How about to save money we stop farm subsidies?

What Nelson's comments underscore is the pathetic failure of us (all of us in the blogging and media worlds) to explain economic basics to people. You don't turn off the water when you are thirsty.

Reining in spending on social programs is like tax cuts - when the economy's bad (or good, or flat), the country's only hope is to cut taxes and rein in social spending.

After all, the political donor class don't directly use social programs and feel they pay too much in taxes...

As for his relationship with our Tree of Liberty and Governance, Bob Nelson is that broken twig that's fallen off and landed in the mud. Yes, Bob, you are but a stick in the mud!

Have the sense to grow some policy balls, Bob! -Kevo

It's a reminder that Ben Nelson, like too many conservatives, simply doesn't approach public policy in a serious way.

They do take it seriously, just not in the manner that is expected. Their serious efforts are to ensure that laws are passed that benefit only their corporate paymasters, and not ordinary folks.

And too many ordinary folks have been brainwashed into supporting legislators and legislation that is in direct contrast to their best interests, thus serving as useful idiots. Closing the circle is a media apparatus who's sole principle is maintaining and strengthening that brainwashing.

The truth is that there have been any real filibusters for years in the Senate...only the threat of one. If Reed had real leadership skills, he'd force the Republicans (and any Democratic allies they have) to conduct an ACTUAL filibuster. Time to bring in the cots and the diapers. It's way past time to bust the filibusters!!

The only reform that is needed to require a filibuster to be a actual filibuster. No more the cloture vote nonsense. A filibuster should shut the senate down while 40 senators trade off reading the phone book.

The filibuster was never intended to create the requirement of a supermajority. It's intention was to give the minority the ability stop what they percieved to be bad legislation when everything else failed. It was supposed to be last ditch manuvuer that carried with it a politcal cost. Therefore it would only be used in limited circumstances on issues the minority party felt were simply too important.

By creating this fake filibuster where no actually has to stand there and talk all the political cost of using the filibuster is gone. It goes from being a rare tool to a basic strategy and good governance goes out the window.

We often hear the argument that Democrats need to preserve the filibuster for that future time that the GOP is back in power. Even if that unlikely event occurs, who cares? Repububicans basically don't want government to do anything, so they produce no meaningful legislation. So nothing to filibuster.

The filibuster works primarily to the advantage of those trying to prevent the government from adopting now policies or programs, i.e. the Republicans. Democrats and liberals gain next to nothing from it. We should bite the bullet and abolish the filibuster.

hey, i have a federal deficit reduction idea:

if some amorphous concern about doing "too much" has these harebrained slackers wanting to do less, how about all of the Senators and Representatives take a massive f*cking paycut commensurate with their diminshed usefulness.

Starting with Nelson.

Oh, it's simpler than that: Nelson is up for re-election in 2012, when (presumably) Obama will lead the ticket. If Obama is popular, Nelson will not be harmed by his independence from the top of the ticket -- there is no evidence he is vulnerable from the left within Nebraska.

But if Obama is not popular in Nebraska in 2012, Nelson will benefit from evidence of his independence from the President.

If you guys want influence on Nelson, show how he is vulnerable from the left in Nebraska -- which can't be about what 'everybody knows' about economics, etc..

It has to be about Omaha, Sioux City, and Grand Island, ALL of which are now represented in the House by... conservative Republicans.

I'm sure that Ben Nelson will be the first to propose that we stop wasting money on our extravagently wasteful ethanol fuel programs.

When a Democrat starts using Republican talking points ad nauseum, you have to start questioning whether he's really a Democrat.

Primarying Nelson, even successfully (and it won't be), won't get us through the general. Anyone who has photos of him on all fours with a Mutual of Omaha executive is encouraged to produce them now. Don't hold back. Your country needs you.

Part of the problem with interpreting senatorial wisdom is we never know who the ultimate consumer of these gems is meant to be. People like Nelson, and other small state senators, seem to be playing to the local crowds or overly influenced by small state minds. In the case of NE, their economy is doing ok, by national standards, so the thinking is" gee, we do ok with our quasi small state small govt small budget methods, so why can't the federal govt do the same?. " This ignores, completely on purpose I am sure, the logical follow on - "gee it is sure great that my small state gets more in federal money than we pay in so we can afford to have our small government small state existence". Basically, the entire central corridor and rocky mtn state senators can claim to support lower spending, while at the same time, VOTING FOR EVERY appropriations bill BY LARGE MARGINS. They KNOW that most of their voters have no clue, nor want to hear, about the large wealth shifts that take place to support the bottom 25 or so states, a process that is enabled by the very appropriations process they claim to despise.

