How often have North Carolina's members of Congress voted with President Bush?

Congressional Quarterly, a Washington-based news service, has compiled statistics based on votes taken in which the president has a clear position.

Here are the results of a recent study of all roll-call votes from Bush's inauguration until the August recess in 2008:

Republicans:

Rep. Sue Myrick: 89 percent
Sen. Richard Burr*: 88 percent
Sen. Elizabeth Dole*: 88 percent
Rep. Virginia Foxx*: 88 percent
Rep. Patrick McHenry*: 86 percent
Rep. Howard Coble: 77 percent
Rep. Robin Hayes: 72 percent
Rep. Walter Jones: 57 percent

Democrats:

Rep. Mike McIntyre: 40 percent
Rep. Bob Etheridge: 30 percent
Rep. David Price: 21 percent
Rep. Heath Shuler*: 19 percent
Rep. Brad Miller*: 18 percent
Rep. G.K. Butterfield*: 17 percent
Rep. Mel Watt: 13 percent

Members who were elected since 2001 are noted with an asterisk.

A recent post used the averages of each year's score by Congressional Quarterly, but a representative of the news service said that method is inaccurate.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr blamed House members Tuesday for delaying action on a legislation related to food safety.

The Winston-Salem Republican spoke to the AgFIRST! Forum sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, David Ingram reports.

He criticized U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat, for proposing food-safety legislation that Burr said was too focused on regulation by the federal government.

Burr pushed a Senate alternative that he said would, among other things, encourage the use of third-party laboratories to certify the safety of some foods.

"I'm confident that third-party review will become part of the food-safety system in this country," Burr told about 200 health and agriculture officials.

Speaking earlier to the same group, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole, a Salisbury Republican, criticized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for not doing more to lower the price of food. This month, the EPA denied a request to cut a federal mandate on the use of corn for fuel.

U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr will be in Raleigh today.

The two senators will attend the AgFIRST! forum on food safety sponsored by the N.C. Department of Agriculture at the N.C. State Fairgrounds.

They will be joined by U.S. Reps. Howard Coble, Walter Jones and Brad Miller. Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler is hosting the event.

The forum will focus on protecting state crops, responding to foreign animal diseases and developing programs for recalling tainted food.

Speakers include top officials with the Agriculture department, an assistant commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and representatives of Harris Teeter and Food Lion.

The event will be at the Kerr Scott building from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 

Cindy McCain is in Raleigh today attending a fundraiser for her husband, Sen. John McCain.

The fundraising luncheon was at the home of Dean Painter, a Raleigh businessman who lives on Haymarket Lane, reports Rob Christensen.

The lunch cost $2,300 per person or $10,000 to be a host. The luncheon, which was closed to the press, was organized by Louis DeJoy, a Greensboro businessman, who was a key fundraiser for President George W. Bush.

This was the second trip to Raleigh this summer for Cindy McCain. She also attended the funeral of former U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms.

Update: Frank Donatelli, deputy chairman of the Republican National Committee, said at a press conference this afternoon that Cindy McCain spoke about Sunday's interview with pastor Rick Warren, the invasion of Georgia and other issues.

Brooke Burr, wife of U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, also spoke, and Donatelli gave a general overview of the campaign.

Cindy McCain turned down an interview request from NBC 17, and the McCain campaign would not answer questions about the fundraiser.

"This was such a short trip," Donatelli said. "She was literally in and out."

Between 100 and 150 people attended the event. 

How often have North Carolina's members of Congress voted with President Bush?

Congressional Quarterly, a Washington-based news service, has compiled statistics based on votes taken in which the president has a clear position.

Here are the averages since Bush took office through last year:

Republicans:

Sen. Elizabeth Dole*: 91.6 percent
Rep. Sue Myrick: 91.4 percent
Sen. Richard Burr*: 89.4 percent
Rep. Patrick McHenry*: 87.3 percent
Rep. Virginia Foxx*: 87 percent
Rep. Robin Hayes: 81.9 percent
Rep. Howard Coble: 79.6 percent
Rep. Walter Jones: 65 percent

Democrats:

Rep. Mike McIntyre: 50.7 percent
Rep. Bob Etheridge: 37.3 percent
Rep. David Price: 27.4 percent
Rep. G.K. Butterfield*: 24.8 percent
Rep. Heath Shuler*: 19 percent
Rep. Brad Miller*: 17.9 percent
Rep. Mel Watt: 16.1 percent

Members who were elected since 2001 are noted with an asterisk.

Dole has been in office since 2003. Burr's score is an average of his Senate score since 2005 (88.7 percent) and his House score from 2001-2004 (90 percent).

McHenry and Foxx have been in office since 2005, Butterfield since 2004, Shuler since 2007 and Miller since 2003.

Update: A representative of Congressional Quarterly said that averaging the yearly scores is mathematically incorrect. A complete tally of voting scores is available here.

