If they do, I hope Reid doesn't get all weak in the knees as he did last Congress and pull the legislation from the floor

Make Mr. Selby channel Mister Smith

Give the bastard the Birmingham phone book to read

Tomorrow at 9:30 EST David Plouffe will be on a nationwide conference call organizing Organize for America

Not a minute too soon either

Yet another example of goppioni (GOP Party Interest Over National Interest)

Make the GOP do a real filibuster, please.

We, the Ds in Congress, and Reid most of all, need to see that they have nothing but obstruction to offer.

Classic Confederate Republican asshole.

I am not sure how much trust you can put on sources on the open internet without doing the research via Nexis but maybe this could add to our already glowing opinion of Sen Shelby, Shelby voted for the authorization of military force in the Iraq War, so why doesn't someone ask him "Why are his votes more supportive of sending American troops in to harms way, then keeping American workers in their jobs?" or in other words "Why does he vote for killing over working?"

Sen Shelby apparently has been a supporter of the Tobacco industry, against the FDA (so he is for the government intervening against regulators but against government regulation), he helped almost kill a bill which would ban states from providing any funding to corps or person associated with Darfur, and been a big supporter of defense contracts for COLSA corp, whose owner is a long time friend.

Real stand up guy, you thin we can get reporters to ask Sen Shelby any questions where his past can provide some insight as to his thinking towards this bill. Or maybe could some reporters in Alabama ask local citizens who have jobs which depend on the Auto Industry to see of they support their Sen trying to kill their jobs and take away food from their table?

Why, and for how much longer, are these Republican idiots taken seriously by competent adults? I don't mean that figuratively.

The GOP is on a ventilator, and it needs to be turned off.

Typical southern, obstructionist politican.

If the Republicans filibuster, or attempt to do so, it will benefit them. They are not interested in the support of TPM commenters. They are interested in the support of the hard core of dead-enders who think that the stimulus package is part of a Gay Islamo-Communist takeover. If they can hold onto those people, they can remain in the government for the foreseeable future. If they can't, they're gone. They can't risk losing those for-sure votes to gain some moderate/independent/I-haven't-decided-yet votes.

I've been thinking about this old (2005) Stirling Newberry essay a lot lately:

http://www.truthout.org/article/stirling-newberry-american-thermidor

"The vicious cycle is this: that a cheap energy deficit created a trade deficit, creating an investment deficit, which then created the political pressure for a wages and wealth deficit, which, in turn, made the cheap energy deficit worse, and even more political pressure for even more inequality of wealth and to keep the one lever Americans still had - the ability to drive further to keep costs down, since they could no longer strike or organize to raise real wages. This started the cycle all over again. This is the key to the move to the right - by creating an economy which is determined by the scarcity of one commodity: oil, and a money system which bends around the dynamics of that one commodity, an environment is fostered in which people think as conservatives first."

Hmm.

I think the filibuster algebra is very different than during the last Congress. From 2006-2008, the Republicans could filibuster knowing that even if they failed, Bush could veto, and the override threshold (2/3) was far beyond reach.

Given the minimal Democratic majority in the Senate, and the prospect that going through the actual filibuster and potentially forcing a bill through was futile anyway, the Democrats were content to cave at the mere threat of a filibuster.

But now, the Democrats are much closer to the 60 votes to start with. But even more important is the fact that if they break a filibuster, the bill is likely to be enacted, since Obama will sign.

On the one hand, it means that filibusters really matter for outcomes now, so the Republicans may be more motivated. But it also means that the Democrats (starting with Reid) have no reason to roll over so easily: passing a bill over a filibuster now means passing a bill, not confronting a Bush veto.

So, if the Republicans do filibuster, I expect them to mean it -- but I also expect Reid and the Democratic leadership to make it very very hard for them, and that means pulling out the cots, it means running ads in Maine and Ohio and Pennsylvania, it means having Obama publicly castigating the obstructionists, etc.

We'll see how that plays out: it's a new and different game, even if the 'rules' are the same.

...

Where are the democrats on this. Only Frank
has been out there and slightly less effective Kerry.

Where are the big hitters? Where is the Rahm E.
of the Senate?

All I see is republicans, I don't need to see
mitch mc-chinless on my tee vee anymore please

I don't think that the Republithugs can get the votes for a filibuster, even with Ben Nelson's help - and if they did, the market would go into free fall and my retirement would be worthless. But on the bright side, it would end the Republithug party in one day.