Let's put a little context in the latest controversy surrounding Rep. Jo Ann "Candy Cane" Davis. She is fine with tying up committees for meaningless resolutions and debates in defense of holiday sweets. On the other hand, she couldn't find time for a more important vote:
Democrats have pounded Taylor for his failure to vote in July on the Central America Free Trade Agreement ["CAFTA"]. Taylor has said an electronic malfunction kept his vote against the agreement from registering.Critics say he and Virginia Republican Jo Ann Davis, an opponent who missed the vote because she was in her district, could have helped defeat the agreement. It passed 217-215.
Sure, a lot of Virginians care about Christmas. But, I'm sure they think that Congress should worry more about the pros and cons of CAFTA. While some think free trade is paramount, others fear that such agreements will further erode our manufacturing sector. The latter is important to Virginians, given that one state report shows Virginia's manufacturing employment growth declining 0.7 percent annually between 1989-1998. (Source, p. 5).
So why did Candy Cane Davis missed the CAFTA vote? Her reason, per CQ PM (captured here by the DCCC):
A spokesman for Rep. Jo Ann Davis, R-Va., the only other non-voting Republican, said she would have voted against CAFTA but was on her way to her district to attend a Boy Scout Jamboree event, which was ultimately canceled because of weather. Davis and Taylor's votes would have created a 217-217 tie, which would have meant defeat for the treaty unless GOP leaders found an additional Republican to switch a vote. Davis was traveling to her district despite warnings and notices throughout the week from the whip operations on both sides of the aisle that attendance was necessary during the CAFTA vote. "She just didn't get back on time," her spokesman said.
Just lovely - a convenient way to pretend you're against something without angering the pro-business GOP leaders. Of course, Candy Cane Davis makes plenty of time to introduce meaningless resolutions about Santa Claus.