Despite earlier reports buzzing around the Hill that Senate Democrats may not have the 60 votes needed to prevent a GOP filibuster of the $410 billion spending omnibus, TheHill.com is now reporting that the Democrat leadership is now confident that they will have the votes necessary to make this happen.
Last November, the only thing the Democrats failed to do was capture the 60 Senate seats needed to prevent a filibuster. This means that if they are going to get anything done, it’s going to have to be with the help of some Republicans willing to cross sides. The Democrat’s most likely help will come from Republican Senators who are looking to gain some much-needed political capital - like in Maine and Pennsylvania for example, two blue/purple states with “vulnerable” Republican Senators. I think that they should be more worried about retaliation from their own party than those voters on the left who didn’t vote for them in the first place.
During the recent stimulus fight, there were three Senators who decided to play the role of a modern day Judas’: Senators Collins and Snowe, both of Maine, and Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. They’ve definitely played it well.
Yes my friends, it appears that the party of Reagan is slowly assimilating into the party of pansies, where those elected to serve on what has become a reality show, now better known as “House… and Senate” spend their days in the dark bowels of the various House and Senate buildings, meeting with key staffers and politicos not discussing policy, but figuring out what tradeoffs will get them reelected.
While Snowe and Collins haven’t been mentioned, I wouldn’t be surprised if they join arms with Senator Specter again, who is believed to be a key player for crossing over, all with the end result of propping themselves up, while dragging the Republican brand and Party into the ground.
If I were Michael Steele, my message to the Republicans in both the House and Senate would be simple: “grow a damn pair or I’ll make sure your sorry asses don’t get re-elected.”
We’ll see what happens… and I hope to have more updates tomorrow.
This is probably the funniest video I’ve seen in awhile, regardless of the target. MC Tarp Fund definitely has some skills. I’m quite impressed.
Best line:
Get your story straight man and make it quick, your political capital fell faster than stocks in Reykjavik
I guess this is the power of the Stephen Colbert army. If you’re unsure what sparked this video, and a variety of other spoofs, here is the clip that started it all:
President Obama outlined his FY2010 budget on Thursday, claiming to try and reduce the overall budget deficit by the end of his first term. His actions, not surprisingly, prompted the DC political pundits to chime in and undermine the President’s rosy economic growth projections. But this perpetual game of strategy and attack isn’t the reason why I am writing this blog post.
It has come to my attention that people at New York University are actually trying to raise awareness of the fiscal problems that plague our nation today by playing a sport like game called “budgetball.” Played on a basketball court with a volleyball and occasionally some oven mitts from the kitchen - this game could be a nerdy policy wonk’s miracle for gym credit.
In the real world, the federal debt corresponds to future taxes. The things that we want, and need, now can be paid for later by ourselves or our children. Budgetball compresses this process, allowing us to experience both ends of this transaction within a single tournament. Debt is not a temporal pyramid scheme; we cannot perpetually put off into the future the cost of the things we want today. At the same time, debt is a powerful tool, allowing us to respond to an immediate crisis and pay for it later when resources are more plentiful, or to take key advantages now which will have enormous future benefits, essentially paying for themselves.
Winning at Budgetball requires the same kinds of skills needed to address the real-world issue of long-term fiscal health. To win, a team must use debt creatively and aggressively, but also responsibly. They must accurately analyze current and future needs and resources. Through individual skill and coordinated teamwork, winning teams will debate issues, make tough trade-offs, develop a plan, and execute it under tense and uncertain conditions to achieve victory.
Disappointingly, unlike the good parts of the political world, the game budgetball is not a contact sport.
