of the time and 4.3% of the time during the 108th Congress. According to a report by The Hill, “Of the most endangered Republicans facing reelection, Dole’s voting shift is the most significant.” Ferrel Guillory, the director of the program on public life at the University of North Carolina said, “She can’t run simply as an ally of President Bush. She’s been an ally of President Bush for most of the last six years.” [The Hill, 7/22/08]

###

Back to The Press Shop