Sen. Levin on Obama: "I don’t see that kind of a willingness to fight that hard"

[Bluebear]

Appearing on CSPAN’s Newsmakers this Sunday, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-MI) reiterated his pledge to stay in session after Christmas to give the Senate more time to consider end of year priorities like extending tax breaks for the middle class and passing the stand-alone Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal measure recently introduced by Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Susan Collins (R-ME). Levin also called on President Obama to use his bully pulpit to keep the Senate in town past the holidays, but lamented that he hasn’t seen “that kind of a willingness to fight that hard” from Obama:

LEVIN: One of the questions will be whether we stay long enough to get some of these things done and I hope we stay as long as we need. There are many days extra if we stay after Christmas, it adds a few days. It would add a few days, for instance, if we stayed in the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday before Christmas. You can pick-up a few days, and if it will make a difference, and I think it can… I would hope we would take those few days and also to get Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell passed. <...>

The way I think the President needs to fight is to say that he is going to use all of the power he has of a bully pulpit and urge the Senate to stay in, right up to New Years. … hat’s the problem that I don’t see that kind of a willingness to fight that hard, where he will take that kind of a position and that’s what’s necessary. The Senate and the House, these are tests of wills.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/13/levin-obama-priorities/

[dmr]

1. Senator Levin is a good & decent man.

If only more were like him - competently doing his job without fanfare for those of us in Michigan & the nation.

I wish they'd stay & work, too.

[bluestateguy]

2. This from the guy who caved in on funding Mr. Bush's wars in 2007 and 2008

How soon we forget the Great War Funding Capitulation of June 2007.

[Name removed]

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[dennis4868]

6. Right....

But now he is a hero at DU because he is standing up to the man DU really hates - Obama.

[Bluebear]

8. What a fool you are. This is not about "hate". nt

[Name removed]

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[cali]

5. I don't see much fight from Levin or most of Congress either.

Pot & Kettle ditty.

[xchrom]

7. takes one to know one i guess. nt

[defendandprotect]

9. k/r -- I don't either ... !!