Senate battles put Democratic pair on the spot

WASHINGTON -- With two senators slated for the Democratic ticket, the presidential campaign yesterday moved to the Senate floor, where members battled over class-action lawsuits, giving Republicans an opportunity to take indirect shots at the chamber's most famous trial lawyer, Senator John Edwards of North Carolina.

The debate -- like that expected over the gay marriage amendment scheduled to come before the Senate next week -- put Edwards and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry in an increasingly common position: having to take a politically difficult stand on a divisive issue or suffer criticism for missing the vote.

Edwards, who was tapped Tuesday as Senator Kerry's running mate, was not present during the debate yesterday, and his colleagues did not name him on the floor. But the legislative fight played nicely into Republican attacks on Edwards as a trial lawyer whose mammoth court judgments contribute to a system they say hurts businesses.

Opponents say the legislation, which would force some class-action cases from state courts to federal court, will result in many fewer cases being heard and sent before a jury. But backers of the bill, called the Class Action Fairness Act, say the measure will put the brakes on greedy lawyers who make millions suing businesses on what they view as questionable grounds.

"It is about correcting gross abuses by a handful of class-action lawyers," said Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

But the timing struck Democrats as politically convenient for the Bush campaign, which is launching its effort to shape opinions on Edwards, who was North Carolina's leading personal-injury attorney. Edwards did not utilize class actions but is renowned as a supporter of the right to sue for damages.

"The whole Senate schedule is being used as a political club," said Peter Fenn, a Democratic strategist. "This administration and this Senate leadership is too cute by half."

Next week, for example, the Senate is expected to take up the constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Virtually no one, including the measure's supporters, thinks the Senate has the 67 votes necessary to approve a constitutional amendment. But the debate, timed to occur right before the Democratic National Convention -- itself held in the same state whose Supreme Judicial Court ordered that same-sex couples be allowed to wed -- puts Kerry in the position of having to go on the record on the divisive campaign issue.

The vote also could deprive Kerry of time to prepare for the convention. But not voting would have its own repercussions with people on both sides of the issue.

Last month, the Senate technically came within one vote of approving an extension of unemployment benefits, and Republicans gleefully pointed an accusing finger at Kerry, who they said could have been the deciding vote to end debate and approve the benefits extension. But several senators voting in favor had previously voted against the legislation, suggesting that Republicans had manipulated the vote to embarrass Kerry for his absence.

Kerry showed up last month for a scheduled vote on a bill to assist veterans, only to find that the Republican leaders had delayed the vote. He spoke about the issue on the floor but missed the vote.

"Obviously, the majority leader wants to use the floor of the Senate for political purposes," said Senator Byron Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota.

Bob Stevenson, a spokesman for Senate majority leader Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee, said Kerry would not have a problem if he would simply "show up for work."

"I don't think it's too much to expect that he make an effort to come back and vote on occasion," Stevenson said.

Stevenson denied that the gay marriage vote had been strategically timed to occur before the Democratic National Convention.

"We try to accommodate all different schedules," Stevenson said. "When somebody is running for president and they're not here but one or two days of the month, we can't hold all our business."

Kerry also has been the subject of personal criticism from congressional colleagues. Republican House members have used debate periods to attack Kerry on issues ranging from the federal budget to his activism decades ago against the Vietnam War.

Republicans last month considered offering what they cheekily called the "Kerry energy package" -- complete with a massive increase in the gasoline tax -- to force Democrats to go on the record opposing the measure, House members said on the condition of anonymity. Kerry years ago pondered a gas tax increase but never officially proposed one. Republicans dropped the plan to offer the package, in part because they could not find a Republican willing to sponsor a gas tax hike.

In the usually more austere, collegial Senate, the floor activity also has become more political. Frist himself in March delivered a courteous but lengthy criticism of Kerry's record on energy.

Democrats have freely criticized President Bush on the floor, and frequently try to attach politically loaded amendments -- such as an increase in the minimum wage -- to legislation so they can get Republicans on the record against it.

But the current Democratic ticket presents Republicans with the rare opportunity to tangle with the campaign schedules of two sitting senators. The last time two senators were on a presidential ticket was 1960, and Democrats John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson enjoyed Democratic control of the Senate at the time. Johnson was majority leader.

Kerry's stance on gay marriage is not a secret; he has said he opposes it, but also opposes a constitutional ban. But next week's activities in the Senate will force Kerry to go on the record with a vote, or take heat for skipping it.

Although the measure is widely considered doomed, "we need to vote on this matter. . . . People need to stand before the world and say why they don't support this marriage amendment," said Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama.

The class-action bill had been floating around the Senate long before Kerry chose Edwards as his running mate. But some Democrats note that it is one of several pieces of legislation, including an asbestos liability bill and a medical malpractice measure, that give Republicans extra opportunities to attack trial lawyers.

Edwards opposes the class-action measure, his spokesman Mike Briggs said, adding that he did not know what the senator's objections were.