The Democrats aren't listening (and neither are the Republicans)

Republicans kill omnibus bill, including their own earmarks
A $1.1 Trillion omnibus bill that included $8 billion in Earmarks from lawmakers who opposed them was pulled from the Senate after Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged that he did not have the votes to withstand a Republican Filibuster. All 42 Republicans had threatened to filibuster the bill, despite the fact that two Republican Senators — Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker of Mississippi — requested $561 million and $449 million in earmarks. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell req...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
WASHINGTON — After wrestling with — and finally abandoning — a 1,900-page catchall spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders turned Friday to devising a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget work needed to keep the government running was packed into the spending measure, including $1...

Republicans Beat the Omnibus, Give More Power to Obama.
Last night, Republicans walked out of an agreement they had negotiated with Democrats in recent months, killing a spending bill that would have kept government functioning through the new year. Ostensibly, this is due to Republicans' new objections to Earmarks, which mean that top Republicans like Mitch McConnell and Thad Cochran turned their back on a bill they had shaped with millions of dollars for their home states. Dave Weigel observes John McCain and newly elected Sen. Mark Kirk in a bout ...

Now Who's Thrown Under the Omnibus?
My column today is on the Omnibus Bill. I woke up this morning to discover that the omnibus bill failed, thus nullifying my column. Some might say that the breaking news gods are punishing me for my hubris. But I prefer to think that it was the incredible force of column that caused the Democrats to crumble. The idea’s utter lack of plausibility makes it all the more appealing.  Next column topics: DREAM Act, START etc. The gold standard in contemptuous politics remains Emperor Caligu...

Change Has Come to the Senate After Collapse of Massive Spending Bill, Republican Declares
Friday, December 17, 2010 By Fred Lucas Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) pauses during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (CNSNews.com) - "We just saw something extraordinary on the floor of the United States Senate," Sen. John McCain said Thursday night after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) - lacking enough votes - gave up on a Trillion-dollar, 1,924-page omnibus spending bill that included $8 billion in pork bar

Integrity is not Obama's strong suit
During Obama’s campaign for the Presidency, he touted how he had the ability to reach across party lines and that he would end the practice of Name Calling and partisan politics. He preached “change” and “hope”. Since being elected, President Obama has become one of the most polarizing and hostile presidents in recent history. He has been the opposite of the man that he pledged he would be and he has reneged on many of his campaign promises. His one goal has been to...

NYT editorial: Round Up the Usual Prospects
To no one’s shock, the lame-duck session is offering daily profiles in hypocrisy by lawmakers who made loud campaign vows to “change the culture” of Washington. In the Senate, prominent Republicans who took the anti-earmark pledge as part of the Tea Party crusade against Deficits now must deal with a mammoth $1.2 Trillion Government Spending bill that happens to be routinely packed with their own customized pork. What to do? “The simple answer is: I’m going to vote against th

Parties no longer equal on pork
The defeat last night of the OmniPorkulus bill, as the Boss Emeritus calls it, gives us a chance to revisit the long-held — and long-true — belief that both parties are equally addicted to pork-barrel spending.  That certainly proved true enough when Republicans held power, as Earmarks skyrocketed and both parties squealed with delight at the trough.  However, a new study by a coalition of of Watchdog groups on the FY2011 Budget proposal shows that one party has made great stride...

The Omnibus
As we rejoice in the demise of the odious omnibus, it’s important to see just what happened here. Yes, it was a major failure for Harry Reid and the Democrats, and a vindication of the voters’ intent in November. But it resulted from a change of heart among a few Republicans, including some key appropriators and Mitch McConnell himself. It’s good that this change of heart happened, but the fact that it was necessary—that until yesterday you could count about 8 or 9 potent...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
(12-17) 08:10 PST WASHINGTON (AP) -- After wrestling with — and finally abandoning — a 1,900-page catchall spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders turned Friday to devising a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget work needed to keep the government running was packed into the spending measure, incl...

Defeat 6 Weeks Too Late Is Still Sweet
Last night, Harry Reid pulled the pork-filled omnibus spending bill , agreeing to a 1-page CR to fund the government through the holidays: After wrestling with, and finally abandoning, a 1,900-page catch-all spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders need to come up with a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget wo...

Tax cuts pass --recapping a hectic day on Capitol Hill
A big win for President Obama as the Controversial Tax Cut agreement he brokered with GOP leaders passed the final hurdles in Congress last night and is poised to become law --the most significant tax bill in nearly a decade.    The measure, which breezed through the Senate, faced stiff opposition from Liberal Democrats in the House opposed to extending tax cuts for the Richest two percent of Americans. But their last-minute campaign to amend the agreement failed by a midnight vote of ...

Senate Dem leader drops nearly $1.3T spending bill
WASHINGTON — After wrestling with — and finally abandoning — a 1,900-page catch-all spending bill stuffed with more than $8 billion in home-state projects known as Earmarks in Washington and pork in the rest of the country, Senate leaders need to come up with a measure to keep the Federal Government running into early next year. Nearly $1.3 Trillion in unfinished Budget work was packed into the spending measure, including $158 billion for Military operations in Iraq and A...

