"The nation was outraged by the tantrum and its real-world consequences --" I think not. It garnered a passing mention on all the nightly Nooze.....basically saying oh that darn congress without villifying the guilty party. This morning of course the lead on every show was clips of the newest standup comedy sensation SARAH! There is no hope for this country.

There is more than one way for one Senator to block bills, but escapades like this from Jim Bunning show that the threat of the Filibuster to majority rule is even worse than usually supposed. It means you need a 100:0 vote to ensure passage, not just 60:40 vote.

PS: Join the Coffee Party!

Best. House of Lords. Ever.

Bunning may win a place in the goopers hall of fame as a reicht fiddler.

. . . passed 78 to 19. All 19 votes in opposition were from the Republican side of the aisle

Almost half of the Republicans in the Senate, 19 out of 41, voted against unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans -- Americans who are out of work because of the economic collapse that Republicans caused.

If this isn't the talking point for Democrats for the rest of the week then they are guilty of political incompetence and should just go home.

I think we have a brand new name for the filibuster. It should now be called "The Bunning Block". The Democrats have been given a gift. They should be all over this obstruction.

The Republicans are stuck with Bunning until he retires. But he also got a lot of support from DeMint, Sessions, Kyl. It was a real hot potato for McConnell. Susan Collins was apparently not pleased. The Republicans Party was fractured. The Democrats stuck together.

It won't be long before we hear about the latest "Bunning Block". I wonder what it will be. Let me guess. The healthcare reform bill.

Good morning boys and girls. Can you say, "Clown Car Senate"? Sure you can.

Just for the record, regarding my comment downblog about filibustering: I meant I wanted filibustering itself to become unrealistic from being forced as literal - I didn't mean that demanding live filibustering could or should be brushed off as "unrealistic," as an excuse for not requiring it. Demanding live filibustering is just the thing to do, precisely so it will be so hard.

It's like Mr. Smith was filibustering for a pro-lynching amendment in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington."

What John R. said. To the extent that the news media covered it, it sounded like a remake named "Mr. Bunning goes to Washington", with no discussion of how he was being a complete hypocrite, and how many other Republicans had given him moral encouragement.

And yes, Palin's appearance on the Tonight show was odious, given the levels of misrepresentation that she was able to get across, plus the fact that it was probably highly effective for her.

Russ Feingold has sure turned weird. He voted for the amendment that "buckles" bunning sponsored

For five days, retiring Sen. Jim Bunning held his fellow Republicans hostage. He stood his ground, angry and alone, a one-man blockade against unemployment benefits, Medicare payments to doctors, satellite TV to rural Americans and paychecks to highway workers.

Absolute unequivocal bullshit. Neither Jim Bunning, nor Richard Shelby before him, nor the myriad other GOPers who are soon to follow this model were, are, or will be "acting alone". This is sanctioned by the GOP leadership in order to maintain their current level of obstructionism without having to deal with that distasteful party of "no" label. Bullshit.

First Bunning throws a screwball and then balks.

Geez, and I was all set to watch "Mr Bunning Goes to Washington", produced by Chris Matthews and directed by Frank Capra IV.

If the Dems had any common sense, they would come out with a series of ads explaining to voters just how much money Bunning's ridiculous stunt actually ended up costing taxpayers; all the administrative costs and other expenses involved in having to re-start all these programs, etc. Get an actual dollar figure on screen and alongside it run the names of the Rethugs that supported this nonsense.

Rep. Bunning is easy to caricature, but I have to ask -- if there are pay-as-you-go rules now in effect, are they worthless? How did this bill get so far without offsetting revenue? The Democrats are going to take the party over the cliff if they don't at least pay attention to deficits and the Tea Partiers. President Clinton used centrist logic to make financial responsibility part of his "good government" legacy. I don't like to see the Dems just handing this issue over. I'm old enough to remember disliking Bunning when he hit a lot of batters for the Phillies, but he has a point -- if we can't pay for a $10 billion extension for jobless benefits, what CAN we pay for? Democrats are supposed to be good at governing. Let's prove it.

BH - Bunning voted against pay-go. But he was for it before he voted against it. And before that he couldn't be bothered to fight for it in the face of two wars, Medicare part D, and two rounds of tax cuts mostly for the rich.

So he was against if before he was for it before he voted against it.

Got it?

withering support from Republicans, worried that the Hall of Fame pitcher was turning the party's message of principled objection to raging obstructionism...

Huh? principled objection? Really, Gracie? Its looked like pure obstructioon to me ever since the first unanimous "no" votes of a year ago. It hasn't "turned into" anything.

The only thing that's changed is the dems are pushing back on it, just a little weensy bit. Not enough if you ask me.

We need a new Tier 5 of EB's for all of the people who are long-term unemployed and need to pay rent, put food on the table: the things that sustain life. Please help!