Cheney's Senate Attendance Record

by Chris Bowers, Wed Oct 06, 2004 at 09:25:51 AM EDT

Via Dave the pro. Last night in he debate, Dick Cheney said the following:

Now, in my capacity as vice president, I am the president of Senate, the presiding officer. I'm up in the Senate most Tuesdays when they're in session. The first time I ever met you was when you walked on the stage tonight.

Cheney's lie about never meeting Edwards has been exposed repeatedly and by many sources. However, the first part is actually a much bigger lie. As Senate attendance records show, in the 126 Tuesdays the Senate has been in session during Cheney's tenure as Vice-President, he has actually only presided over the Senate as President on two occasions. During the same stretch, to fill in for Cheney's repeated absence, Edwards has served as acting President of the Senate on two occasions. The complete list in in the extended copy. The source for this information is Congressional Record.

2001
1/30 Enzi
2/6 Chafee
2/13 Chafee
2/27 Allen
3/6 Burns
3/13 Reid
3/20 DeWine
3/27 Chafee
4/3 Smith
4/24 Chafee
5/1 Chafee
5/8 Chafee
5/15 Frist
5/22 Chafee
5/29 Enzi
6/5 Byrd
6/19 Carper
6/26 Bayh
7/10 Nelson
7/17 Clinton
7/24 Byrd
7/31 Stabenaw
9/25 Wellstone
10/2 Clinton
10/9 Clinton
10/16 Edwards
10/23 Byrd
10/30 Bingaman
11/13 Murray
11/27 Jeffords
12/4 Stabenaw
12/11 Carnahan
12/18 Nelson

2002
1/29 Nelson
2/5 Kohl
2/12 Stabenow
2/26 Landrieu
3/5 Edwards
3/12 Landrieu
3/19 Miller
4/9 Cleland
4/16 Reed
4/23 Wellstone
4/30 Nelson
5/7 Miller
5/14 Cleland
5/21 Nelson
6/4 Durbin
6/11 Corzine
6/18 Dayton
6/25 Landrieu
7/9 Reed
7/16 Corzine
7/23 Reed
7/30 Clinton
9/3 Reed
9/10 Corzine
9/17 Reid
9/24 Stabenow
10/1 Miller
10/8 Miller
10/15 Reid
11/12 Cheney
11/19 Barkley (MN)

2003
Jan 7 Cheney
1/14 Stevens
1/22 Stevens
1/28 Stevens
2/4 Stevens
2/11 Stevens
2/25 Stevens
3/4 Stevens
3/11 Stevens
3/18 Stevens
3/25 Stevens
4/1 Stevens
4/8 Stevens
4/29 Stevens
5/6 Talent
5/13 Ensign
5/20 Alexander
6/3 Stevens
6/10 Stevens
6/18 Murkowski
6/24 Coleman
7/8 Stevens
7/15 Stevens
7/22 Chaffee
7/29 Stevens
9/2 Stevens
9/9 Stevens
9/16 Stevens
9/23 Stevens
9/30 Sununu
10/21 Stevens
10/28 Stevens
11/4 Stevens
11/11 Warner
11/18 Stevens
12/9 Stevens

2004
1/20 Stevens
1/27 Enzi
2/3 Stevens
2/10 Stevens
3/2 Stevens
3/9 Hagel
3/16 Sununu
3/23 Stevens
3/30 Ensign
4/6 Cornyn
4/20 Stevens
4/27 Chambliss
5/4 Stevens
5/11 Stevens
5/18 Stevens
6/1 Stevens
6/8 Hutchinson
6/15 Stevens
6/22 Allard
7/6 Burns
7/13 Stevens
7/20 Enzi
9/7 Stevens
9/14 Chafee
9/21 Enzi
9/28 Stevens
10/05 Stevens

Tags: Misc (all tags)

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Whoa! The spin is turning on it's head!

Olbermann reverses on VP debate in light of new evidence

Olbermann reverses his descision, greatly revises his article, and gives a big time whack to Cheney and the GOP!

Political Physics

by cgilbert01 2004-10-06 09:56AM | 0 recs

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Re: Contact Olbermann

I used the link you provided above to congratulate Olbermann for caring about the truth and reporting it. And then I went on to report to him the newer information about Cheney's lie about his own Senate attendance record, a much more important lie since it is a lot harder to explain away as a lapse of memory. So I think people should contact Olmermann to thank him and also to encourage him to report this more important deception. Also it would be good to provide links to the various blog stories giving the evidence on Cheney's Senate record. I should have done that in my email but only thought of it later.