Two-Party System
Spinelessness and Obstructionism: "Senate Democrats abruptly abandoned an omnibus Budget bill for the coming year, pushing major spending decisions into the next Congress and giving Republicans immense new leverage to confront President Barack Obama's priorities." Meanwhile... "Congress at midnight Thursday approved an $801 billion package of Tax Cuts and $57 billion for extended Unemployment Insurance. ...Administration officials said Mr. Obama would sign the package into law on Friday." Barack...

After Demanding Time For Amendments To START, Republicans Stall, Offer None Over 2 Days
After Demanding Time For Amendments To START, Republicans Stall, Offer None Over 2 Days Republican Senators have been vigorously complaining that they need as much as two weeks or double or even triple the time taken on previous Arms Control treaties to debate the New START Treaty. They have insisted they need all this time because they need ample time to submit amendments to the treaty, despite the fact that treaties, for all intents and purposes, cannot be amended. For the last two days the...

Pearce would have voted against tax bill
If this week’s House and Senate votes on the Obama-GOP tax Compromise had taken place next month, the entire New Mexico delegation would have opposed the deal. U.S. Rep.-elect Steve Pearce, R-N.M., says he would have voted against the deal if he had the chance. Of course, Pearce’s opposition isn’t for the same reason that the majority of the New Mexico delegation voted against the bill this week. “While I agree with portions of this bill, I believe the American People cou...

GOP Kills Dems Omnibus Spending Bill
The Hill: Senate Democrats have given up on their plan to pass a $1.1 Trillion omnibus spending bill in the face of unified Republican opposition. The bill’s collapse will take with it more than 6,000 Earmarks as well as more than $1 billion in funding for implementation of Healthcare Reform. Democrats will move instead to two high priorities on their legislative agenda: the DREAM Act, which would grant permanent legal residency to Illegal Immigrants under a certain age, and a Repeal of the ...

Getting Over Earmarks
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann during a rally in April.(AP/Jim Mone) For Republicans, as well as some Democrats and the media, Earmarks are a symbol of wasteful spending and harmful quid pro quo. Recently, Republican leaders agreed to place a Moratorium on these spending requests, with support from the White House. Sean Kelly and Scott Frisch, political scientists at California State University, Channel Islands, have a friendlier view of earmarks. In their book Cheese Factories on The Moon, ...

Wow. We Won. Spending Bill Dead
That's right. Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid abandoned efforts to pass a $1.1 Trillion spending bill and instead extend current funding. He simply didn't have the votes. The most wonderful thing about this is that the billion dollar funding of ObamaCare is gone. The new Congress will have a much easier time defunding it now. Not to mention that I don't think Earmarks will have a chance at being included. SEN. Mitch McConnell (R-KY): "And so what we ended up with, Mr. President, was this, ...

And now what? Life after the tax deal
With the Obama-Republican tax deal having passed the Senate and the House as well, I guess I’ve gotten the Compromise I’ve been asking for. To be honest, I’d thought I’d feel better about it. In short, the tax deal gives both the Republicans and the Democrats the one thing they wanted most. For the Republicans, that one thing was extending the Bush Tax Cuts to everyone, especially protecting those making over $1 million a year in income. I emphasize the protection of thos...

Florida Congressional Repubs Piled Pressure on Dems Over Now-Deceased Spending Bill
The deeply unpopular, $1.1 Trillion spending bill -- including its more than 6,700 Earmarks -- went down in flames Thursday night. And Florida Republicans in Congress can claim their opposition as some of the ammunition that shot it out of the sky. In truth, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yanked the bill after he discovered Democrats didn't have the support to get it passed. Reid said he will begin immediately to work with Republicans on a Compromise popular enough for at least a short-term f...

And Now You Can Pat Yourself On The Back
The Omnibus bill was pulled last night by Harry Reid after several Republicans who were considering voting for it reversed course. The Omnibus bill was defeated because of you and millions of others like you who let their voices be heard on the Internet, radio airwaves, through emails and phone calls, and most of all, at the voting booth in November. Your efforts not only influenced Republicans in the Senate, but also Democrats who are up for Reelection in 2012. I had Reid wrong. I thought that...

We Can Finish By Christmas, Reid Says
A voluminous spending bill shoved off the table and the debate over the Arms Control treaty with Russia well underway, the Congress could easily finish its business before Christmas, said Senator Harry Reid, the Majority Leader, Friday morning on the Senate floor. The Senate will continue to debate the New START Treaty Friday, with no further distractions from the omnibus spending bill that was expected to take up much of the chamber’s time. On Thursday night, Mr. Reid, lacking Republican...

President Obama Invites Labor to the White House; Labor Leaders Experience Heartburn Over Tax Cuts
After getting the major tax deal passed in the House on Thursday night, the president will sign the bill today and will hand Republicans their first full-fledged victory, before they're even sworn in as the majority party in Congress. But, even as the president prepares to sign the Legislation, he's hosting Labor Leaders at the White House, leaders who have expressed disappointment over the deal and the White House's handling of the law. On the heels of the late-night Thursday vote, AFL-CIO pres...

Democrats accuse Republicans of playing 'games' on transportation
Last week, state Republican Party Chairman Pat Mullins wrote to every Democratic legislator asking them to submit ideas for how to solve the state's transportation problems if they didn't like Gov. Bob McDonnell's proposal to borrow $2.9 billion over the next three years for roads and bridges. Mullins said he would set up a box in the atrium of party headquarters for legislators to drop off proposals. "I'll personally carry each and every idea that you and your colleagues bring to us over to Cap...