Get Chuck Schumer out of there. The guy has no control over his caucus. He is the most ineffective Senate Majority Leader ever.

Manchin basically is controlling things now. He and Portman are meeting to discuss a compromise on the unemployment benefits. I get the sense that if Manchin agrees to Portman's compromise, Portman may vote yes on the stimulus package (or at least Manchin is being led to believe that?).

The Senate did vote on Bernie Sanders' amendment for a $15 dollar minimum wage. 8 Democrats voted against that (Joe Manchin, Jon Tester, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Kyrsten Sinema, Tom Carper, and Chris Coons, along with Angus King, an independent who caucused with Democrats).

I still think the stimulus part of the package will pass - maybe 50/50 or perhaps 1 or 2 Republicans vote yes if the package is pared down considerably from the 1.9 trillion dollar package (the checks are about 20-25 percent of that total)?

But the Senate proceedings today are showing me without a doubt that Pelosi commands her wing of the House, and Schumer does not command his wing of the Senate.

I saw the other day that Schumer's approval ratings in NY are way down, like a 20 year low.

If Senate Republicans were smart they would propose amendments that would end or decrease federal unemployment bonuses earlier than the proposed July and October timelines if unemployment falls to certain levels before then. If states continue to accelerate reopening this spring, we could be entering June at sub 5% unemployment and still paying the unemployment bonus.

When was the last time a stimulus or economic relief bill was passed with 6% unemployment?

Given a choice between Schumer controlling the senate and Manchin controlling the senate, I am 100% in favor of Manchin.

(03-05-2021 10:36 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Given a choice between Schumer controlling the senate and Manchin controlling the senate, I am 100% in favor of Manchin.

If he would switch parties I would be in favor of him running the show. He doesn't need to be part of THIS Democrat party. West Virginians don't agree with them. Make that be the carrot for him to switch.

(03-05-2021 07:35 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I still think the stimulus part of the package will pass - maybe 50/50 or perhaps 1 or 2 Republicans vote yes if the package is pared down considerably from the 1.9 trillion dollar package (the checks are about 20-25 percent of that total)?

I would (if I had a vote) support payments to individuals, and would be willing to consider repeated payments to individuals at the amounts being urged by people like Sanders.

Not willing to support all the pork-spending to states and local governments. That is pouring money down a bottomless rat hole and would serve no good purpose.

Quote:the Senate proceedings today are showing me without a doubt that Pelosi commands her wing of the House, and Schumer does not command his wing of the Senate.

Well the Senate is 50/50. Not sure how much anyone could “command” in a situation like that.

(03-05-2021 11:02 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-05-2021 07:35 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I still think the stimulus part of the package will pass - maybe 50/50 or perhaps 1 or 2 Republicans vote yes if the package is pared down considerably from the 1.9 trillion dollar package (the checks are about 20-25 percent of that total)?

I would (if I had a vote) support payments to individuals, and would be willing to consider repeated payments to individuals at the amounts being urged by people like Sanders.

Not willing to support all the pork-spending to states and local governments. That is pouring money down a bottomless rat hole and would serve no good purpose.

Quote:the Senate proceedings today are showing me without a doubt that Pelosi commands her wing of the House, and Schumer does not command his wing of the Senate.

Well the Senate is 50/50. Not sure how much anyone could “command” in a situation like that.

This.

I would add it's a complete shiteshow. Idiots are running the whole show. God help us.

Do the Dems ever get tired of being kicked in the nuts by Ted Cruz?

(03-06-2021 12:45 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  Do the Dems ever get tired of being kicked in the nuts by Ted Cruz?

I could see several of them enjoying it.

(03-06-2021 12:45 AM)MemTigers1998 Wrote:  Do the Dems ever get tired of being kicked in the nuts by Ted Cruz?

Well they would if they had balls.

When you have this "not in the Constitution" 60-vote requirement for most all senate procedures, no leader with a 1 or 2 vote majority is going to be able to lead much of anything.

Eight Democrat Senators Cross Over to Kill the Economy Killing $15/hour Minimum Wage Bill

Quote:Last week, the pet project of the anti-American left and the “Great Reset” corporatists, hit an unexpected roadblock.

Nancy Pelosi’s leadership team in the House had included a provision increasing the national minimum wage to $15 per hour. There was a lot of celebrity firepower pushing this proposal. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s formidable economics brain was employed to justify it. Jeff Bezos’s Amazon weighed in favorably as did the paper he owns. The $15 per hour federal minimum wages is one of those ideas that look great on paper but when it is put into effect the results are universally grim. The left-leaning, never-seen-a-program-it-didn’t-like Congressional Budget Offce estimated it would quickly cost 1.4 million jobs. To the “Great Reset” types, this is a feature not a bug as they are pushing for a guaranteed minimum income.