I think this story could make a major contibution to destroying these people.

by herodotus 2004-10-06 10:30AM | 0 recs

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e-mail

KOlbermann@MSNBC.com

I sent Olberman a short note also. Probably isn't a bad idea for digital activists like ourselves to send out some more appreciative and supportive e-mail to journalists when they do something right. We're always hammerming at them for their shortcomings (and they richly deserve it), but some positive feedback might go a long way toward shaping their attitudes.

by global yokel 2004-10-06 10:38AM | 0 recs

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The debate photo Fox News won't show you

Check it out.

by Nanovirus 2004-10-06 10:47AM | 0 recs

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From Josh Marshall

A note from TPM reader RW ...

If the Republican's were given the gift Dick Cheney gave the Democrats last night, Peggy Noonan would be on TV today wondering aloud why Dick Cheney felt compelled to lie about something so silly, and so easy to refute.

It's very odd, Peggy would muse... Peggy would then sweetly wonder if Dick Cheney wasn't a compulsive liar. She would detect a 'pattern' of lies stretching from his house days, to the Iraq hype, to the recent debate. She would then wonder if it wasn't a pathological problem.

Finally she would shrug and say 'I am not saying the Vice President definitely has a compulsive lying disorder, I'm just saying it's worth expert analysis.'

You can imagine the rest. A two week parade of experts mulling the possibility that Dick Cheney is a compulsive liar. Jokes on the radio and TV. Headlines about Cheney's 'illness'. etc.

Where is the Democratic Peggy Noonan?

Sounds right to me ...
-- Josh Marshall

by mysteve 2004-10-06 11:16AM | 0 recs

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Re: From Josh Marshall

As I said before the debate, Moynihan's famous description of Kissinger is equally applicable to Cheney: he does not lie because it is in his interest, he lies because it is in his nature.

by Alex 2004-10-06 04:38PM | 0 recs

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Re: Cheney's Senate Attendance Record

So... Why didn't Edwards pick up on this at the time? Cheney gave him a clear shot at a "Senator - you're no Jack Kennedy" moment - where was he? A particular shame, as this played right into the "They're not telling the truth" discourse. Eye to eye it could have been devastating.

Ah, well. So it goes.

by acrossthepondlife 2004-10-06 11:19AM | 0 recs

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Re: Cheney's Senate Attendance Record

On those two occasions, 11/12/02
and 1/7/03 when Cheney presided,
what was happening? Were there major
close votes? That is usually the only
reason for the Vice-President to actually
preside over the Senate.

More important, was Edwards present on
those two occasions? The Congressional
Record will surely show if he voted.

I think this is an important point -
if Edwards was present each time that
Cheney presided over the Senate, this
would certainly shed light on
how misleading Cheney was.

I think this particular point needs to
be checked carefully and gotten to
mainstream media. Unfortunately
I cannot do it myself for practical
reasons.

by strings 2004-10-06 11:27AM | 0 recs

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Re: Cheney's Senate Attendance Record

Cheney was swearing in new senators on both of those days. He HAD to be there. (The second occassion was one of the videotaped times he met with Edwards, who was escorting Libby Dole to be sworn in (they are from the same state; it's tradition))

by Geotpf 2004-10-07 08:26AM | 0 recs

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Has Edwards served more often than Cheney?

I did a search on "Edwards thereupon assumed the chair as Acting President pro tempore" through Thomas, and it turns out that Edwards has served as Acting President seven times: May 1, 2002; May 22, 2002; March 5, 2002; October 16, 2001; December 19, 2001; February 27, 2002; and May 15th, 2002.

Meanwhile, I did a search on "was called to order by the Vice-President," and found only two results: those listed above.

Is it possible that Edwards has presided over the Senate more often than Dick Cheney?

by Drew 2004-10-06 12:03PM | 0 recs

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Cheney Attendance record.

Edward's response should be...Mr. VP, since you visit the senate on tuesdays to meet with republican senators at their weekly lunch, it is not surprising that you had not seen me in the Senate. I have actually presided more times over the senate than you have done since I have been in the senate. Here is my guarantee, when I am Vice President I will make it my goal and obligation to know every senator on both sides of the aisle on a first name basis and I consider it a disgrace that you are so partisan that you have ignored 49% of the Senate

by hambro 2004-10-06 02:08PM | 0 recs

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all the lies

I've compiled an annotated version of the transcript, showing just how often Cheney lies in the debate -

http://www.cbloom.com/vp_debate.htm

by cbloom 2004-10-06 08:12PM | 0 recs