Two teachers unions split on whether Democrats should have skipped debate for voucher vote
Comment: Kucinich and Gephardt can't win. They missed an NAACP-sponsored candidate debate in order to vote on Medicare in the House and got slammed. This time, they attended a forum sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus and missed a vote. It's a no-win situation.
Originally published in the San Francisco Chronicle
Two teachers unions split on whether Democrats should have skipped debate for voucher vote
NEDRA PICKLER, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, September 10, 2003
(09-10) 14:01 PDT WASHINGTON (AP) --
One teacher's union said Wednesday that two Democratic presidential candidates can't be faulted for missing a crucial House vote on school vouchers, while another criticized the no-shows.
House Republican leaders scheduled a vote on their plan to spend $10 million on private school vouchers for students in the District of Columbia on Tuesday night -- the same time the Congressional Black Caucus was hosting a debate for the candidates in nearby Baltimore.
The black caucus and almost all Democrats are opposed to the GOP voucher plan and were forced to choose between attending the debate or voting. Caucus Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md., asked the caucus members to remain in Washington, but he and the two Democratic House members seeking the presidency -- Reps. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio -- decided to attend the debate.
The Republicans kept the 15-minute vote open for 40 minutes to break a tie and the voucher plan eventually passed by a single vote. The vote came at 8:23 p.m.; the debate got under way at 8 p.m.
National Education Association spokeswoman Anjetta McQueen said the union is upset with the Republican leadership's "poor display of democracy" in scheduling the vote when many members planned to be out of town. But she was also critical of all 17 members who missed the vote -- 10 Democrats and seven Republicans.
"We're questioning why, if people are saying that education is their priority, they missed this important vote," McQueen said.
Charlotte Fraas, legislative director for the American Federation of Teachers, said her group isn't blaming Gephardt and Kucinich for failing to stop the voucher plan.
"I wouldn't want to lay that at the feet, frankly, of the presidential candidates," Fraas said. "It's unfortunate. This is a presidential year and obviously a lot of these members have to be performing two duties."
The two unions oppose using public money for private education.
Kucinich said he and Gephardt spoke by phone throughout the day, trying to decide whether to attend the debate or not.
"We were saying we both wanted to make it, but we were saying (House Majority Leader) Tom DeLay would do whatever he could to make us miss the vote or the debate," Kucinich said in an interview.
DeLay schedules votes in the House. His spokesman, Jonathan Grella, said the Texas Republican was unaware of the Democratic debate when scheduling votes, even though it was announced a month ago.
"This event may have been marked off on their calendars for several weeks, but this doesn't factor in as must-see TV for the rest of us," Grella said.
Six of the nine Democratic candidates serve in Congress and have been missing votes to attend campaign events. Republicans have criticized their absenteeism, particularly Gephardt. He has missed 90 percent of votes this year, far more than any other member, according to their most recent count. He also missed a July vote on a Republican-backed bill that would have overhauled the Head Start education program that passed by one vote.
Gephardt spokesman Erik Smith said the vote was clearly scheduled when the candidates and the black caucus members were scheduled to be out of town.
"It was disrespectful to the black caucus to squeeze this into the small time window for this debate," he said. "They could have scheduled it any time this month."
At least one other presidential candidate said the blame is with DeLay, not Gephardt and Kucinich.
"Scheduling a vote on school vouchers to take place at the exact hour of the Democratic presidential debate sponsored by the Congressional Black Caucus marks a new low for the Republican Party," former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said in a statement.
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