And Then There Were Two? (Collins wavering, Snowe & Specter still in) [Keep the pressure on!!]

Red State ^ | February 6th at 3:38PM EST | by Jeff Emanuel

[Badeye]

Voinovich said he wouldn’t block John Bolton from becoming UN Ambassador. John Voinovich said he would never vote for a tax increase, or against a tax cut. John Voinovich said he would only vote for strict constructionists on the Supreme Court.

And today I can tell you he did each of these things during his time in office, some very publicly, like Bolton and tax cuts, some less memorable like voting for Gingsberg to USSC.

Put him on the list, if only because Georgie would like the idea of being THE ONE.

[jennyjenny]

I keep trying to call but am getting busy signals. I’m hoping that’s a good thing. I did send another email to all of them.

[KarlInOhio]

Is Franken seated?

No. Right now it is 56 Democrats - 2 Indenpendent (voting with the Dems) - 41 Republicans and 1 empty seat. The Dems need 60 votes to break a filibusters, so if Kennedy doesn't vote they need 3 Republicans to break.

[mmichaels1970]

I just read that Voinovich is NOT going to cave.

I think I read the same thing. The article is currently just below this one in the "breaking" bar.

[eeevil conservative]

WOOOOOOOOOOT!!

[Badeye]

As of this day, Minnesota has ONE Senator, till the litigation between Coleman and Franken is completed. The MN Supremes have not ruled on Franken’s request to be seated ‘temporarily’.

[StAnDeliver]

What about also calling Bayh's (In.) new Blue Dog Senate Caucus: Bayh, Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Jim Webb (Va.), and Sen.-elect Mark Warner (Va.). One peel-away and the bill is toast.

[Badeye]

Yep.

And I”m telling you it isn’t a sure thing with Crying George Voinovich.

Ya’ll gotta trust this life long Ohio boy on this one, folks. Keep calling crying Georgie’s office til this thing is over.

[SuziQ]

"the Republicans’ job is simply to propose principled alternatives, and to make Democrats own their own proposals on a party-line basis."

Yep, that about nails it!

[romanesq]

Got through on the 207 number for Snowe.
Asked the Senator’s position and was told “compromise” and said that many of us feel there is nothing to compromise and the bill needs to be scrapped and then a real stimulus bill worked out in the “normal legislative” process.

Girl was polite and said she pass it along. Who knows?

Still it has to be done.

[MaestroLC]

Update (Ed Morrissey, Hot Air): Duane Patterson of the Hugh Hewitt Show tells me that the Democrats have to get 60 votes by rule for cloture, not just 3/5ths of the quorum. Ted Kennedy is too ill to attend, which means Reid needs three Republican votes — and it looks like he might not get them.

[italianquaker]

It sounds like Ben Nelson is voting no.

[PEACE ENFORCER]

" Tell them not to help the Democrats drag this country’s economy into the gutter."

With all due respect I watched Obama Talk out of BOTH sides of his mouth and hear with my own two ears (no pun intended) on Fox last night say

"Since when has congress ever passed a bill with no pork in it?"

This is an insult to the people who are paying taxes, and paying for their own destruction. 5 BILLION FOR ACORN !!!!!!!

This farce / fleece is going to pass.... The enemy of the American People is The Tyrannical Federal Government

[mmichaels1970]

Ya’ll gotta trust this life long Ohio boy on this one, folks. Keep calling crying Georgie’s office til this thing is over.

As a life long Ohio boy myself, I do certainly agree with you on that.

Completely unrelated: Back when Sen. Voinovich was the mayor of Cleveland, my dad and I had seats right next to him at Municipal Stadium for the Browns games. Used to get his "Pruitts" mixed up.

[Badeye]

‘Used to get his “Pruitts” mixed up. ‘

did he burst into uncontrollable tears?

(chuckle)

[OKSooner]

Email doesn't help one little bit.

Call on the telephone, and be polite about it.

[HighlyOpinionated]

I emailed Sen. Collins before I took my nap. I just emailed Sen. Snowe and Sen. Specter AND Sen. McCain.

What I’m telling them is that when the Bill fails, which it will, it will be a Republican who is Scapegoated. And once Scapegoated, it will be difficult to be a leader in the Republican Party.

They need to vote NO or at least Present, if they can’t vote NO.

I sent them the website http://www.stimuluswatch.org/home which REALLY shows how FEW jobs and how MUCH money is in the Stimulus Bill.

I do think Traditionally Conservative Republicans are winning here. There’s no reason to hurry up a vote. Not when this Bill needs to be studied, line by line.

[MaestroLC]

Stimulus Status [Mark Hemingway, NRO, The Corner, 4:50 PM]

Update from another Senate GOP source:

as you reported, voinivich is out. its now specter, snowe, collins and about a dozen democrats. Feinstein coming out attacking the bill seems to have rattled the Dems and its not clear now whats going to happen, but finishing tonight looks impossible...?

[rwfromkansas]

On events as controversial as this, it is not unheard of for a few Dems to vote against the party line, though typically not as much as the GOP has.

Typically Dems will lose two and the GOP loses 4 or 5.

I have to say though, I think being a bigger minority may really put the pressure on enough GOPs that we could lose just 2 this time. That would be enough for victory sans Kennedy.

[milwguy]

Call Ben Nelson’s office too. Being from Nebraska, he has to be feeling some serious heat from his citizens as well. Ditto the North Dakota and Montana dems.