Victory … Trillion dollar Pork Filled Omnibus Bill is defeated
As I predicted yesterday, the omnibus bill was defeated. In fact it never made it to the floor of the Senate. Harry Reid didn’t have enough votes and why would it. Most Republicans stood strong, plus there were just enough of the 22 endangered Democrats who knew leaving this present for the next Congress would mean certain defeat in 2012.
The down side comes on the Tax Compromise which passed the house, and even drew two votes from Connecticut Democrats, Jim Himes and Joe Courtney. For once I am aligned with John Larson and Chris Murphy who voted no, although not for the same reasons. Here’s a link to see how your Representative voted.
First the Tax Deal:
A massive bipartisan tax package preventing a big New Year’s Day tax hike for millions of Americans is on its way to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The measure would extend tax cuts for families at every income level, renew jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed and enact a new one-year cut in Social Security taxes that would benefit nearly every worker who earns a wage.
In a remarkable show of bipartisanship, the House gave final approval to the measure just before midnight Thursday, overcoming an attempt by rebellious Democrats who wanted to impose a higher estate tax than the one Obama agreed to. The vote was 277-148, with each party contributing an almost identical number of votes in favor (the Democrats, 139 and the Republicans, 138).
AP at Hot Air summarizes this one with his usual succinctness:
Update: It’s a merry Christmas for The One. 225-120 as I write this, which is already more than enough for a majority with almost 100 congressmen still to vote. The GOP delivered big for Obama, with 120 yeses thus far compared to only 28 no’s. Among Democrats, it’s 114 to 96 at the moment. Stand by for the final tally and, eventually, the roll.
Update: Ed’s suggested headline on Twitter: “President Obama successfully whips Dem caucus to endorse Bush tax policy.” In fact, they’re already at 269 yeses with a few minutes left to go in the vote. Dave Weigel notes that the original Bush tax cuts passed with only 230 yeses. Progress!
Update: A total landslide as the gavel comes down: 277-148. Among Democrats, it’s 139 yea and 112 nay. Among the GOP, 138 versus just 36. Stand by for the roll to see how everyone voted.
Update: Ed notes, per the final tally, that more Democrats ended up voting to extend the Bush tax cuts than Republicans did. Progress, the sequel!
Now on to the Porkapalooza II. It’s really anticlimactic in a way, but I must admit it had me worried, and my Mom worried. Senator Harry Reid figured out early in the evening that he didn’t have the votes to break a filibuster, although the whipping on the Senate Floor was led by three Republican Senators, McCain (who told the Senate … go ahead … shut down the government), Senator Jim DeMint and Senator Dr. Tom Coburn.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, bowing to Republican opposition to a 1,924-page $1.2 trillion spending measure packed with earmarks, withdrew the bill and said he would work with Republican leaders on a smaller, short-term budget fix to avoid a looming government shutdown.
The government already is operating on a temporary stopgap measure, set to expire at the end of Friday. Republicans had insisted on having the massive spending bill read aloud – a move that would have delayed a final vote until next week.
Mitch McConnell has offered a one page bill that would allow the government to operate for a few months until the Republican Congress takes over. Harry Reid left with a parting shot.
“This action taken by my friends on other side of aisle going to cause people to lose their job,” Reid said.
Here’s video on the Tax Cut Deal from Fox:
They listened once again, sort of. Congrats to all of you who called your Representatives and Senators.
13 Comments
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Huh…kinda good news for a change. Omnibus bill defeated and Bush tax rates extended. Oh, that every Friday started like this! 😀
"This action taken by my friends on the other side of the aisle is going to cause people to lose their job," Reid said. I hope he means that the Republicans will cut the govt. in half. Let the leeches who work in the inefficient and hopeless govt. lose their jobs, pay for healthcare and pay for their own gym memberships and all the dozens of other bennies and feel our pain! My heroes McCain, DeMint and Dr. Coburn. Jim, you have made my day! Merry Christmas!
The "Obama tax cuts" will save the country by helping the middle class. No newspaper or TV Newsie will remember that for 10 years the Bush tax rates did nothing for the middle class, but only benefited the rich. Spin, spin, spin.
At least the omnibus was killed.
I hope and pray that this is the last gasp of a dying (dead?) Congress which will — doubtlessly — go down in history as the most irresponsible in the history of the US. I am so sick and tired of the class warfare fueled by this group of 535 men and women under the leadership of closet Marxists. In the next Congress, the only difference is that control of the House has changed. Let's hope that it's enough.
Plainvillian, All who live in the US are rich, and we all have the chance to become richer. This last Congress has slowed the opportunity for awhile. But, I have HOPE that this incoming Congress will CHANGE the direction and return us to the RIGHT way! Merry Christmas,
You nailed it Lynn.
HOPEy, CHANGEy Taking a "RIGHT turn Clyde".
Man oh man if I had skills…. That Orangutan punchin' right out the passenger window would be the symbol for the 112th congress.
Can't wait for those magicians who will run the House next year will do. Good luck to us all.
Ahhh, I think the citizenry of CT will need luck more than ever with our new Gov. Malloy and a democrat controlled legislature. That will be the most immediate hit that we, here in this state, will feel. If things here keep going as they are, there will be a mass exodus. All I can think of is this song from Fiddler on the Roof.. .http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWiRetxeviw
Wait a second: I thought that the new Congress was going to fix everything in 90 days or so!
Sammy22, we have had two years of an unprecedented onslaught to overhaul everything good in this country. We may NOT recover some of our freedoms. None of us thinks we can fix things in 90 days. It is quite obvious to me that President Obama had a clear, clean road map to follow to dismantle our capitalist based economy. It is so scary when I hear SOME of my in-laws laugh at capitalism and how it has failed?! Please….
It seems that the phone calling is starting to have an effect. Though some still blindly spend, there are those that are taking notice to American's calls for sanity.
Keep the pressure on these fools to hold to their contracts and pledges and the Constitution.
As we have seen, voting alone will not rebuild the American dream for the average American.
If it can be done at the national level, it can be done at the state level.
We just have to be careful what we ask for.
You can delight in the fact that the House has a Republican majority, but since the Senate still has a Democrat majority and it takes 60 votes to get anything of consequence done, I predict gridlock for the next two years and then good luck to all in 2012.
Gridlock is not necessarily a bad thing. We have seen what two years (really four) of unrestrained legislative steamrolling have done to the country. Gridlock can be equated with government getting out of the way.
The past four years of virtually unrestrained Congressional largesse have been a decade of ineptitude stuffed into a four year bag, if you will.
I, too, hope the Republicans have learned their lessons and have seen the light.