Here is the GOP message to America:
Here is the headline from the AP detailing the outcome of the Jobs Bill vote in the Senate:
Senate Republicans vote to kill Obama’s jobs bill
By ANDREW TAYLOR and BEN FELLER
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have voted to kill the White House jobs bill despite weeks of campaign-style barnstorming by President Barack Obama across the country.
Forty-six Republicans joined with two Democrats to filibuster the $447 billion plan.
That vote was not final. The roll call was kept open Tuesday night to allow Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. to vote. But it would have taken 60 votes in the 100-member Senate to keep the legislation alive.
The plan would have included Social Security payroll tax cuts for workers and businesses and other tax relief totaling about $270 billion. There also was to be $175 billion in new spending on roads, school repairs and other infrastructure – as well as jobless aid and help to local governments to avoid layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police officers.
Republicans opposed the measure over its spending to stimulate the economy and its tax surcharge on millionaires.
As Steve Benen notes, this really wasn’t a vote on the bill itself:
This is not a vote on final passage of the bill. It’s not even a cloture vote to end debate so that there can be a vote on final passage. Tonight, rather, is on the motion to proceed. The Senate is an awkward institution with often-incomprehensible procedures, but motions to proceed are among the more frustrating wastes of time in this institution.
In effect, what the Senate will vote on tonight is whether they can have a debate on the jobs bill. That’s all this is, a vote to allow a discussion. Republicans will, of course, filibuster the motion to proceed — a concept that would have been considered patently ridiculous not too terribly long ago — even before having an opportunity to filibuster the bill itself.
When members of the Democratic caucus — Ben Nelson, Joe Manchin, and Joe Lieberman — vote with Republicans tonight, they’re not only rejecting a credible jobs bill, they’re also rejecting an opportunity to talk about a credible jobs bill. Republicans and conservative Dems are, as a practical matter, saying that the notion of even debating the American Jobs Act is so offensive, they can’t even allow members to begin the discussion.
Manchin came through and actually voted in favor, which is a pleasant surprise, with only Nelson and Tester voting against. So two Democrats and every Republican are so terrified of even discussing job creation that they have to block any and all debate on the matter. But don’t worry, the usual folks will still have the GOP’s backs- here is James Joyner running rhetorical cover (in a post reacting to Mistermix’s piece this morning):
I would, however, say Reid overstates his case in saying Republicans are trying to thwart job creation. A particular bill, yes. The Democrats in general, yes.
Is there any doubt the GOP is trying to thwart job creation? They won’t even allow a discussion to take place. At least the sabotage of the Republicans, unnoticed by prominent bloggers, is picking up steam elsewhere:
“Their strategy is to suffocate the economy for the sake of what they think will be a political victory. They think that the more folks see Washington taking no action to create jobs, the better their chances in the next election. So they’re doing everything in their power to make sure nothing gets done.”
The message goes on from there to talk about the merits of the White House jobs bill, urging recipients to call Capitol Hill. Regardless, this is, as near as I can tell, the first time anyone associated with the president has broached the sabotage question at all.
And that strikes me as rather remarkable.
At least Messina is in good company. Michael Cohen, a senior fellow at American Security Project, apparently following up on a discussion I launched last November, recently said, “We’re far past the point where there is reason to doubt that the GOP is purposely trying to harm” the economy.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), vice chairman of the Senate Democratic Conference, believes “some” Republicans “want the economy to actually fail” on purpose. Paul Krugman recently said in his column, “[I]t’s hard to avoid the suspicion that G.O.P. leaders actually want the economy to perform badly.” Eugene Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize winner, was recently asked whether it’s possible Republicans would sabotage the economy. “Well, let me be honest,” he said. “It has occurred to me that this is a possibility.” E.J. Dionne Jr., Dan Gross,David Frum, and Andrew Sullivan have all raised the same concerns.
A few months ago, Kevin Drum wondered whether this will ever be “a serious talking point,” adding, “No serious person in a position of real influence really wants to accuse an entire party of cynically trying to tank the economy, after all.”
