Posted on 06/27/2009 5:09:15 AM PDT by moose2004
MSNBC reports Harry Reid does not have enough votes to pass the cap-and-trade bill.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
If they try for an incredibly watered down bill, they will lose the votes of the far left. Pelosi had to walk a tight rope on this one. There’s not much more room for error. Next time around (if there is a next time), the errant Republicans may decide they better redeem themselves and peel off. Because of those Republicans, some Democrats facing heat had the luxury of voting no. If the errant Republicans peel off, then those Democrats will not have that luxury. They will be between a rock and a hard place.
Second, the very best whip cannot get everyone in line most of the time. Boehner has weaknesses, but I think he's doing an adequate job. What you need is real punishment coming from the GOP leadership, not more talk of "toleration" and "big tents."
Absolutely...a leader that is respected and feared.
No, you’re clearly not understanding the system. It’s far more than a “leader.” It’s the whole organization being willing to implement sanctions. We’re talking about shunning those who are pariahs. The Congressional Black Caucus, for ex., wouldn’t even admit J.C. Watts.
Actually I do understand the system and have been part of it (sausage making). I spent several years at the TNRCC, a left-leaning environmental commission in Texas during the Clinton years.
Yes it was a painful assignment, being a consevative...but I certainly got an education in the field of political power and regulation development.....
I was shocked with the ease one could write regulations and simply implement them at will. It was both enlightening and frightening.
I guess where we disagree is in how much power, supposedly, Boehner either has in theory or in reality. Even in Gingrich’s day, I don’t think he had quite as much power as someone like Sam Rayburn or Lyndon Johnson. So far, conservatives have been unwilling or unable to play hardball with their own.
The other side plays hardball....if we don't....we lose. It's that simple.... Winning is not simply a future goal, it's a matter of immediate survival....
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