Looks like another win for our worthless President and the country:
With political pressure mounting, Senate Republicans relented on Wednesday and agreed to let Democrats open debate on legislation that would provide the most far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s financial regulatory system since the aftermath of the Great Depression.
The decision by Republicans to allow floor debate came after they voted three days in a row to block the bill, and it suggested that they saw political peril in being seen as impeding tougher rules for Wall Street. But Republicans still oppose many aspects of the bill and a rough floor fight lies ahead.
So they vote three times against debate, then the Democrats threaten to ruin the Kentucky Derby and make the Republicans actually work nights, and all of a sudden the GOP finds a compromise that looks a helluva lot like exactly what the Democrats wanted. Those of you with kids know this routine:
Mom: Go to bed!
Brat: No!Mom: I said go to bed!
Brat: Nuh-uh!Mom: I said go to bed right now!
Brat: Can’t make me!Brat: Let’s make a deal. I’ll go to bed in two minutes.
Mom: Whatever.
I hope the Democrats learn something from this.
Comrade Mary
#sniff# I miss my Mom.
Mark S.
Slooooow down! Both you and the Dems.
Knecht Ruprecht
You gotta love the photo here. You know that look you put on when you’re trying really hard not to appear to be gloating, but you can’t help gloating just a little?
JK
Obama should announce his Supreme Court nominee on the eve of the Preakness and Senate Democrats should schedule debate on a climate change bill on the eve of the Belmont Stakes.
Keith G
So….ah… do ya think they secured Sen. Nelson’s support?
So on to the House. How does that bill look? Could the Repugs be interested in filibustering the conference report?
Bottom line, another win for the “Do Nothing President”.
gbear
If you want to listen to a rare 10 minutes of sanity in the senate, here’s a video of Al Franken’s speech during the first failed attempt to bring the bill to debate. He’s such an incredible policy wonk that he doesn’t even begin to get snarky until about the 7:20 mark.
PeakVT
I hope the Democrats learn something from this.
Stranger things have happened, though I am unable to think of an example ATM.
bey
At our house it was legs. I would rip off their legs and beat them with the bloody stump. My son the smartass would frequently point out that, since the stump was presumably still attached to his torso, I couldn’t beat him with it.
I think our democrats is learning.
demkat620
@Knecht Ruprecht: Yeah that is a great shot of the next Majority Leader Mr Durbin of Illinois.
Please Democrats, please oh please oh please, run as the party of Accomplishments.
It is what the nation needs to hear.
“An economy in recovery, a world reputation repaired, health care reformed, Wall Street brought to heel and a nation with hope reborn”
Or something like that. If the jobs market starts producing even close to what Biden predicted, all bets are off.
November could be awfully interesting.
Citizen_X
@Knecht Ruprecht: Love it. Those are the proverbial shiteating grins.
ThinkBlue
They should have learned from the stimulus vote. I don’t know why they even tried for “bi-partisanship” on health care. If they don’t get it this time, we might need to elect some people with functioning brains.
jrg
I believe in “Nurturant Parent morality” myself.
Mother: “Don’t play with matches”.
Brat: “No. I Want to.”
Mother: “Are you sure? I’ll buy my little woobiekins some gasoline and a bottle of Boone’s Farm!”
Brat: “OK dirtbag… but only if we go to the store right now, and I get to drive the Acura.”
You can say that it’s a bad idea, but think of how much we will learn together!
JenJen
Gawd, I love beating these people. Love it, love it, love it.
And, for those watching NHL right now… GO HABS!!
Warren Terra
@Comrade Mary:
Well, at least she taught you to type with your toes excellently.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
They can still filibuster a final bill. But they won’t. I didn’t think they would cave this soon, but it was an impossible ploy from the beginning and they were gambling on Obama and Reid playing footsie again like with HCR, that they could noodle their way to run out the clock. This bill will pass once it gets to the floor and likely be a pretty good one. Too many pitchforks to face for all concerned, for it not to.
Chuck Butcher
I honestly do not understand the GOP public positioning on this issue. They had to know that the BS on “too big to fail” would get outed and they’d be holding that position in the face of public anger at Wall Street. Someone with some kind of brains should have had a talk with the Senate GOPers about the policy of Obama fail at all costs – to them.
malraux
@PeakVT:
Well, there’s always the chance that the democrats will learn the wrong thing from this and next year try to preempt the superbowl or something.
Mnemosyne
@General Egali Tarian Stuck:
To me, that says that the caucus is much more unified on financial reform than they were on healthcare reform, so it was easier to get them all to stand firm. We’ll see how it pans out.
Nick
@ThinkBlue: This had a lot to do with different committee chairman
-Stimulus HAD to be bipartisan…needed the Republican votes, not to break a filibuster, but to simply pass it…you need 60 votes to spend on a deficit.
-Healthcare was at the mercy of Max Baucus
-Financial reform at the mercy of Chris Dodd.
Baucus and Dodd are two very different political animals.
Chat Noir
@JenJen: Me too. I can’t emphasize enough how much I despise the Republican Party as a whole. I want them to implode from the weight of their racism, sexism, and stupidism.
Comrade Mary
@Warren Terra: Do you see which toe I’m holding up right now? Can you guess, huh? HUH?