Given recent events — the debt-ceiling scandal, the GOP-driven downgrade, the Republican rejection of any efforts to boost the economy, the GOP leadership’s letter to Bernanke pleading with him to let the economy suffer, the repeated threats of government shutdowns, tonight’s death of the American Jobs Act — it appears all kinds of serious people are at least entertaining the possibility.
And so, the jobs bill is dead. It didn’t go down exactly how I expected it would, but close enough. I would have thought the GOP would have found a way to separate the tax breaks from the “useless” spending on teachers, roads, etc., and then allowed the Democrats to pass that and take the hit from their base, but it turns out that straight up nihilism wins. Out of a job? You’re on your own, folks. The GOP have an election to win, and the obvious two pronged approach is doing whatever they can to destroy the economy while actively engaging in voter suppression.
All that is left now is for Chuck Todd and David Gregory to explain how this is a failure on the part of Obama. And no, I am not watching the damned debate tonight.
Maude
The fat lady didn’t sing. It isn’t really dead yet.
cathyx
And to put salt in the job killing wound, congress is likely to pass the South Korea Free Trade agreement.
Turgidson
I just posted this in the open thread, but it’s about the jobs bill, so reposting.
Jon Tester voted No(although many of the assholes rumored to be voting No apparently backed off or were bribed into not being assholes…since the bill is going nowhere anyway).
Tester’s press release explaining his opposition criticizes the bill for…not doing a bunch of stuff that’s right there in the bill:
Jesus fucking christ. Aid to states SAVES FUCKING JOBS YOU IDIOT. Tax “gimmicks”? The idea is to give employers incentives to hire. What the fucking hell is wrong with that? Big, broad, bipartisan plan to reduce the deficit? Is that a goddamned joke? No, really…is it? Mr. Tester, have you met Mitch McConnell? Heard anything he’s said the past 2+ years? Anything at all? Have you been sleeping under a fucking rock on Mars all this time?
Uh hello, Mr. Tester? Most of that is in the fucking bill. And the spending cuts are all we’ve talked about for the past year, so fuck off on that one too.
Again, what planet have you been on, dipshit? There is a millionaire surtax in the bill, and anyway, it’s a jobs bill, not a tax reform bill. WTF are you even talking about?
*Speechless…head may explode*
MTiffany
Republicans joined Democrats? WTF, really? I always thought that it was the smaller group that joins the larger group, not the other way around. But if you’ve got an ideological axe to grind…
General Stuck
The ad makers are like ambulance chasers these days. Hanging around for some red meat to be fashioned into 30 second video art of the damned. I am glad to see both Obama and Reid matching the wingers in who can campaign with the most empty rhetoric and actions of the stuff winning pol campaigns are made of.
Some days you fuck the chicken, other days ….. you see Mitch Mcconnell on the senate floor whining how dems are playing dirty politics making wingnuts out to be the shallow sociopaths they are.
Cat Lady
Bit by bit everything’s getting clearer and clearer to more and more people, so that’s the only good thing to come out of all this fucking bullshit.
Cliff in NH
Direct Live Stream of the ‘jobs’ debate:
http://www.bloomberg.com/streams/video/LiveBTV200.asxx
The preshow has been interesting over the last hour or so…
cathyx
Thank God Obama is cracking down on medical marijuana. We wouldn’t want people to stop using big pharma drugs to treat their symptoms and pain. That would cut into campaign donations.
Comrade Mary
Fuck you, Tester. Don’t shit in my hand and tell me it’s fudge.
And fuck you, Schweitzer, you fucking coward, for failing to add your voice to those of 16 Democratic governors who addressed the holdout Senators today.
