By putting off the unemployment extension, dem legislators poisoned their own well.

[SoCalDem]

Had this ONE issue been dealt with BEFORE the election, they would have had some good will to use for campaign purposes, and it would have NOT been available as a "bargaining chip" for the republicans to use against us.

[Skittles]

1. screamingly obvious

this is all sheer incompetence

[ProSense]

2. The House put it off for a reason. The President wanted the vote. n/t

[TheKentuckian]

3. Of course. They were playing games the moment they didn't index the extensions to the unemployment

rate, make subsequent battles about expanding coverage if need be rather than maintaining benefits in a greater level of crisis than when the extensions passed in the first place.

The whole lot should be roasting over a slow fire.

[Write Left]

4. Or they could have simply made a stand against gazillionaire tax cuts BEFORE the election.

[Lorien]

5. Sure, but then they wouldn't have given themselves and other wealthy friends

the tax cuts that they promised them. I don't think that they are that stupid or incompetent-they're playing a good cop/ bad cop game with the opposition (not all of them, just many of them).

[BzaDem]

6. There is no way Collins or Snowe would allow a giant unpaid for unemployment extension before the

election. Last time, it took weeks AFTER it expired before they budged.