God, I'm really beginning to hate this guy. He's not a democrat by any rational measure or definition. Why is he caucusing with the democrats ?

let them talk let have a good old filabuster let them talk through thanksgivening through christmas through new year if they can last that long np potty breakes unless some one is there to take your place not lunch breakfast dinner breaks without someone else talking they can take turns but once someone stops talking it is over then move on no 60 votes no stopping them let them talk read from whatever but always making a sound singing ok let them wear themselves out no breaks

Ben Nelson is objectively pro-Depression.

re: intellectual seriousness of a house plant: No, I think you meant to say the intellect of a house plant, didn't you ?

Like other confused conservatives Nelson refuses to be confronted by an opposition when making such ridiculous claims and strives to confuse the average voter by conflating micro and macro economics.

I'm so sick of the nation being held hostage by a few ignorant senators, especially when the issues are so damned serious. The nation would already be marching along to progress except for all the stalling from bribed and misinformed senators playing politics with our lives and livelihood.

Stop it. Stop it. The people never voted for filibusters but for a majority to get things done.

Our democracy is being obstructed by this abused senate rule which the people never authorized.

So where were the spending controls during the off-the-rails boom time? Oh yeah Goldman Sachs/Citi/BoA were all playing Scrooge McDuck swimming in a money vault. Aesop was sooo right.

let them shut the government down with every filibuster and soon we could stop paying our legislators salaries...watch how fast they get rid of this abused senate rule

When Bush and his Repiglican goons wanted to pass those 'tax cuts' to the wealthy, thus increasing the massive deficit that he had already created, and Bush needed that one extra vote to make it happen, guess who cast that fucking vote ? Pig Shit Nelson ...

I called Ben Nelson's office today to complain about his idiotic statement. Instead of a person, I got a voicemail message saying that Nelson's voicemail was full and could take any more messages. He cannot even run an office.

Too true

It is not just the High Plains and Mt. State Senators who are economically ignorant. The claim that we are "spending too much" appeals to virtually everyone in the US Congress. It sounds responsible. What never gets said, however, is "too much" for what? If the goal is to restore jobs and save the economy, I fear that Paul Krugman is right, and the spending has been "too little." I do not mean to downplay the venality, corruption, or short-sighted self-centeredness of people like Nelson, but there is an element of gross ignorance as well, and it extends to the media.

"At some point it's just too big," Nelson argued, with the intellectual seriousness of a house plant.

Can't we have a discussion about policy that doesn't demean house plants?

It's a reminder that Ben Nelson, like too many conservatives, simply doesn't approach public policy in a serious way.

no its not - its just more evidence that nelson, like nearly all conservatives is a disingenuous bought prick.
.

He's right. We should not be running up such huge deficits. During economic good times, we should be creating surpluses. During the Clinton administration we were on the way to erasing the deficits created by Republicans. Then Bush came in, and during economic good times created more huge deficits. So instead of being ahead, we were in a hole already when the current almost Depression happened. It's not really that complicated.
But when shit happens, there isn't much choice of what to do, no matter how the previous guys have mismanaged everything. And a current transient economic situation should not matter that much when were dealing with for example a potential great depression replay, or the demise of civilization through global warmning. We just have to suck it up no matter how much Republicans have fucked things up.

As long as Sens. Grassley and Imhofe are in the Senate, Ben Nelson will never be the stupidest man there; but eventually, perhaps seniority will out and he will achieve that status

About cloture, it should be 60% of those present and voting, not 60% of the whole Senate. That would require the jerk contingent to actually invest themselves in their jerkdom.

As for Nelson's understanding of basic economics, I'm sure he knows the basics, he just doesn't find them convenient for his purposes. There are many hypotheses of why he does what he does, but one of them is that he basically hates America and wants it to crumble so that some new structure can rise from the ashes.

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