Bruce S
Wow – I thought Tester would shift to yes but not Manchkin. Don’t make me start to forgive that fucker! My guess is that he knows folks in his state are desperate and, whatever else may be going on in their heads, are wondering WTF regarding jobs…
lamh34
Obama: “we will now work with Senator Reid to make sure that the individual proposals in this jobs bill get a vote as soon as possible”
http://twitter.com/#!/samsteinhp/status/123910342177849344
lamh34
While Tester and Nelson were voted against cloture for AJA, POTUS was in Orlando having a beer with some unemployed workers from the Orlando area..
http://yfrog.com/h7po0imj
Cliff in NH
Someone has to tweet this link @ mitt romney When he lies about predictions of unemployment by the administration
Obama Sees 10% Unemployment Rate, Chides Wall Street Critics
By Julianna Goldman and Rich Miller – June 16, 2009 22:30 EDT
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=auTTvgeN294Y
June 17 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama offered stern words for Wall Street and a prediction of 10 percent U.S. unemployment even as he said the “engines” of an economic recovery have begun to turn.
“Wall Street seems to maybe have a shorter memory about how close we were to the abyss than I would have expected,” Obama said, referring to criticism of the government’s growing role in the economy and markets.
Obama, in an interview with Bloomberg News on the eve of the release of his plan to revamp financial-market regulation, voiced confidence the economy would recover soon, while warning that robust growth was needed if the U.S. is to rein in its budget deficit without raising taxes on most Americans.
“You’re starting to see the engines of the economy turn,” Obama said. Still, he said, “It’s going to take a long time” for a full-fledged recovery as households work off the debt accumulated during the real estate boom.
The jobless rate will continue to climb from its current 25-year high of 9.4 percent as employers are slow to take on new workers, the president said. “Jobs are a lagging indicator,” he said, while adding that he didn’t have “a crystal ball” to predict when unemployment will start to decline.
– snip –
lamh34
hmm…BET HIP HOP AWARDS or GOP DEBATE???? What to watch? What to watch?
it may be ghetto, but it can’t be worse than GOP Debate. I’m gonna go with Hip Hop Awards if only cause they gonna honor my firt celeb crush…LL Cool J!
Comrade Luke
@MTiffany:
That’s a great point.
Cliff in NH
Newt wants people in jail all of a sudden.
Bush appointees too.
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh34: Do you hate yourself? My answer to your question could turn on your answer to mine.
Cliff in NH
I hope long /zn is the right trade for this debate.
So far so good…
jl
Just saw a pic of the debate on the TPM blog. No Charlie Rose show black on black talkhead action.
Loser.
Not watching, and won’t even bother with the train wreck clips.
Jeez. These guys can’t even put on a good show anymore.
Quaker in a Basement
In the immortal words of John Fogerty: I ain’t no fortunate one, naw!
lamh34
@Omnes Omnibus: actually not really sure what you mean when you ask “do I hate myself”? but no I don’t.
Raven (formerly stuckinred)
@Quaker in a Basement: lawd they’ll send ya down to wah
Jenny
Jon Tester.
Remember when the “progressive betters” were hailing him on every front page in 2006.
Kola Noscopy
Oh please.
Once again Republicans use arcane rules to filibuster without even having to filibuster, thanks to Harry Reid, Obama and the other purposefully inept Dems who keep pretending they don’t have the power to change the rules accordingly.
Cue Otard excuse making: BUT WE CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN’T…THE PUKES ARE TOO MEEEEEEEEEEEEAN…IT CAN’T BE DONE…
Horseshit.
Cliff in NH
@lamh34:
I think he implies that watching the republican debate is proof of hating yourself.
I don’t agree, I watch All the horrid debates, on both sides.
Just grab a beer an yell at the tv =)
Jrod
@Kola Noscopy: Obama has the power to change the rules of the Senate? Which part of the Constitution contains that nugget of wisdom, troll?
lamh34
@Cliff in NH: oh, if so, then yeah, I’d agree with that. I’m not a drinker, so I tend to have the misfortune of having to watch these crap-fest stone cold sober, which is less fun than with a few beers :D
J. Michael Neal
@Kola Noscopy: You really can’t count votes, can you? Name me 50 senators that would have voted to end the filibuster. None of the Republicans would have, and I can name at least seven Democrats (Lieberman, Schumer, Landrieu, Nelson, Nelson, Pryor and Feinstein) that would have joined them. That’s who you should be blaming.
