Breaking: Senate Dems Have Votes to Pass Stimulus!

[DCBob]

Reid Says Dems Have Votes to Pass Stimulus
Bill Continues to Grow Despite Senators' Efforts to Eliminate Excess
By JONATHAN KARL, RICK KLEIN and Z. BYRON WOLF
Feb. 5, 2009

Democratic Senate leaders said this afternoon that they have the votes to pass the stimulus bill and suggested they have little interest in making further changes to win more Republican support.

more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=6811948&page=1

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Thank goodness. Now to get those pesky Blue Dog Democrats back in line and we will have a bill.

[Beetwasher]

1. Hold The Vote Now!

Let's get 'er done!

[LiberalEsto]

2. Up or down

and the hell with those who vote no.

[damntexdem]

3. Good. But the proof is in the passing. And in what actually is passed.

Too much stimulus and needed programs have already been compromised out.

[DCBob]

4. I don't think they cut that much. Just enough to get a few moderate R's.

Collins, Snowe, Specter, maybe a couple more.

[AtomicKitten]

5. Neuter the Blue Dogs and pass it now!

[TheWraith]

6. The Blue Dogs are in the House--now mostly irrelevant. nt

[DCBob]

7. It has to gain final approval back in the House after conference..

so the Blue Dogs could cause some trouble.

[backscatter712]

8. Maybe a little.

We've got more of a majority in the House, and there are no filibusters in the House. Maybe they'll toss in a few amendments, but if they voted for the initial House stimulus bill, most of them will vote for this one, especially since Obama will make hell for them if they don't.

[DCBob]

10. Supposedly there are 49 BD Dems.. If they all vote NAY then that's a problem.

I think you are right but there is still some negotiating before all this is said and done.

[AtomicKitten]

13. "Evan Bayh Forms Blue Dog Caucus in Senate"

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10437

Bayh, who has spoken with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) about his initiative, said he is trying to create a faction of moderate Senators who will gather on a weekly basis ahead of the usual Tuesday Democratic Caucus meetings.

Additionally, Bayh envisions inviting outside speakers to address the group, which would also work in concert with third parties that have similar viewpoints, like the Third Way, a nonpartisan progressive think tank.

* snip *

Likely targets for Bayh would include moderate Democrats like Sens. Mark Pryor (Ark.), Blanche Lincoln (Ark.), Mary Landrieu (La.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Jim Webb (Va.), and Sen.-elect Mark Warner (Va.).

* and new Blue Dog Senator K. Gillibrand!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/14/evan-bayh-forming-conserv_n_150874.html

In the House, the Blue Dogs are not only overly cozy with corporate lobbyists, this is a coalition reluctant to embrace a progressive vision on issues like climate change, and committed to a financial plan focused on spending reductions and balanced budgets -- precisely when the federal government needs to be doing the opposite.

That Bayh wants a similar group working in the Senate is discouraging, to put it mildly.

[FLAprogressive]

22. I love how they call them "moderates". They are not moderates. They are conservatives.

[AtomicKitten]

24. calling them "moderates" is turd polish

[TheWraith]

35. For which, as far as I'm aware, he's still the only member.

The Senate's a lot different than the House--even some of the moderate to conservative Dems who would be Blue Dogs in the right district need to watch their flanks in the Senate.

[stopbush]

9. Haven't they always had the votes necessary for passage?

The issue is avoiding a filibuster.

[DCBob]

11. Yes, a filibuster proof vote has been the issue...

60.

[bluestateguy]

12. We've always had the votes to pass it. It's the damn cloture vote that's the trick

and abuse of archaic Senate rules that require 60 votes to get anything done.

[DCBob]

15. In practical terms nearly every bill now needs 60 votes to pass.

I wish they would force them to do the real thing but seems all have agreed to eliminate the need to actually play out the filibuster process.

