The Senate is still useless

[Willinois]

http://www.thereisaway.us/2010/12/the_senate_is_s.html

First, the Senate is useless because they aren't even talking about voting on an energy bill in the lame duck session.

And let's face the fact that we can't blame this entirely on Republicans. Harry Reid is protecting certain Democratic Senators who are in the pockets of the coal and oil industry from having to take a controversial vote. Yes, I'm looking at you Mary Landrieu and Joe Manchin, among others.

The only saving grace is that a Senate energy bill might have been so overloaded with subsidies for coal that it could have ended up being worse than doing nothing. The fact that industry is so nervous about EPA regulating greenhouses gasses indicates that it's probably an effective way to keep making progress.

The Senate is also useless because they blocked or watered down every proposal Obama sent them for two years. When they should have been dealing with pressing, life-and-death issues of the day, they passed a bill to limit the volume of TV commercials. WTF?!

Doesn't anyone on Capitol Hill understand that Democrats didn't show up to vote in the recent election because the Senate blocked major parts of the change we voted for in '08? Now is the time to finish their incomplete work from the past two years!

At least things are changing during the lame duck session. Senate Democrats are finally starting to get angry and show a little spine. Of course, they aren't standing up to Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Senate Republicans who have been pouting roadblocks.

Instead, they're standing up to a Democratic President! You know, the same guy conservative Democratic Senators (and Russ Feingold) have been failing to support for the past two years. The Senate finally grows a pair and all they can do is fight a President of their own party who's trying to extend unemployment, cut payroll taxes, and keep education tax credits.

Congratulations President Obama! You did what I thought was impossible. You made the Democratic Senate finally stand up for themselves.

If the past two years is the best Harry Reid can do then it's time for him to step down as Majority Leader (while Democrats are still in the majority).

[Imajika]

1. Pretty sure anything to do with slowing global warming...

...is flat out dead for the next 2 years.

We can't even get a Democratic Senate with 60 votes to pass an energy bill, now we will have a Senate with just 53 Dem votes.

And of course the House of Representatives is out of business for 2 years.

[Willinois]

2. It will have to happen through the EPA.

At least people will have a theoretical right to health insurance when all the hospitals in their area are shut down by climate disasters.