Spontaneous Musings

Been reading Barak Obama's Audacity of Hope - which is great. But, decided I wanted to see what all these guys have actually done - not what they say they plan to do, or promise they will do in order to persuade us to elect them. Actions after all speak louder than words. So in an attempt to get past the rhetoric and name-calling, below - for your reference and my own - are links to the each one of the main Candidates "Voting Records", "Bills that They've Sponsored", and "Comparisons of their Voting Records". (I ignored Huckabee, because I honestly don't see him as much of a contender in this race anymore.) Most of the links are from objective sources - merely interested in reporting the data not in persuading us to vote for *their* candidate. I tried to avoid any links that contained an emotional pov or endorsement of one of the candidates listed in an attempt to provide myself and anyone who happens upon this post with as much impartial information as possible.

John MCcain's voting record: http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270

Barack Obama's voting record:http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490

Hillary Clinton's voting record:http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=55463

Hillary vs. Obama - article links on their voting records compared:

1. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jan/22/hillaryclinton.barackobama

Excerpts: Clinton and Obama differed most famously on the 2005 energy bill that helped pad the profits of oil and gas companies while expanding ethanol use. But while Clinton adopted the consensus liberal stance against that bill, which Obama backed, the contrasts in their records give neither one a leg up with true-blue Democrats. On immigration, ethics, gun control, and other controversial questions, Clinton and Obama tended to switch off, each wearing the liberal mantle some of the time.

One little-mentioned split occurred on a proposal to restrict Pentagon spending on cluster bombs, which explode and scatter thousands of tiny weapons over a vast area. Those small bombs are prone to going off years after a battle, sometimes killing and maiming Middle Eastern children who mistakenly trigger them. Israel came under fire from the UN and international human rights groups for its use of cluster bombs during its 2006 war with Hizbullah forces in Lebanon. In the autumn of that year, with memories of the conflict still fresh, several Democrats sought to limit US defence spending to cluster bombs that would not be used in civilian areas....

Obama voted in favour of limiting use of the bombs, while Clinton and 69 other senators opposed the spending limits, defeating the proposal.

2. Ethics Comparsion - go here:

http://thinkonthesethings.wordpress.com/2007/11/05/barack-obama-vs-hillary-clinton-records-on-transparency-lobbyists-and-ethics/

3. How have Clinton, Obama, and McCain been Voting on Trade Issues?

http://benmuse.typepad.com/custom_house/2008/02/how-have-clinto.html

Excerpt:"McCain voted "pro-trade" in all the 13 roll calls I looked at in which both he and Clinton voted. Clinton voted pro-trade in 54% of them. I haven't scored Obama because he only entered the Senate in 2005 and wasn't there to vote in more than half of the roll calls included here. However, from 2005-2007, he and Clinton voted the same way in each roll call I've included."

"I'd also like to draw your attention to several posts during the past week on Barak Obama's likely trade stance. Jonathan Dingel posted an excerpt from a Guardian article by Daniel Koffler, which argued that Obama had a deeper understanding of the power of markets than other Democratic and Republican candidates: Is Obama better on globalization? Simon Lester agreed: Is Obama Better Than Clinton On Free Trade? Lester points to this post by Greg Mankiw to illustrate Obama's grasp of economic issues: The Pigou Club watches the debates . Emmanuel disagreed, pointing to Obama's record on agricultural and ethanol subsidies (Obama represents Illinois, an important agricultural state): Obama is the Protectionist's Choice, Too. Emmanuel's post also suggests the sorts of roll calls that might be used to expand this data set, and the potential for changing the relative standing of the candidates reached here. To the extent that the roll call information sheds light on this debate, it suggests that Obama and Clinton may behave similarly."

4. Gov.Track -on which bills sponsored by the candidates while in Congress and the overall trend of their voting record:

- Obama's : http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629
-Obama's Bills: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=400629&tab=bills

- Clinton's:http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300022
-Clinton's Bills: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300022&tab=bills

-McCain's:http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300071
-McCain's Bills:http://www.govtrack.us/congress/person.xpd?id=300071&tab=bills


5.The National Journals' Vote Tracker - Obama the Most Liberal Senator -

http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/

Key Votes Used to Track - or Senate Vote Comparison - http://nj.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/votes.htm