Bob Dole will speak in High Point and Raleigh today.

The former Senate majority leader and husband of U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole will appear with Sen. Richard Burr and N.C. Republican Party chairwoman Linda Daves.

The occasion is the opening of two headquarters for the John McCain presidential campaign. 

The High Point event will be held at 12:30 p.m. at 3800 Tinsley Road. The Raleigh event will be held at 3 p.m. at 1506 Hillsborough St. in the state Republican Party headquarters.

The McCain campaign is also opening an office in Winston-Salem today. Democratic rival Barack Obama, meantime, has 14 offices open already. 

Dole, who ran for president himself in 1996, is increasingly visible in North Carolina lately, appearing at a Raleigh anti-tax rally in late June.

A radio ad praising U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole mentions the Gas Price Reduction Act.

Introduced on June 27, the bill would lift a moratorium on drilling for oil and natural gas along most of the United States coastline except the eastern Gulf of Mexico, oil shale drilling on federal lands in three Western states, better regulation on oil futures trading and loans for battery makers.

The bill includes several planks of Republican presidential nominee John McCain's energy plan, dubbed The Lexington Project, which calls for drilling offshore but not in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. 

The legislation was sponsored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and cosponsored by 43 Republican senators, including Dole and Sen. Richard Burr.

In a press release announcing the bill, Dole noted that it would leave the decision on drilling up to the state, saying she would support it in North Carolina if it is "safe, clean and not visible from the land."

"The bill I am supporting would allow North Carolina and other coastal states to decide whether to open areas at least 50 miles off their shorelines to exploration and in turn receive a significant portion of the revenues," she said.

A 2007 report from the Energy Information Administration noted that offshore drilling would not increase supply before 2017, but drilling supporters argue that the potential increase in future supply would have an effect on the market now.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole is not the only Republican skipping the convention.

The Charlotte Observer's Lisa Zagaroli reports that at least three other North Carolina politicians won't be heading to St. Paul this year: U.S. Reps. Robin Hayes, Sue Myrick and Howard Coble.

Hayes and Myrick say they are busy, but Coble never attends:

"The best explanation — this may sound strange since I have chosen the political arena as my career — but I'm more comfortable in the presence of 20 people than I am in the presence of 200 people," he said. "That convention is wall-to-wall people. I could see losing four or five days when I could be at home. My record will remain intact."

Rep. Patrick McHenry says he hasn't decided if he'll attend.

Meantime, Rep. Virginia Foxx and Sen. Richard Burr will be going, while Democratic Rep. Mel Watt intends to head to his party's convention in Denver. 

It's official: A staffer for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr is one of the beautiful people.

David Ward, a Raleigh native who serves as Burr's press secretary, was named one of the "50 Most Beautiful People on Capitol Hill" by D.C. paper The Hill today.

The item on Ward notes the 25-year-old's "swoon-worthy blue eyes" and notes his hobbies:

When not working for the people of North Carolina, Ward travels back to the state he represents to surf and fish. But this might not be often. Ward also reminds us that "the people's work never sleeps."

A Wake Forest graduate, Ward previously worked as an intern to U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx.

Burr's office is something of a Ford Modeling Agency. Last year, his mail manager — a "6-foot-1, tanned, surferesque Republican" — also made the list.

Will U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole be a no-show at her party's big bash in St. Paul?

The National Journal is reporting that Dole, of Salisbury, is on the fence about whether to attend the Republican national convention, which begins over Labor Day weekend, Barb Barrett reports.

Dole is in a tough battle for re-election against Democratic state senator Kay Hagan and might want to spend time campaigning.

But Dole also is one of the bona-fide rock stars of the GOP, the type of speaker who could rally the faithful at the daily state delegation breakfasts.

She also is a former presidential candidate herself, running briefly in 2000. And she’s the wife of popular former Sen. Bob Dole — who also is a former presidential candidate.

Elizabeth Dole had a prime-time television speaking role at the last GOP convention in New York City, where she praised President Bush and talked in support of traditional marriage, freedom of religion and the sanctity of life.

Several other Republican senators also have not committed to attending the convention.

Dole's spokeswoman has not yet been reached for comment about Dole's plans.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, North Carolina's other Republican, will be in St. Paul. He is the Senate co-chairman of the GOP platform committee.

Update: Dole will not be in St. Paul, confirms her spokeswoman, Katie Hallaway.

"She’s got a busy week scheduled in North Carolina," Hallaway said. "When there are breaks in the Senate schedule, she spends as much time as possible in North Carolina."

Hallaway said nothing should be inferred about Dole missing the convention — either about the senator's support for McCain or any opinion about the security of her re-election in November.

Dole will be visiting with businesses, organizations and other constituent groups, but Hallaway said the schedule is not yet finalized.