Posted on 03/02/2010 4:05:42 PM PST by ButThreeLeftsDo
Under increasing pressure from Democrats and members of his own party, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) Tuesday night abandoned his one-man filibuster of a one-month extension to unemployment benefits and other programs.
In the end Bunning agreed to a deal allowing him one vote on an amendment to pay for the bill’s $10 billion cost. That proposal was offered by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) last Thursday at the start of his filibuster, but Bunning rejected it because he feared his amendment would not pass.
Reid has also agreed to give Bunning two votes on amendments to a larger, one-year extension bill that is currently under consideration in the Senate.
(Excerpt) Read more at rollcall.com ...
No kidding. I may just have to tell my boss what I REALLY think tomorrow morning. I can worry about the repercussions of my actions oh... next year. Unless it gets extended again, of course.
This is why I cancelled all my newspapers and get my news here. Yours is a concise and accurate description of what is really going on here. The article incorrectly calls this a fillibuster and makes no mention of 'unanimous consent'
Deliberately.
This is why I have little hope for this country. The so-called "opposition party" is spineless and acts like an abused housewife - giving in, getting kicked in the teeth, and then coming back for more - all the while telling the voters, "Vote for us, we're different."
Bunning may have won. He gets to add an amendment that will pay for this extension, most likely out of unused stimulus funds, instead of making it a new expenditure to be added to the deficit.
So, 10 billion at about $800/month more or less. That’s over 12 million people who will get an extra month of benefits. Yet, not all 12 million have reached the end of benefits I’m guessing. So, who’s to say that, if by a miracle the economy bounces back and jobs open up, any of the 10 billion will be repealed. (Can you tell I’m in the process of filling out fed tax return and a have major case of the red-a$$?)
I knew it wouldn’t last.
He made his point. Going beyond today may have compromised the Republicans stand against Health Care tomorrow and label them the “party of no”. There are too many of all parties involved in this damn unemploymnet and those folks are not viewing it as a spending priority.
A one YEAR extension????
Why stop at one year? How heartless! Why not 5? Or ten?
I can’t find a job that will pay me what I want to be paid! Even though my unemployment insurance was only to cover a certain amount of time..I don’t care! Its the governments job to pay me!!! They paid those evil wall street bankers-Its my turn!
I believe Senator Bunning’s analysis was flawed. He should have stuck to his guns and the pubbies should have rallied to him. This is a tactical and strategic defeat. For example he could have rubbed the Dims nose in all the leftist funding they provide with our tax dollars. Demand they stop that and provide the money to the unemployment legislation. He could have demanded they drill for more oil to spur the economy and put people back to work. Just a couple of tactics he could have slapped the spend, spend, spebd Dims with. Strategically, it hurts the pubbies with their base b/c he stood all alone with no pubbie help. Tending to reinforce the perception, dare I say fact, that the pubbies simply won’t fight. I understand your point, I really do. Recall, a great Chinese general once said, “On death ground, FIGHT! Our nation is on that ground and IMHO it is past time to fight or there will be nothing left to fight for.
Sounds like you need some road dust! :D)
True... I think that part of the problem is that there was no coordination. You get the impression that the GOP was caught off guard.
But the broader point is that if we can’t even hold up this little measure without taking a beating, can you imagine in the future trying to cut healthcare once its law. THAT is the ultimate goal of Obama ramming it through. Once the door is open, they will eventually push it all the way open.
Bunning speaking live on the Senate floor on C-SPAN 2.
Point one: this wasn’t a filibuster, it was a denial of unanimous consent- the Senate’s way of passing massive amounts of legislation without pesky voting records to be used as campaign fodder later. Without unanimous consent there has to be an up or down vote on the measure and, depending on the structure, any accompanying amendments.
Point two: ALL of this could have been avoided. Sen. Reid knew when the unemployment benefits were going to expire. His staff knew. McConnell’s staff knew. The Secretary of the Senate knew. But, they scheduled the passage of the measure for extension under unanimous consent AFTER fighting tooth and nail on the “jobs bill” boondoggle because they thought they could just slip one in- again.
They do this ALL the time. They thought that denying consent would be a political poison pill and no one would try it. They forgot that Bunning doesn’t give a sh** about what people think. He’s following his conscience and making a stand- something we’ve been shouting for our elected officials to do for years!
Point Three: Lots of folks here and on other conservative forums have long decried Republicans being out-maneuvered on the Senate floor. Bunning just forced everyone to go on record voting for specific measures of this extension. We now have the very campaign fodder they tried to deny us. Bunning handed Tea Partiers fiscally damning votes on a silver platter.
Y’all might try saying thanks.
SNIP
Democrats threatened to keep the Senate in the chamber all night to inflict maximum pain on Republicans, and Bunning threatened to block all future nominations.
But both sides backed down, with a vote on a Bunning amendment and vote on final passage of the temporary 30-day extension.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who has avoided the controversy over his home-state colleague, said that he was “pleased that Sen. Bunning will have an opportunity to offer the amendments that he thinks are important and that he has been stressing for the last few days. And I’m glad we were able to work this out and move with the business of the Senate.”
Bunning will get a vote at 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night on his amendment that would require the package to be paid for, and he tossed one final brushback at his Democratic opponents.
“I hope Senate Democrats tonight vote for their own pay-fors and show Americans that they are committed to fiscal discipline,” Bunning said. “I will be watching them closely and checking off the hypocrites one by one.”
OT.....I don’t have a story link for this breaking news.....
HOWEVER......
“Long-time Congressional Democrat Charlie Rangel to give up chairmanship of powerful House committee as early as tonight - NBC”
http://twitter.com/BreakingNews
Mean republicans blocking extended unemployment money! How horrible those people are. /s
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