#snicker#
Chuck Butcher
@Chat Noir:
I also loath the current iteration of the GOP, but that doesn’t mean that the Democratic voice is the only correct one or that the mishmash of Independent/NA can be represented effectively by any single Party. It certainly isn’t good for the Democratic Party to have “just any” responsible GOPer drifting into it.
numbskull
@Warren Terra:
ThinkBlue
@Nick: I’m talking more about making concessions for people who aren’t going to vote for the bill anyway. The stimulus was stripped of most stimulative measures in order to appease people who voted against it. Health care was deconstructed of most truly effective reforms to try to win moderate votes which weren’t needed. The fact that Dems even considered negotiating with the GOP on this is disappointing.
The Dems need to go on offense. Getting through cloture is a good first step, but they need to pass a strong bill regardless of what the other side thinks.
Tsulagi
Not the routine in our house, but then my two kids are way more adult than the R-bagger versions in Congress. So yeah, when they throw tantrums send those R-brats to bed without their supper, and let them know they’re not too big for corporal punishment. Spare the rod, spoil the Republican. Hell, they’d probably get off getting a public spanking on the Senate or House floor.
John Cole
@Chuck Butcher:
They’re for it so we’re against it!
Nick
@ThinkBlue:
Not really. I’m not really sure where you heard that. the only Republicans who had any say over the stimulus were Specter, Snowe and Collins. With healthcare, most of the provision put in the Finance bill to get Snowe’s vote was taken out in the final bill, which was crafted for Lincoln, Lieberman and Nelson.
ThinkBlue
@Nick: For the stimulus bill I was mainly referring to the House. For healthcare, I was referring to negotiating defensively from the start to try to attract moderates (no single-payer, no universal coverage, no public option).
Nick
@ThinkBlue:
The House bill was much more stimulative than the Senate bill…it was only weakened to get through the Senate.
Single Payer was never on the table period, I’m not sure what you man by universal coverage because we have close to that in the bill, and the public option was in both the House bill (which passed) and the Senate bill (where it was stripped when Lieberman, Nelson and Lincoln came out against it)
manwith7talents
Curious tactics by the GOP. First, take a public stand that allows you to be painted as defenders of Wall Street, then cave completely. Not really sure what they felt they were accomplishing here.
Niques
Maybe waiting for their Wall Street donation checks to clear.
Elie
This just feels good now. No gloating. Just seeing the machine do its job — whack, whack, whack…
I don wanna say that there has been a sea-change…not yet and there are always set backs, and many reversals ahead, but Lord, there is a rythm to this thing right now and its getting pretty scary if you are a Republican. They are screaming like crazy – spitting venom and hate, but they are breaking and running also. I used to feel like this watching the Bears during their winning seasons under Mike Ditka. They were always their most powerful running it down the throats of the opposition…who would be standing between snaps with their hands on their hips, shoulders sagging and looking down. I just LOVED watching Walter Payton or Neil Anderson break through the line and run unchallenged into the end zone. Occasionally, Neill would break across the field and run it in on the other side…Payton always unloaded a bit on the opposition. Lordy, that felt real real good.
Not gloating at all. Know the fights ahead, but I am feeling good right this minute.
ThinkBlue
@Nick: The house stimulus bill was still weakened to appease moderates and conservatives. Remember Obama’s meeting with House GOP leaders?
Of course Single Payer was never on the table. They didn’t even try to get it in. And this new bill doesn’t include universal coverage, since people can simply pay a penalty to decline insurance. And again, the Public Option was stripped to get moderate/conservative votes.
Maybe I should have said moderate/conservative instead of GOP or Republican.
Liberty60(Veteran, Great war of Yankee Aggression)
Actually, its more like this (with apologies to the Sadly, No! guys):
Shorter Sen. McConnell: “We need to stop this assault on America, that threatens to destroy freedom, erode public faith in the markets, and END LIFE AS WE KNOW IT!
Wait- we might have to stay up late tonight? Fuck it, then.”
J. Michael Neal
@ThinkBlue:
Phrase it however you want, but HCR could not have passed without some of those moderate/conservative votes. Your claim that there were a bunch of needless concessions is flat out wrong. They were needed very badly. No concessions, no law.
DanF
For all you Atrios-haters out there, this is the strategy Duncan Black has been advocating. Propose a series of popular legislation and dare the pukes to vote against. More like this please.
Chuck Butcher
@John Cole:
Yes, but…
I’m pretty sure they do still pay people with some brains as political consultants. Maybe not.
Toni
The crisis on Wall Street from 2008 has made it untenable for any serious legislator to appear to be on the side of the big bankers. That has helped unify the democrats. If reform was being attempted in another time without the crisis, some of the same divisions with HCR would have appeared.
Nicole
Heh. And people say horse racing is a niche sport.
Now, if the filly can just win the Derby on Saturday, this’ll be one of the greatest Run for the Roses ever.
Paul in KY
Nicole, I’d be fine with the filly winning on Sat. She’ll go off at something like 8 – 1 & if you can win with her or have an exacta with her on top…nice money!
Polar Bear Squares
Exactly. Will you punch Biff at least once Marty McFly? You’ll feel better for it.
Nicole
@Paul in KY: I think you’re right about the odds. She’d go off higher if it weren’t for lots of sentimental chicks like me who’ll put a few bucks on her to win. :)