Posted on 09/21/2010 5:28:07 PM PDT by Qbert
Democrats will look to bring up a stalled campaign finance reform bill for another key procedural vote on Thursday.
Jim Manley, a top spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Twitter the Senate would debate the Disclose Act on Wednesday, with an eye toward holding a vote on Thursday.
The legislation, crafted by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), looks to respond to a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year loosening restrictions on corporate and labor spending in elections.
While the legislation enjoys some bipartisan support in the House, Senate Republicans have complained that the bill is a partisan effort to handicap GOP supporters while leaving traditional Democratic groups, like unions, less regulated.
The legislation failed a procedural vote in late July, before senators broke for the August recess. The bill received 57 votes, with 60 senators needed to advance the legislation.
Reid would need to flip at least one Republican vote in order to win this vote. Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) was not present for the last vote, but he's expected to vote with the Senate's 40 other GOP members in opposition to the Disclose Act.
Democrats have made a last-minute push to advance the bill in the waning days of their fall session, before they break until the election to campaign.
President Obama hammered Republicans in his weekly radio address this past weekend over their blockade of the bill.
"Now, the special interests want to take Congress back, and return to the days when lobbyists wrote the laws. And a partisan minority in Congress is hoping their defense of these special interests and the status quo will be rewarded with a flood of negative ads against their opponents," he said. "It’s a power grab, pure and simple. They’re hoping they can ride this wave of unchecked influence all the way to victory."
Do the Dems think this lame bills/amendments they are trying to push through this week are going to help them?
Why don’t they run on the big bills they did pass (e.g. odummycare, “stimulus”, bailouts, etc) instead of the things they couldn’t pass.
THE HILL:
Unions to spend $100M in 2010 campaign to save Dem majorities
By Kevin Bogardus and Sean J. Miller - 05/21/10 06:00 AM ET
At least two influential unions will spend close to $100 million on the 2010 election, with most of those funds going to protect incumbents.
Union officials told The Hill they plan to help endangered members — particularly freshmen — who made politically difficult votes in a year during which an anti-incumbent mood has filled the country.
And the number will be even higher since the AFL-CIO since the AFL-CIO declined to give its figures.
Union And Soros/Tides Money GOOD! Corporate money BAD!!
Doncha just love OPEN Democrat hypocrisy?
nobama: “Now, the special interests want to take Congress back, and return to the days when lobbyists wrote the laws.”
Cool.
Now lie to me again and tell me lobbyists had nothing to do with the writing of nobamacare, auto industry takeover, “finance reform,” etc.
Liar.
Its like they’re trying to weed out the wishy washy from the true believers right before the election.
“Do the Dems think this lame bills/amendments they are trying to push through this week are going to help them?”
They’re just trying to get ‘Gotcha’ votes for campaign ads: “Republicans hate the military!”, “Republicans don’t want to cut taxes for the middle class!”, “Republicans are in bed with evil ‘foreign-based’ corporations who fund elections”, etc. The Dems have nothing else left anymore.
I would just flip all this around on them in a campaign ad- there is lots of bad, useless stuff in these bills (especially the one that failed today) that could be emphasized as a reason for voting against it, as well as for pointing out a Dem candidate’s flawed voting record.
The Incumbent Protection Act of 2010 rolls on. :D
This bill has been around long before the idea of America..and Mexicans have been here, um...uh....something like that.
I sure hope the GOP is going to reform campaign finance when it regains power. Make sure they dish out to the Dems what the Dems dished out to them.
Democrat incumbents are pretty well screwed by this stupid legislation push. No matter what they do, they’ll get hammered.
“I thought lobbyies were writing the bills now? So will it be different lobbyist or what? /s”
Exactly. :-)
Obama isn’t aware though that lobbyists have written all of his major pieces of legislation...because he never read any of it...
Why does every article from The Hill reek of 1996...Such godawful pro-forma rubbish...
“I don’t see any R’s ‘flipping’ on anything the rats push before the election. The twin ME RINO’s, for example, know that there are scopes on ‘em and 2012 and 14 will be here soon.”
Yeah, and plus it would be in their best interest to vote no, as well- another source of contribution money.
It smells like victory.
“Union And Soros/Tides Money GOOD! Corporate money BAD!!
Doncha just love OPEN Democrat hypocrisy?”
Time to finally fight fire with fire.
Their messages will just support the broadcasters/newspaper owners...corporate welfare for Clear Channel and Citadel.
“Calling McCain, McCain, please pick up the white courtesy phone.”
And the crappy thing about it is that we have at least 5 to 8 RINOs who would just love to side with the Rats on this.
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