And you act like this never happens (as it does time and time again). I'm sure he just wants to help his rich Republican friends.
Bunning would not bend on his objection to extending benefits without a way to offset the $10 billion expenditure elsewhere in the budget.
US Senator Jim Bunning, a Republican from Kentucky, foiled Democrats attempts to enact a short-term extension of unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies for a million Americans.
"In my 24 years of service, I have never seen the congress of the United States perform as badly as we are performing presently," said Bunning.
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$10 Billion. It's just grandstanding. But he is entitled to do it so long as the rules of the Senate permit.
Bunning isn't happy unless everyone in the room is pissed off at him. McConnell has effectively forced him to retire at the end of his term. How often does one senator do that to another in the same party and the same state? It is unprecedented and due to the fact that Bunning is 90% crazy and 100% a**hole.
So when are the adults going to show up?
If we can't save $10B Eric, how are we going to save anything? Are we admitting defeat?
Lastly, any thoughts about prolonged voluntary unemployment? You know, the stuff how folks find a job as their employment ends?
Could lower the unemployment rate and help the "o".
I like him. Pay Go, let's go.
Oh, and before you start with the "you didn't enforce paygo before, OK, where is this change we can believe in?
Jim -
You are right on this one. If it were up to me they would find $10B somewhere else to honor pay/go and not count this as an emergency expense.
I don't like that one old SOB is able to hold this up. The Senate rules really suck and need to be completely overhauled. The House rules are fine.
I also agree that simply extending unemployment checks reaches a point of counter-productivity and we may be there. There are alternatives - phase outs - exceptions in specifically high areas, etc that can be used to soften the blow while still encouraging movement off of the couch.
On the aggregate, we should not be concentrating on cutting spending. The economy remains quite fragile. Unemployment checks help and have a high multiplier rate. That said, we should be able to live within a budget that already calls for a huge deficit.
and so you are as incensed with your party for its demagogue as much as I?
Incensed? I am modestly disappointed they didn't find the $10B somewhere else.
I would politically play up the fact that a REPUBLICAN is holding up this relief as well as the fact that Senate rules allow this kind of BS. Right now, polls say we are 50/50 on ditching the Filibuster. I'd like to see that move to 65/35 or so, which will politically allow for material change to the rules.
The Bunning Blockade is apparently over, and it is because Republicans got busy. They apparently remember how bad they looked during the government shutdowns and do not want to create a populist issue that will serve the Democrats.
The Good Doc asked if I was incensed by the Dem's demagoguery of the issue. I don't blame them for taking advantage - this ain't bean bag. What does the Doc have to say for the GOP blistering the Dems on the $500B of Medicare cuts in the health care plan? Charlie Cook says that will be the #1 point of attack against the Democratic yes votes this fall.
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