It is time for the DNC to buy 5 minutes of time on all the networks and have the Big Dog (Clinton) explain to people what the Repubs are doing...

I'm sure the GOP in Congress will tell you it's not 'obstructionism', it's 'non-cooperation with the government of the occupying power'.

Somewhere Charles Stewart Parnell is laughing his ass off.

Tme to move totally to reconciliaton. Bag the bone-headed losers.

Artsmith and Stevio-- I agree with both of you.

What's the problem with bringing this bill up for a cloture vote? Seriously, what's the worst that could happen? WaPo runs a headline that says "SENATE DEMOCRATS FAIL TO PASS JOBS BILL?" At least that gives the Democrats something to run on this fall - the entire GOP opposed the jobs bill because they don't care about mainstreet, just Wall Street.

The public, they assume, won't know that the GOP is blocking a modest jobs bill, and won't know that a 59-vote majority isn't enough to pass legislation.

At this point one wonders if it might make sense for the dems to hold a vote knowing they'll lose and then draw a whole bunch of attention to the vote failing. If the Democrats can convince newspapers to run headlines like "Republicans block jobs bill with 41 votes" maybe that creates an opening to teach the public how the filibuster actually works.

@mcc - Exactly. Force the GOP to actually make tough votes.

It will be interesting to see how Scott Brown, i.e. the regular guy/pickup truck fame, will vote.

mcc wrote:

If the Democrats can convince newspapers to run headlines like "Republicans block jobs bill with 41 votes"

Well, that's the key question, isn't it? I think it's far more likely that newspapers will run headlines like EricB suggests - something that leads with the words "Democrats Fail..."

My friends, I'm afraid there is only one conclusion that can be drawn from continued the inability Democrats to pass any of their agenda with majorities in both houses of congress and a president waiting with pen in hand.

The Democrats have been lying to us in coordination with the Republicans in a sick game of political Good cop/Bad cop.

You may recall an old commercial in which the presumptive good cop offers the trembling suspect a big delicious looking chocolate cupcake, waits for him to scarf it down, then pulls out a tall frosty glass of milk.

We got our cupcake on inauguration day, and Reid, Baucus, Landrieu, Nelson, Lieberman, and Lincoln have been standing at arms length with a glass of milk

and how is it that Harry Reid still has his job?

What the Senate Democrats need to realize is that a public which does not pay attention close enough attention to realize the Republican minority is obstructing the Senate will also not realize that the Senate uses obscure parlimentary procedures to break the rules.

Use the nuclear option to destroy the filibuster. Get Vice President Biden to rule that the filibuster is unconstitutional. In fact, have him go further - have him rule that there can be no vote by the Senate to restore a rule that is deemed unconstitutional. If the Senate Republicans want the rule reinstated, they have to go to the Supreme Court or get a constitutional ammendment.

Since this is pretty much a cut in taxes, can't this be passed in reconciliation? That's how Bush's tax cuts were passed, correct?

(Broken record, I know.)

Make Them Debate The Bill. Make them filibuster. Every news media in the world will cover a true filibuster.

A cloture vote is a vote to end debate on a bill. We are not doing the debate part.

Make Them Filibuster! Make then explain why they don't like it. Keep them on the floor 24x7 until everyone has spoken.

Then vote majority rules.

and how is it that Harry Reid still has his job?

Given recent polls its very likely Reid won't have a job after November. And as much political capital as Republicans will get out of taking down a sitting majority leader I just can't help but feel a little happy about watching him go down.

...taking down a sitting majority leader... -thorin-1

Given that the Republicans have made taking down the Democratic leadership out a priority and a habit, it behooves the Democrats to rethink both how they pick their leaders and how they lead.

Maybe the Democrats can't control how the media presents the filibuster, but they can certainly learn how to pronounce "my opponent voted against...."

"Maybe the Democrats can't control how the media presents the filibuster, but they can certainly learn how to pronounce 'my opponent voted against....'"

Commercial: Republican Senator Sellsbe prevented the passage of a Jobs Bill today by supporting a filibuster in teh Senate. This jobs bill would have created new jobs for new decade. But it seems Sellsbe does not want you or your family and friends to have jobs. Write Sellsbe and the Republican Senate and tell them you want jobs now! And Vote Democratic in November for Democracy.

Meanwhile:

What I tell YOU three times is true.

The stimulus worked and prevented another Republican created Great Depression Hank Paulson Bush's Treasury said so on NBC this Sunday. When the Republicans say it did not, they are lieing just like Vladimer Lenin taught them to do when he said, "A lie told long enough becomes the truth." We know the truth, however, the Stimulus worked.

The stimulus worked and prevented another Republican created Great Depression Hank Paulson Bush's Treasury said so on NBC this Sunday. When the Republicans say it did not, they are lieing just like Vladimer Lenin taught them to do when he said, "A lie told long enough becomes the truth." We know the truth, however, the Stimulus worked.

The stimulus worked and prevented another Republican created Great Depression Hank Paulson Bush's Treasury said so on NBC this Sunday. When the Republicans say it did not, they are lieing just like Vladimer Lenin taught them to do when he said, "A lie told long enough becomes the truth." We know the truth, however, the Stimulus worked.

