No matter which one of the current front-runners emerges as the Democratic Party's candidate for president in 2004, he figures to have a perfect voting record on the issues considered most important by the National Restaurant Association—a perfect "zero," that is.
NRA lobbyists tracked the voting records of all members of the House and Senate on a series of key issues ranging from repealing of the federal estate tax to overriding the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's burdensome "ergonomics" rule.
Among the Congressional Democrats currently seeking the Presidential nomination next year—Senators Joe Lieberman (CT), John Kerry (MA) and John Edwards (NC), plus Rep. Richard Gephardt (MO)—all had voted against the NRA position on every issue studied.