Reply #36: Is this the Media or the Republicans fault? [View All]

[ThorsteinVeblen]

Gephardt skips 85% of House votes
By Sam Dealey and Sarita Chourey

Rep. Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.) has missed 162 votes in the House this year — 85 percent of the total — prompting Republicans to charge that he has abandoned his congressional duties in his pursuit of the presidency.

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has seized on the absenteeism to point out that several of Gephardt’s missed votes have been on legislative and policy matters that are centerpieces to his campaign.

In his closing statement at the South Carolina debate earlier this month, for example, Gephardt listed the creation of “an Apollo II program to make us independent of foreign oil in 10 years” as one of his top legislative priorities.

Gephardt has missed every vote on energy-related issues this session. House records show Gephardt also missed votes on other issues that are frequent themes in his presidential candidacy, including welfare reform, human cloning, healthcare, homeland security, education and tax cuts.

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http://www.hillnews.com/news/052003/gephardt.aspx