[Numba6]

14. Man, I thought I knew how things worked but this is

unbelievable -- & I'm not sure whom to believe ;-) -- if the GOP filibusters, where are the votes coming from?

I just called my state's 2 US senators -- Washington state

FYI, contact info for all US members of Congress here

I wasn't too surprised that they haven't been on the TV shows defending this, just disappointed as I am w/ all the Democrats who appear to be doing NOTHING for this.

But then I asked their position on the bill -- staff people for both claim neither one has a position on Obama's bill.

To me, it's bad enough Democrats act like ostriches and refuse to engage the Republicans.

But this stance is UNBELIEVABLE that they don't even have a public position on the bill.

Sure, they'll vote for it in the end -- but it may not come to a straight up & down vote BECAUSE Democrats like this are refusing to defend their own bill!

[DCBob]

16. The Dems picked up a few Repubs so they can now block a filibuster attempt with 60 votes.

Then they will be able vote up or down and it will easily pass.

[WeDidIt]

17. So who're the Republicans?

IS Susan Collins on board? Who's the other Republican? There are only 58 Dem votes and they need 60.

[DCBob]

18. I suspect Collins, Snowe and Specter..

Possibly a few more since now there is no reason to risk being seen as anti-stimulus and anti-Obama.

[AlinPA]

23. Limbaugh has not yet issued his "No to cloture" order to repigs.

[Barack_America]

25. I'm going to call Specter's office in a few minutes.

To find out what's what.

[Numba6]

21. 538 analysis of likely GOP

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/02/most-powerful-women-in-america.html

[Thrill]

19. Why does Reid feel the need to come out and tell everyone?

[Patsy Stone]

26. In time for the evening news is my guess. nt

[renate]

27. probably for the same reason Bush's team was all "We won" in 2000...

... even though the result was still unknown.

Presenting the vote as a fait accompli makes Republicans look obstructionist if it fails; it'd probably be harder for them to vote against it if all the headlines are about how it's going to pass. It's not exactly the same as Bush's managing to present himself as the de facto winner before all the votes were counted, but it's kind of a similar psychological trick, I think.

[SoFlaJet]

20. I was watching some of the senate last night

and there is a lot of reaching across the aisle to REALISTIC republican ideas, you know when they weren't trying to change the rules with their amendments. Olympia Snowe is a great legislator. Even my senator Martinez had a damn good idea about housing that he withdrew at the encouragement of Dodd who complimented him and asked him to table so they could work something out on another idea he was working on-he did. Anything proposed by the Cockburns, Bunnings and Vitters of the world were shot down by over 60 votes every time

[WI_DEM]

28. Reid? I wish we had a more reliable source.

[DCBob]

30. Tweety reported there are probably 5 R's who will break ranks..

I think this came out during an interview with Lindsay Graham earlier in the show which I missed.

[backscatter712]

31. Saw that myself!

SCHWEEET!!!

My guess: Snowe, Collins, Martinez will be among the ones voting for cloture. I'm not sure about the other two.

That means that even if a Dem or two breaks ranks, we can still win!

[DCBob]

32. This is so f'king close they better get this vote done tonight.

Even a 1 vote win is good enough. A win is a win.

[NashVegas]

29. Then It'd Better Damn Well Be the One We Want

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

33. Do it. Screw the Repubes.

[DCBob]

34. Obama gave the Repubs a chance and they blew it.

They lose big tonight even if this passes by one vote.

[mvd]

36. Good - we have room possibly for a couple Dem. defections

The spending is MUCH needed.. states are suffering, our roads are in trouble, people are without affordable health care - could go on and on.

[DCBob]

37. I don't think we will have any Dem defections.

If we get 5 Republicans then we will get all the Dems -- IMO.

[mvd]

38. Hope you are right - that would be sweet!

:thumbsup:

[DCBob]

39. The only possibilities are Ben Nelson and Mary Landrieu...

and I think they are on board now with the changes that were made today.