While Sens. John Kerry and John Edwards pursued their personal ambitions to become the Democratic presidential nominee, they missed a key vote in the Senate on Saturday that would have extended emergency jobless benefits to millions of unemployed Americans.
Extra Unemployment Benefits Lose in Senate
The amendment was defeated by two votes. Even Ohio Sens. Dewine and Voinovich, not typically known for their strong support of labor, voted with the Democrats to help thousands of Ohioans and millions of Americans who remain out of work during one of the worst recessions in decades.
For all their rhetoric about standing up for average working people, Kerry and Edwards have consistently failed to provide leadership when it was most critical. Their votes for the Iraq War, Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, budget busting tax cuts for the rich, and many other Bush Administration proposals are simply anti-middle class. We bear the disproportionate burden of our kids dying in Baghdad, civil rights abuses, personal bankruptcies forced by long-term unemployment, and rising taxes for schools, gasoline, and household purchases.
They've sold us down the river for their own ambitions and given Bush a perfect opportunity to restore emergency jobless benefits and position himself as the friend of working families in Ohio, Michigan, and other key battle ground states whose economies are in the toilet.
To give Bush an easy election year gimmick is politically stupid. To turn their backs on working families is absolutely unforgiveable.