Democrats Stand Firm on Jobs Bill

[bigtree]

Oct. 19, 2011

Democratic leaders used a Capitol Hill rally Wednesday to continue pushing the Senate to take a piecemeal approach to President Barack Obama’s jobs bill, even as the chamber struggled to finish work on a package of three spending bills.

“We are going to make sure there is a vote on our bill this week,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said, referring to a $35 billion measure for states and localities to retain teachers and first responders that the Nevada Democrat wants to add to the minibus appropriations measure. “And to make sure that we do that, I will protect by filing cloture unless we can work something out.”

The aid measure is the first portion of Obama’s $447 billion jobs bill that Reid wants the Senate to take up.

Reid blamed Republicans for obstructing the Democrats’ agenda and rooting for the economy to fail in order to hurt Obama’s re-election prospects.

They want to do “whatever they can do to make Barack Obama’s life miserable,” Reid said.


read: http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_45/Democrats-Stand-Firm-on-Jobs-Bill-209635-1.html?pos=hln

[DFW]

1. An accurate, word for word summation of congressional Republican strategy

And if a hundred million Americans' lives are made miserable, or less comfortable, in the process,
well, that's what Republicans call "collateral damage."