The roadblock was a little know apparatchik in the US Senate, Ellen McDonough, the Senate Parliamentarian. She ruled that the plan to include the minimum wage hike in the China virus porkulus “relief” bill did not meet Senate rules and could not be included.

Not to be deterred, the neo-commie faction led by Bernie Sanders pushed for a vote, the so-called “nuclear option,” to overturn the ruling of the parliamentarian by simple majority vote. In what is a sign of hope for the future, that vote failed.

The Senate on Friday is set to squash a bid to tack a $15 minimum wage to President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid bill, with eight Democratic caucus members joining all 50 Republicans in rejecting the change.

The Senate parliamentarian had ruled that the wage increase could not be added to the bill and approved by a simple majority of senators despite House passage of the provision last week. After Senate Democrats stripped it from the Covid package, a group of progressive senators led by Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) forced a vote on the policy change anyway.

That vote remained held open Friday afternoon at a tally of 42-58 while senators negotiated on other issues. But it already showed that even though the Democratic caucus overwhelmingly supports the effort of gradually raising the wage floor to $15, raising the wage faces significant hurdles within the party.

…

Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Jon Tester of Montana, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire voted against proceeding, though the tally remains open. So did two close Biden allies, Chris Coons and Tom Carper of Delaware. Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with the Senate Democrats, also opposed it.

Kyrsten Sinema has really drawn the ire of the left by her vote…not the vote, per se, but the f***-you-and-the-horse-you-rode-in-on delivery

So, our national economy is safe for one more day, but it is a small victory. I’m not a “balanced budget” proponent but even the dimmest bulb has to see that the immense amount of debt we are taking on to deal with this contrived emergency is going to be an economic drag on our economy for generations. If there is a bright side to this mess it is that eight Democrats, including Schumer allies, crossed the line to vote against Pelosi’s Bolshevik faction.

Link

Covid relief bill passes 50-49, strictly on party line. Dan Sullivan of Alaska wasn't there to vote because his father-in-law had passed away.

(03-06-2021 05:00 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  Covid relief bill passes 50-49, strictly on party line. Dan Sullivan of Alaska wasn't there to vote because his father-in-law had passed away.

Now it gets sent back to the house.

(03-05-2021 10:36 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  Given a choice between Schumer controlling the senate and Manchin controlling the senate, I am 100% in favor of Manchin.

Same here. Manchin is one of the few Democrats I can stomach...and he ain't perfect by any stretch of the imagination

Will the House liberals cave on their far left demands.

There are 3 vacancies (2R, 1D) and 1 R didn't vote last time

The House only passed the bill by a 219-212 margin.

If "The Squad" wanted to play hardball they could hold this thing up

Billions and billions of pork and they spend hours arguing over $100 of unemployment that could help people who aren’t working because of lockdowns. Never let a good crisis go to waste.

(03-06-2021 06:49 PM)solohawks Wrote:  Will the House liberals cave on their far left demands.

There are 3 vacancies (2R, 1D) and 1 R didn't vote last time

The House only passed the bill by a 219-212 margin.

If "The Squad" wanted to play hardball they could hold this thing up

They could but I doubt they will. I looked up their twitter feeds and they all posted on Sinema's thumbs down of the separate amendment on the minimum wage hike, and then separately from that, they were all focusing on the Amazon union vote in Alabama. In fact, it was scary how similar all of their tweets were in lock step - it was almost like they were bots.

I'd venture almost anything the House vote will be pretty identical to the earlier one. Who knows, maybe even the two Democrats who voted no on the last one vote yes this time because of the changes to the unemployment.

(03-07-2021 08:20 AM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  

(03-06-2021 06:49 PM)solohawks Wrote:  Will the House liberals cave on their far left demands.

There are 3 vacancies (2R, 1D) and 1 R didn't vote last time

The House only passed the bill by a 219-212 margin.

If "The Squad" wanted to play hardball they could hold this thing up

They could but I doubt they will. I looked up their twitter feeds and they all posted on Sinema's thumbs down of the separate amendment on the minimum wage hike, and then separately from that, they were all focusing on the Amazon union vote in Alabama. In fact, it was scary how similar all of their tweets were in lock step - it was almost like they were bots.

I'd venture almost anything the House vote will be pretty identical to the earlier one. Who knows, maybe even the two Democrats who voted no on the last one vote yes this time because of the changes to the unemployment.

Well, you're dealing with dems so while it may be a bit scary it should come as no surprise.