For the hundreth time, you cannot "make them filibuster." Filibuster ala-Mr Smith Goes to Washington cannot happen under current Senate rules. Please spend 5 minutes reading this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloture#United_States

TLD: 60 votes, and not less than 60 votes, ends debate. A cloture motion is required to pass before debate ends. Thus, there is really no such thing as a filibuster today in the US Senate.

I'm the one millionth commenter to make this point, but you must have public theater to go with the Reublican intransigence-you must make them filibuster. Otherwise, it won't register with the average schmuck. Its not good enough just to have the NYT and the lefty blogs bemoaning the noncooperation.

This seems like it should be political suicide, given the public's hopes for an improved jobs landscape, but Senate Republicans hope Americans just won't be knowledgeable enough to know the difference.

And here's where the master GOP strategy of underfunding public education over the past 40 years pays off. People really aren't knowledgeable enough to know the difference, and that's exactly the way the GOP likes it.

-Z

To follow up on EricB's point and make it short and sweet for those who don't bother to click through (and specifically for the benefit of bob h): Under current Senate rules, "make them filibuster" amounts to having one Republican in the chamber to stand up and "suggest the absence of a quorum" every time anyone moves to vote on the bill. There will then be a quorum call, during which all other business halts. If there is no quorum, the Senate essentially adjourns for the day. If there is a quorum, the whole thing starts all over again. Hence, all the Dems must be there to prevent the Senate from adjourning, and one 'publican to repeatedly suggest the absence of a quorum.

As many times as this has been posted on every left-leaning blog and forum, how is this not yet common knowledge????

Winkandanod: "My friends, I'm afraid there is only one conclusion that can be drawn from continued the inability Democrats to pass any of their agenda...

"The Democrats have been lying to us in coordination with the Republicans..."

Sorry, but that's fuckin' nuts. Here's a partial list of the accomplishments of the 111th Congress. Nothing for proressives here. /snark

January 29, 2009: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act

Extends the statute of limitations for equal pay lawsuits regarding pay discrimination.

February 4, 2009: Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act

Expanded the Children’s Health Insurance Program to an additional 4 million children and pregnant women.

February 17, 2009: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

$787 billion economic stimulus package.

March 30, 2009: Omnibus Public Land Management Act

Designates two million acres of additional wilderness in nine states, establishes a National Landscape Conservation System, authorizes studies in the interest of preserving open spaces in Southern Colorado, and designates thousands of miles of new additions to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System among other things.

April 21, 2009: Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act

Expands the AmeriCorp program.

May 20, 2009: Helping Families Save Their Homes Act

Expands eligibility for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and allows judges to alter home mortgages, short of cram down.

May 22, 2009: Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act

Reforms how the Pentagon purchases weapons and is expected to save millions if not billions of dollars over the coming decade.

May 22, 2009: Credit CARD Act

Comprehensive credit card reform.

June 22, 2009: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act

Gives the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products.

June 24, 2009: Car Allowance Rebate System

Cash for Clunkers

October 28, 2009: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010, including the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Expands federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

November 6, 2009: Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act

Give an extra 20 weeks of unemployment benefits in states with unemployment rates over 8.5 percent and gives an extra 14 weeks to states with lower unemployment. Extends the homebuyer's tax credit.

A quorum is a majority of the Senate, according to the Constitution. That is 51. If all Democrats are present, there is more than enough for a quorum.

Once a quorum is certified, the senate leadership has the option of bringing "one and one only" bill to the floor, to the exclusion of all other Senate business.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filibuster#United_States

A filibuster can be defeated by the majority party if they leave the debated issue on the agenda indefinitely, without adding anything else. Indeed, Strom Thurmond's own attempt to filibuster the Civil Rights Act was defeated when Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield refused to refer any further business to the Senate, which required the filibuster to be kept up indefinitely. Instead, the opponents were all given a chance to speak, and the matter eventually was forced to a vote. Thurmond's afore-mentioned stall holds the record for the longest filibuster in U.S. Senate history at 24 hours, 37 minutes.

[...]

In the modern filibuster, the senators trying to block a vote do not have to hold the floor and continue to speak as long as there is a quorum. In the past, when one senator became exhausted, another would need to take over to continue the filibuster. Ultimately, the filibuster could be exhausted by a majority who would even sleep in cots outside the Senate Chamber to exhaust the filibusterers. Today, the minority just advises the majority leader that the filibuster is on. All debate on the bill is stopped until either cloture is voted by three-fifths (now 60 votes) of the Senate. Some modern Senate critics have called for a return to the old dramatic endurance contest but that would inconvenience all senators who would have to stay in session 24/7 until the filibuster is broken.

Is it too much to ask that our Democratic senators be prepared to come to work in support their policies?

Let the debate begin, and shine a light on it. It would be a huge political liability for the Republican Party.

I am talking politics here, not procedural minutiae. What we need is a firestorm of media coverage of both the Republican lack of ideas, and their obstructionism.

Make them debate.

"...can't this be passed in reconciliation?"

The 2003 Bush tax cut - pass through reconciliation - was entitled "The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003"

Yes, this can be done through reconciliation. But make the Repugs filibuster first.