Senate Lacks Votes to Pass Stimulus

[spanone]

republics still rule.....

Senate Democratic leaders conceded yesterday that they do not have the votes to pass the stimulus bill as currently written and said that to gain bipartisan support, they will seek to cut provisions that would not provide an immediate boost to the economy.

The legislation represents the first major test for President Obama and an expanded Democratic Congress, both of which have made economic recovery the cornerstone of their new political mandate. The stimulus package has now tripled from its post-election estimate of about $300 billion, and in recent days lawmakers in both parties have grown wary of the swelling cost.

Moderate Republicans are trying to trim the bill by as much as $200 billion, although Democrats working with those GOP senators have not agreed to a specific figure.

The Senate's first vote on a stimulus amendment, a failed effort yesterday to add more infrastructure spending to the package, signaled the change in course. For weeks, the measure has grown to meet a worsening economic crisis with the largest possible infusion of government cash. Despite warnings of dire consequences if Congress does not act boldly, Republicans have become resolute in their opposition to what they view as runaway and unnecessary spending in the legislation. And as the total in the Senate version climbs to $900 billion, unease also is stirring among moderate Democrats.

Extensive Senate revisions would force lawmakers to work at a frantic pace to meet a self-imposed Feb. 13 deadline for completing a compromise bill with the House, which passed an $819 billion version last week. Obama reiterated his call for urgent action in a meeting Monday night with Democratic leaders and by letter yesterday to Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.).

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/02/03/AR2009020304024_pf.html

[Demeter]

1. I Call bullshit

Can Harry Reid

[MNDemNY]

2. If they can not whip 51 Dem. Votes, let's just fold and go home now.

[BirminghamExaminer]

7. it might help if Obama would talk to them

But he's having to spend so much time talking to the Republicans that he's overlooking his allies and that has to be remedied. The Republicans have shown they're not going to go along with anything. They've had their way for 8 years, it seems they're finding ways to keep it up. I just with the Democrats in the houses had the backbone the GOP does. Unfortunately it seems they're whipped.

Sheesh.

[MNDemNY]

8. "Talking " to the Republicans??? Hell, he is blowing them!.

[Winterblues]

32. It takes sixty votes, not fifty one.

If Harry Reid had a hair on his ass he would force them to actually filibuster the bill. Why buckle before any votes have been cast? We have been hearing that infamous phrase "The votes aren't there" for over two years now and I expect to keep hearing it as long as Harry Reid is the guy at the head of the Senate.

[Subdivisions]

3. I thought Snowe and Collins and one other rethug were on

board. I guess not.

[Captain Hilts]

10. A bit more money for Maine and I'll bet they jump on the bus. nt

[Are_grits_groceries]

4. They lack the nerve to play hardball. nt

[spanone]

5. this would embolden the right wing to no end if they could blow off President Obama's stimulus

[Captain Hilts]

11. This is Bill Clinton's budget in '93 all over again. nt

[spanone]

14. and i was silly enough to think that elections had consequences.....

[Captain Hilts]

16. In Bubba's case, the # of Repubs in Congress actually INcreased when he was elected.

The country, and Congress, were not ready for a progressive prez.

In the current case, the Repubs have been PASTED in two consecutive elections, so the tide is supposed to be flowing another way.

[spanone]

17. 'supposed to' i think we're now seeing the power of media consolidation

they own the media

[Captain Hilts]

18. They owned it in Clinton's day too. And Roosevelt's especially. nt

[paulk]

27. yes.

And the Democrats would be wise to understand that lesson.

I read something the other day on a political blog - can't remember which one.

It was along the lines of - "working with the Republicans is like playing chess with a monkey - you move your knight and the monkey throws shit at your head".

[msongs]

6. republicans are still in charge because they play to win, NOT be liked nt

[spanone]

9. ..and here's how the media is portraying this....

Republicans show muscle in first Senate stimulus test

(CNN) -- The Senate's first attempt to make a change to the economic stimulus package failed Tuesday night, a sign that Republicans do have some power to change how the bill is structured.

