The GOP had at most 55 Senators during Bush's presidency (backhand praise from another lib)

I've heard people say that it's not fair to criticize the Democrats for botching health care reform because the Democrats never truly had a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.

Sure, they have 60 votes in principle, the argument goes, but with Lieberman, Nelson, Landrieu, and Bayh counted as four of those votes, it's not really a solid 60.

Perhaps. But then how was George Bush so effective in passing legislation during his presidency when he never had more than 55 Republicans in the Senate?

In fact, during Bush's most effective years, from 2001 to 2005, the GOP had a grand total of 50, and then 51, Senators. The slimmest margin possible.

And look at what George Bush was able to accomplish in the Congress with fewer Senators than the Democrats have today:

- John Ashcroft nomination - Iraq war resolution - Repeated Iraq funding resolutions - 2001 & 2003 tax cuts - Patriot Act - Alito - John Roberts - Medicare Part D

I'm sure some people will argue that Bush had September 11, and used it to pass lots of laws.

Yes. But September 11 had nothing to do with the Ashcroft nomination, the 2001 tax cuts, with the Alito and Roberts nominations, nor with Medicare Part D. And in each case, Democrats rolled over and gave the Republicans the votes they needed to ensure there would be no effective filibuster.

(And let's not forget, Obama had the economic meltdown and the recent memory of the failed Bush presidency to use as his rallying cry to smother opposition, and he didn't.)

Why with 60 votes are Democrats so ineffective, but with 50 votes Republicans excel?

What the GOP lacked in numbers, they made up for in backbone, cunning and leadership.

Say what you will about George Bush, he wasn't afraid of a fight. If anything, the Bush administration, and the Republicans in Congress, seemed to relish taking on Democrats, and seeing just how far they could get Democratic members of Congress to cave on their promises and their principles.

Hell, even Senator Barack Obama, who once famously promised to lead a filibuster against the FISA domestic eavesdropping bill, suddenly changed his mind and actually voted for the legislation.

Such is the power of a president and a congressional leadership with balls and smarts.

Bush was willing to use his bully pulpit to create an environment in which the opposition party feared taking him on, feared challenging his agenda, lest they be seen as unpatriotic and extreme.

By going public, early and often, with his beliefs, Bush was able to fracture the Democratic opposition (and any potential dissent in his own party) and forestall any effort to mount a filibuster against the most important items in his agenda.

The current occupant of the White House doesn't like to fight, and the leadership in Congress has never been as good at their jobs, at marshaling their own party, as the Republicans were when they were in the majority.

The President is supposed to rally the country, effectively putting pressure on opposition members of Congress to sit down and shut up. And the congressional leadership is supposed to rally its members to hold the line, and get the 51 votes necessary for passing legislation in a climate where the minority is too afraid to use the filibuster.

When you have a President who is constitutionally, or intellectually, unable to stand for anything, and a congressional leadership that, rather than disciplining its own members and forging ahead with its own agenda, cedes legislative authority to a president who refuses to lead, you have a recipe for exactly what happened last night.

We lost real health care reform not because we don't have a "real" filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. We lost health care reform because we don't have a real leader anywhere in our party.

It's not going to get better if we elect more Democrats to the Senate and it's not going to play out any differently should we try to revisit this issue in the future.

What do you think is going to happen if, during the House-Senate conference, a combined bill is returned to the Senate that even vaguely improves upon the garbage they're currently debating? Joe Lieberman, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu and Evan Bayh will threaten the same filibuster.

We're not getting anything better than the crap they just came up with last night.

It's over. The next three years are going to be about mediocrity, broken promises, and striving for second best. That's not the America I grew up in. And it's not what I voted for, or was promised.

*snip*

President Lieberman played his Dem caucus card and effectively killed the medicare compromise.

The President was OK with this compromise, in fact encouraged it.

With that compromise -I argued that the current proposed Senate bill should be defeated - really, what is being argued here is using the reconciliation to pass a better bill. A bill that bypasses the 4-5 obstructionists in the Democratic party as well as the 40 in the G-NO-P party.

There were these three posts where my favorite blogger points out, among other things, that George Bush got a lot done and never had more than 55 Senators.

Meanwhile - President Obama’s secret back door deal is upheld with Big PHARMA as the drug reimportation amendment is defeated. Essentially locking in higher drug costs for Americans. Our two Senators, Schumer and Gillibrand voted to kill this amendment.

Joe Lieberman tried to explain his rationale, there were other posts about killing the bill, cute commercials and a decision point. What does the Democratic base do now?

Our potential hero? Ben Nelson of Nebraska comes out against the bill. Ah “Hope” that we can finally play hard ball. Well, not so fast, in exchange for covering Nebraska’s Medicaid cost, and adding anti-abortion language, Ben Nelson comes on board. Oh, the cost? the Public Option is killed.

Then there was language about those life time caps that - may not be lifetime caps. Well, SEIU comes out, stomps their feet as they prepare to fall in line and in the end it doesn’t matter - Ben Nelson’s vote is secured in the Senate and Majority Leader Reid says he has the votes.

Massa gets some well deserved credit for calling out the the Health care reform process. Remember Massa was there before a lot of people.

So what do we do now ? There is a cost of being taken for granted and the next steps start with looking towards the future by looking at the past as discussed in this Bill Moyer’s show featuring Rolling Stone editor Matt Taibbi and Economist and American Prospect Editor, Rob Kuttner.

We will have more as it all sinks in, but it begins with a little more audacity and a little less hope.

More Federal level

Citigroup gets special consideration and doesn’t have to pay taxes so they can pay record level bonuses.

The House redirects TARP funds. It was close, but worth it.

Ah, Copenhagen and climate change. 80% CO2 reduction in 40 years in a non-binding agreement with no milestones. Does anyone care? Maybe delay isn’t denial but it is pretty close to derail. Wouldn’t want to shift manufacturing away from China, now, would we?

No. Profits over people. Cheap goods from the metaphorical “China” where Mother Nature may not have a vote, but certainly will have the last laugh.

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What the GOP lacked in numbers, they made up for in backbone, cunning and leadership.

A glaring error. Bush was able to get things done because he was popular with the voters and a breath of fresh air. I loved the "Wanted Dead or Alive" Bush. The GOP rode his coat tails...nothing more.

It was into his second term the GOP panicked and realized his coat tails would not be around forever. That is when many in his party turned on him, not out of principle but out of fear of losing their seats. The dems framed the arguments and the GOP tried not to remind the voters they belonged to the same party as President Bush.

The GOP as a whole (there are a few exceptions) is nothing but a bunch of p!ssy-whipped cowards.

(note to self: I have used that word 3 times this past week. Need to find a new word, but like the f-bomb, it is used when no other word will do.)

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