Changing Before Our Very Eyes

01/18/2008

After Years of Staunch Support for President Bush and Republican Party, Coleman Morphs into a So-Called “Moderate”


St. Paul, MN (January 15, 2008) A new Congressional Quarterly report showed yesterday that Senator Norm Coleman supported President Bush 68 percent of the time in 2007, down from 98 percent in 2003.

“What a surprise: Senator Coleman seems to be changing before our very eyes. Just a few short years ago, he voted with the President 98 percent of the time,” said Minnesota DFL Chair Brian Melendez.

“Minnesotans are ready to change the direction of our state and our country,” continued Melendez. “And Senator Coleman is suddenly pretending that he was with us all along. But changing political winds, and a more liberal voting record, can’t mask Coleman’s unflinching loyalty to President Bush and the Republicans when it mattered the most.”

Coleman Changing Before Our Very Eyes:

Coleman Scores 68 Percent with President Bush in 2007, Down from 98 Percent in 2003. According to a St. Cloud Times article entitled, “Study Shows Coleman Posts Moderate Voting,” “Coleman voted with his party leaders 64 percent of the time and President Bush 68 percent of the time, according to the study by Congressional Quarterly, a Capitol Hill publication…On average, GOP senators voted with their party leaders 81 percent of the time, the lowest since 1994, the study found. They voted with the president 78 percent of the time, down from 85 percent in 2006.” [St. Cloud Times, 1/15/08; Star Tribune, Big Question, 5/14/07]

Coleman Supported President Bush 86 Percent in Senate. Senator Coleman voted with President Bush an average of 86 percent in the Senate, scoring 98 percent in 2003, 92 percent in 2004, 84 percent in 2005, 88 percent in 2006, and 68 percent in 2007. Coleman’s average before 2007 was 90.5 percent. [Star Tribune, Big Question, 5/14/07]

Coleman Changes His Mind About Bush, Party Loyalty. Coleman embraced the President during his 2002 campaign and the president’s 2004 campaign. In 2008, however, Coleman claims to be an “independent Republican.”

In 2002: “I was for George Bush before he had an 80 percent approval rating…And wouldn’t it be nice when the Senator from Minnesota calls, the President answers the phone?” [Roll Call, 5/20/02]

In 2004: “The folks out there on the street, they should be heralding…this President,” Coleman said about protestors at the Republican National Convention. [St. Paul Pioneer Press, 9/1/04]

In 2008: According to his spokesperson, “The senator's voting record has consistently showed him to be an independent Republican…” [AP, 1/14/08]

Despite Lack of Political Progress, Coleman Voted 12 Times in 2007 Against Changing Course in Iraq. Senator Norm Coleman voted 12 times in 2007 against changing course in Iraq. [Vote #438, 12/18/07; Vote #437, 12/18/07; Vote #411, 11/16/07; Vote #362; 10/3/07; Vote #346, 9/21/07; Vote #345, 9/20/07; Vote #252, 7/18/07; Vote #167, 5/16/07; Vote #147, 4/26/07; Vote #126, 3/29/07, Vote #116, 3/27/07; Vote #75, 3/15/07]

In 2007, Coleman Sided with Republicans By Using Filibuster. Coleman consistently voted to filibuster legislation in the U.S. Senate in 2007, including the Temporary Tax Relief Act, timelines for bringing our troops home from Iraq, restoring Habeas Corpus, immigration reform, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the intelligence authorization bill in 2007. [Vote #414, 12/7/07; #411, 11/16/07; #340, 9/19/07; #252, 7/18/07; #235, 6/28/07; #227, 6/26/07; #206, 6/7/07; #203, 6/7/07; #167, 5/16/07; #131, 4/17/07; #130, 4/16/07]