Past holds key to Democratic future

Clinton and Obama's Senate voting records offer clues as to whether they will keep their campaign pledges
Anti-abortion activists hold up depictions of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama outside the supreme court in Washington.
Anti-abortion activists hold up depictions of Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama outside the supreme court in Washington. Photograph: Matthew Cavanaugh/EPA
The US political establishment has spent considerable energy focusing on the policy similarities between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. The choice of a Democratic nominee is often depicted as stylistic - between pragmatic expertise and a vision for change - rather than substantive.

That portrayal nicely underscores Democratic unity on pivotal issues during a presidential season that finds Republicans adrift. But it's not entirely true.

During Clinton and Obama's shared service in the Senate, they have disagreed on multiple votes that may not have made headlines at the time but do shed light on how they would approach the presidency. In fact, the two self-styled progressive senators often diverged on policies that are particularly important to Democratic liberals.

Clinton and Obama differed most famously on the 2005 energy bill that helped pad the profits of oil and gas companies while expanding ethanol use. But while Clinton adopted the consensus liberal stance against that bill, which Obama backed, the contrasts in their records give neither one a leg up with true-blue Democrats. On immigration, ethics, gun control, and other controversial questions, Clinton and Obama tended to switch off, each wearing the liberal mantle some of the time.


While they praised the moral case for shielding civilians from combat weapons, opponents argued that curbing spending on cluster bombs would tie the hands of US military leaders.

"In an extreme situation, the commander must be able to use all options to shape the battlefield to protect our forces and those allied with us," Republican senator Ted Stevens said at the time.

"Restricting the deployment of cluster munitions could severely hinder aviation and artillery capabilities and reduce the commander's capability to wage war successfully," he added.









Obama came down on the wrong side of another stalwart backer earlier in 2006, however, when conservative Republicans sought to prevent police from confiscating Americans' guns during emergency situations.

The proposal was billed as a response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina. After the disaster, Republicans expressed alarm at anecdotal evidence of Gulf Coast residents whose personal firearms were taken while they attempted to defend their property from looters.

A group of 16 Democrats, including Clinton, opposed the gun-possession measure, asserting that it would endanger public safety and heighten the risk of violence during disasters. One of its strongest opponents was Dick Durbin - Obama's fellow Illinoisan and the first senator to endorse his White House campaign.

During the debate, Durbin sharply reminded senators that the amendment would even bar police from seizing guns they believed to be used in previous crimes.

"What are we thinking?" Durbin, the Democrats' No 2 leader, asked. "Why would we do this to the men and women in law enforcement, to the National Guardsmen, or to innocent victims, which could be you or me or people we love, in a disaster they cannot even anticipate?"

Clinton joined with Durbin to oppose the proposal, which was signed into law, while Obama joined 28 fellow Democrats and every Republican in supporting it. The Gun Owners of America ranked the vote Obama's one "pro-gun" decision during his time in the senate.

Commentators often point to Obama and Clinton's identical votes against US supreme court justices John Roberts and Samuel Alito as an example of their alignment. But the two have split on other nominees chosen by George Bush, whose habit of appointing industry allies and personal friends has been bitterly criticised by Democrats.

Obama voted alongside 83 colleagues to pave the way for confirmation of Bush interior secretary Dirk Kempthorne. Clinton supported a failed attempt to defeat Kempthorne, who earned a 1% lifetime score on environmental policy from the League of Conservation Voters.

Clinton also opposed the appointment of George Casey, who spent three difficult years as chief US commander in Iraq, as army chief of staff. The former first lady revealed her decision after publicly challenging Casey to explain a Pentagon audit that found US troops lacking in equipment needed for combat and training of Iraqi recruits.

"I believe that our soldiers deserve the very best we can offer for their protection; therefore I voted to oppose general Casey's nomination," Clinton said before the vote one year ago. A website maintained by her campaign still calls Casey "one of the chief architects of the war".

John McCain, who some Democrats anticipate will be the Republican nominee, joined Clinton and a dozen others in voting no. Obama, by contrast, signed off on Casey's bid. Lobbying reform has become a point of bitter contention between the two Democratic frontrunners, with Clinton undercutting the ethics bill that Obama helped to pass and now claims as an achievement. As Clinton has pointed out, the ethics measure does contain wiggle room that allows members of Congress and their aides to continue attending parties thrown by lobbyists.

Yet Clinton helped to defeat two reform proposals that would have strengthened the bill she now disparages. The New York senator opposed an amendment that would have blocked members of Congress from paying salaries to their family members through their campaign committees. Obama endorsed the failed effort.

Clinton also resisted two attempts, both sponsored by Obama, to establish an "office of public integrity" in the Senate. The integrity office, a cause céelèbre for government watchdogs, would independently probe ethics complaints against senators. Current law empowers members of Congress to oversee ethics compliance, but few follow through when asked to police the behaviour of their colleagues.

The Obama camp has brought up Clinton's past praise for the ethics bill in an attempt to paint her current criticism as politically motivated, but no mention has been made of her opposition to neutral ethics investigations.

Meanwhile, McCain joined Obama as a sponsor of both plans for the integrity office. If Clinton's Democratic opponent does not seize on her vote against the reform, her possible Republican opponent may well decide to use it against her.