The vote was on adding $24 billion in infrastructure spending on things like highways, mass transit and improvements to water and sewer systems. Had the amendment passed, the Senate's version of the economic stimulus package would have topped $900 billion.

A procedural vote that would have allowed the Senate to waive the budget rules and move forward on the amendment failed.

Democrats needed just two more votes to proceed on the amendment.

The vote was mostly along party lines. Only three senators broke ranks: Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pennsylvania, and Sen. Kit Bond, R-Missouri, voted in favor of it; and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, voted against it.

Senate Republican leaders are pushing for a bill with more tax cuts and less spending. They also want more emphasis on helping homeowners. Watch senators debate the stimulus package »

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/04/stimulus/index.html

[global1]

12. Everything Has Changed - Yet Nothing Has Changed......

this is exactly the behavior in the Senate that got us into this mess over the last 8 years. Time to dump Harry Reid and put someone in with balls. Time for hardball or we're all going down.

[spanone]

13. i think the plan is to make President Obama look ineffective...same old, same old

and while President Obama is TRYING to be bipartisan, the republics only use that to their advantage, to make him look weak....

they are evil

AND they have the media squarely on their side

[Cronopio]

20. "... AND they have the media squarely on their side ..."

Which wouldn't matter at all if Americans weren't so gullible and complicit about media gossip.

Every conservative/libertarian dumbass that supports this obstructionist shit needs to be rendered out of this country as the traitor/terrorists they are. If they can't figure out at this stage of the game that "their fascists" are the ones killing their jobs, their stupidity shouldn't cost the rest of us our economy.

Let them live in the kind of third-world country they're tirelessly fighting for. Dumbshits.

[spanone]

22. people eat what they're fed....and it's been a steady diet of republic bullshit..nonstop

[Cronopio]

24. They've also been fed an economic meltdown and stagnating wages.

I agree with you, but I won't let Americans off the hook just because of the propaganda barrage. They need to get off the side of their own oppressors and start figuring out who their friends *aren't*.

[Captain Hilts]

30. For lower income brackets, wages have been stagnating for about 35 years. Boiled frog analogy. nt

[Captain Hilts]

21. Don't need balls to be tough. I had really hoped Hillary would be majority leader.

And Barney Frank as Speaker.

[Cronopio]

15. No one with half a brain is fooled by these Republican traitor scum.

They've spent the last 8 years running up the deficit to historic levels funding the Iraq occupation and a bullshit "war on terror", and now they're in a pennypinching mood? BULLSHIT!

This is obstructionism for the sake of obstructionism and Obama needs to get in front of the media and openly refer to it as such. These opportunistic assclowns will stand by and watch the economy burn just to play their little circlejerk political games.

Minnesota dragging its feet and not confirming Franken is part of it. These people are taking months just to decide to count more ballots. They know that every Democratic vote in the Senate is crucial right now.

This is organized treason against America and nothing less. Obama needs to medieval on some Repricklickin ass, Ving Rhames-style.

[Kansas Wyatt]

19. Well it's time for Harry to earn his money...

He needs to start getting very loud about which Republican leaders are saying piss on the American People.

Throw down on them, and not let up until the Democrats have everything they want.

[spanone]

23. i suspect there are democrats pissing too

[lib2DaBone]

26. Bipartisan ; That's when the DEMS cave in to the Repukes and get nothing in return.

[Cronopio]

25. Right on.

Fuck the rules of the game, the Republicans need to be called in their bullshit loudly and consistently. No sugarcoated rhetoric - Reid needs to call them what they are. Traitors.

I'm not losing sleep waiting for that to happen, but it still needs to happen.

[acmavm]

28. Wow, we're still being governed by the fucking republican party.

Lovely.

[spanone]

29. that appears to be a fact

[L0oniX]

31. We need to march and riot on Washington and tear up their new 200 million dollar lawn.

[spanone]

33. 'that' is out of the stimulus package...gone