archived: 31 Jul - 6 Aug, 2005 Back Next
THE 11TH
North Carolina played a large role in passing CAFTA. There are two stories. The first story in TPJ today is that of Republican Charles Taylor.
Rep. Talyor is officially listed on the US House Roll call as abstaining from the vote despite the fact that he promised constituents that he would vote “no.”
Rep. Taylor claims that there was a voting “equipment malfunction.” The more that Rep. Taylor tries to explain the malfunction, the more bizarre the explanation becomes. He claims that the electronic voting card that permits him to vote as a member of the House malfunctioned. To support his claim, the malfunction was witnessed by a fellow member of the House:
It appears the razor-thin, two-vote victory on the Central America Free Trade Agreement should have been at least one vote tighter, as Rep. Charles Taylor, R-N.C., one of two non-voting Republicans, said today that he voted against the bill -- but, because of a computer glitch, it did not register in the final tally. A spokeswoman for Taylor said today that he and fellow North Carolina Republican Rep. Howard Coble voted no at the same time, but the computer in the House Clerk's office recorded only Coble's vote. "We're trying to get it corrected in the Clerk's office," Taylor's spokeswoman said, adding, "We didn't even realize we had this error until this morning."
According to GOP aides, Taylor cast a no vote with a deactivated voting card, which caused the problem. The glitch registered with the Clerk's office, but Taylor had since left the House floor and aides said attempts to locate him during the 62-minute vote were unsuccessful. – The Stake Holder (DCCC)
Fair enough, on first blush. However, Taylor’s story does not fully stand up.
First, Rep. Taylor’s staff contended that Taylor had not voted on the House floor, but voted at a station away from the House floor. His staff has subsequently retracted their original version of events released to the press:
A top aide to U.S. Rep. Charles Taylor said Friday she was wrong when she said the North Carolina Republican was not on the House floor during the customary voting time for a deeply contested trade deal and that he voted near the very end of the extended period. . . .
Taylor's press secretary, Deborah Potter, said Friday that Taylor was on the House floor for the vote and cast his vote within the first 15 minutes of the allotted voting time. Taylor did not check the board that shows how each member voted and had no idea his vote against CAFTA wasn't counted, Potter said. – The Dispatch (emphasis added)
Rep. Taylor’s card to authorize his vote was defective? It appears that Rep. Taylor’s voting card worked for 11 previous votes on the same day as it failed on CAFTA. – DCCC Action Center
Rep. Taylor voted during the first fifteen minutes of the vote? While Taylor’s aide quoted in The Dispatch article above reported that the Congressman voted within the first fifteen minutes of the vote, raising questions why the Congressman did not check his vote before departing the House Chamber or the reason no one found Taylor to alert him. On Friday the story changed again, as an aide explained that Taylor voted during the last fifteen minutes of the vote.
Taylor spokeswoman Deborah Potter said Thursday that Taylor cast his vote near the end of the voting period. – The Citizen Times
Certainly all of the confusion can be explained by Republican Representative Coble. Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo, found a statement by Rep. Taylor that Rep. Coble and he and voted together on the House floor together:
I voted NO on the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA) in the vote last night. I informed the Majority Leader and the Appropriations Chairman I was voting no, as I had informed my constituents I was voting no. Rep. Howard Coble and I voted "no" together. Due to an error, my "no" vote did not record on the voting machine. The Clerk's computer logs verified that I had attempted to vote, but it did not show my "nay". I am re-inserting my "No" vote in the record. But even with my NO vote re-inserted, the bill still passed. – TPM Cafe
Marshall interviewed Rep. Goble who is quoted:
Coble recalled that he and Taylor had spoken earlier in the day and both told each other they were going to vote "No". Both had apparently been asked by House whip Roy Blunt to wait until late in the voting, even though they planned to vote "No", and both had agreed to do so.
Later that evening, when the voting was actually underway, Coble saw Taylor on the floor and suggested that after they both voted they should both leave the chamber together, to avoid strong-arming from the leadership to change their votes -- something that did eventually happen to fellow North Carolina Congressman Robin Hayes.
After Coble eventually voted, he told me, he saw Taylor 15 to 20 feet away. Taylor said he'd just voted "No" too. After which, both left the chamber and went to Congressman Taylor's Appropriations Committee office, where they remained for roughly an hour.
During that time they watched the vote on the closed circuit House video, but without the volume on.
While this was happening, Coble's chief of staff Ed McDonald was watching on C-Span and heard Taylor's name being called off as not having voted. Realizing the problem, Coble told me, McDonald twice called Taylor's office to report the problem, but got no response -- the reason being, of course, that Coble and Taylor were in Taylor's Appropriations Committee office, watching with the volume off.
On the key question, was Coble actually with Taylor when he voted? Or did he see him vote? Apparently not.
"I didn't see him insert the card," said Coble.
When I asked Coble whether he had ever heard of such a vote tabulation error in the House, he told me he'd been in the House for twenty-one years and thought he had a recollection of its possibly having occurred once, but was not certain. – Talking Points Memo
The more than Rep. Taylor wiggles, the more his explanation belie the fact of a voting error and compel the conclusion that Rep. Taylor simply walked on this vote.
TPJ has been advocating for months that the 11th is a District that Democrats can win. Rep. Taylor’s abstention on CAFTA should clearly provide the fuel for Democrats to take this District seriously in 2006.
NO EXCUSE, JUST A LIE
Rep. Taylor of the 11th District tries to cover the reason for his vote. Rep. Robin Hayes of the 8th Congressional District has no such excuse.
"I am flat-out, completely, horizontally opposed to CAFTA," Hayes said earlier this month. "It's not in the best interests of the core constituency I represent," he said another time. "Every time I drive through Kannapolis and I see those empty plants, I know there is no way I could vote for CAFTA," he said on a third occasion.
But shortly after midnight Wednesday, Hayes switched his vote from no to yes, allowing the House to pass the trade agreement 217-215 and handing President Bush a major victory. A tie would have defeated the bill. – News & Observer
Rep. Hayes switched his vote to “yea.”
Democrats simply must find a viable candidate in the 8th. The right Democrat can win.
On an even more fundamental note, North Carolina Democrats should be touting that IF the Republican Party in North Carolina had kept is promise; Reps. Taylor and Hayes voting “no,” CAFTA would have been defeated. It is a critical issue on who North Carolinians can trust with their government.
Last Update: 03/23/2006