West Virginia votes in primary; Obama, Clinton vote in Senate
On the Senate floor, the candidates vote against Arctic refuge and coastal oil drilling, and in favor of debating collective bargaining for police, fire and other first-responder officials.
WASHINGTON -- As voters in West Virginia went to the polls for that state's presidential primary today, Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton came in from the campaign trail to cast votes in the U.S. Senate.
Obama and Clinton voted against opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and some coastal waters to drilling by oil companies.
They also voted to open debate on a bill giving collective-bargaining rights to firefighters, police officers and state and local first-responders. The measure is opposed by the Bush administration, which fears it could disrupt the nation's emergency response capability. Republicans derided the measure as a political payback to unions for their support in the elections. "Let's be honest," said Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.). "This bill is a political payoff to big labor bosses, whose political support is needed to keep Democrats in charge of Congress."
"While American families are facing an uncertain economy, Democrats are shamefully pushing another job-killing bill to help line the pockets of organized labor," said Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C. "Let's be honest: This bill is a political payoff to big labor bosses, whose political support is needed to keep Democrats in charge of Congress."
Democratic Sens. Barack Obama of Illinois and Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, interrupting their presidential campaigns, voted to begin debate on the bill. Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was not present.
a bill The senators were greeted warmly by colleagues, who have split their endorsements between the two. Obama, who was criticized for seeming to turn away from Clinton during the State of the Union address, went over and greeted her in the Senate chamber.
Back on the campaign trail, Clinton was expected to win today's primary by a wide margin, and her aides hit the morning talk shows to insist that a win in West Virginia would plant new seeds of doubt in the minds of superdelegates who will likely decide the nomination.
"Democrats across the country tomorrow will be asking themselves why Sen. Obama -- with all of his money, with all of the great press, with voters being told he was the inevitable nominee -- why did Sen. Obama lose West Virginia by 15 points or so?" Clinton spokesman Howard Wolfson said on NBC's "Today" show, adding, "What does it say about his candidacy at this date that he can't beat Sen. Clinton in a key swing state?"