Turgidson
@Jenny:
Markos in particular has a hard-on for mountain west Democrats, and the front pagers follow his lead. Until they realize that included in the “rugged individualist” image they think they are cannily lifting from the GOP is a desire to keep the rich free from taxation.
I will say in Tester’s defense – he’s a whole shitload better than Conrad Burns was (duh) and he did quietly vote with the party on the big items early in Obama’s term. But his explanation for this vote was the kind of rank bullshit we should only expect from Republicans.
Cliff in NH
@lamh34:
Oh dear, I feel for you.
maybe you will drink it if you make it:
http://www.austinhomebrew.com/index.php
Moderation works … for some people..
ABL
@Jenny: Great repost.
NR
@Jenny: But wait, I thought the prevailing wisdom around here is we should support people like him because they’re better than Republicans?
Omnes Omnibus
@lamh34: Then avoid the debate at all costs.
kindness
Congratulations John on your Senator voting yes. That’s heartening. So what if he would have voted against the actual bill. At least he was willing to vote with the party and at least discuss a Jobs Bill.
Of course by tomorrow the Village Elders will all be dissing the whole thing on Obama. It’s all so predictable.
cynn
This is sickening. It’s like America has a necrosis that starts from the top and sinks. The little cells at the bottom are only trying to defend their local network; they are trying to keep the body alive. I was going to quit smoking, but now I’m worth more dead than alive.
cynn
This is sickening. Necrotic America rots from the top. The little cells at the bottom are only trying to keep the body alive. I have lost hope; change, it’s in my couch.
lol
@NR:
Oh, he is.
It’s fun to highlight all the blue dogs the Netroots slavishly praised back when the 50 state strategy was all the rage and how we needed to recruit Democrats in every district. And they were right about that of course.
But it’s funny how hysterical they became when they realized that the moderate/conservative Democrats they recruited to run in moderate/conservative districts turned out to be… moderate/conservative Democrats. No shit, huh?
Still, I can’t get amped up by Tester. If he thinks it’ll help him, go ahead and vote against a bill that wasn’t going to pass with his support anyways. I suspect Reid gave the okay for two Dems to break ranks as long as they got a 51 vote majority.
El Cid
@lol: On the other hand it’s hard to get people revved up for get out the vote campaigns for candidates you need to stress to people to not get too excited about.
‘Hey everyone! We need to get this guy elected so as to keep a majority in the Senate [or whatever], but don’t expect too much, and don’t whine every time he opposes the Democratic agenda! So get out there and organize!’
JDReign
@Kola Noscopy:
So Obama can change senate rules? Someone needs to get to a civics class stat!
g
Forty-six Republicans joined with two Democrats to filibuster the $447 billion plan.
Oh, hah hah. It’s bipartisan!!
Oh, BTW:
When members of the Democratic caucus — Ben Nelson, Joe Manchin, and Joe Lieberman — vote with Republicans tonight
Joe Lieberman is not a Democrat.
J. Michael Neal
@g: Lieberman is not a Democrat. However, he is a member of the Democratic caucus. So is Bernie Sanders. They both voted for Harry Reid to be Majority Leader.
John Weiss
Our guys have to rub their noses in it.
This is war!
Mike G
That’s a pretty low bar.
RadioOne
This is like a civil war. When the goal of the GOP is to defeat our country in order to win an election, we are at war.
TenguPhule
Manchin gets to live, Tester and Nelson are dogmeat.
Basilisc
How often are Democrats going to use this vote against the GOP on the campaign trail next year? My guess is, roughly, “never”. Just wouldn’t be sportin’.
jon
Damnit! Senator Obama failed again! Betrayal!
OzoneR
@El Cid:
Depends, is anyone, even Democrats, in Nebraska any excited about Nelson if he votes for the jobs bill? It’s Nebraska.
wilfred
You’re looking at system failure, but can’t deal with it. On the one hand, you expect the Senate to pass the Emperor’s bill as it is, without comment. On the other hand, you don’t want to remove the Senate’s ability to cripple such things because you may someday win it back and want to keep that power for yourselves.
Democracy as we have it is the handmaiden of capitalism. They are failing together and we need to find alternatives.
That’s all.