It seems that Senate republicans are playing Harry Reid once more. Senate Republicans pulled out of the bill in an effort to stall government a-la Newt Gingrich.
Capitulator-in-Chief Harry Reid and some unnamed Dems in the house leadership prevailed over Pelosi and refused to call out their obfuscation.
http://www.politico.com/...
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D.-Nev.) and his deputy, Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D.-Ill.) were called to Pelosi’s office late Thursday night and ultimately prevailed in their argument that Democrats should try to salvage the bill, which includes critical spending increases for vital agencies. But the heated, sometimes profane, exchanges were described as "ugly" by Democrats on both sides of the Capitol. Staff, kicked out in the hall, could hear the yelling, and Pelosi herself seemed a little abashed the next day, joking that nothing her leadership could say to her now would match the night before.
The speaker’s anger was directed primarily at Senate Republicans, who withheld their support even when they had substantial interests in the measure. Pelosi feels that Republicans are gaming the Democrats, who have to be tougher in turn by forcing them to live with the consequences of what she sees as obstruction.
The speaker’s scorched earth alternative, killing the omnibus, was too much for some in her own leadership. But Pelosi’s anger is shared by many House Democrats along with the fear that the Senate debate is being dragged out by Republicans as part of a concerted campaign to pummel Obama even as the young president tries to keep the nation focused on his economic agenda and budget going forward.
The wimps at the Senate are doing their best to reduce our prospects of winning Senate seats in 2010 and seem weak and flailing. Instead of blaming government's failures on republican obfuscation the Democratic Party is now taking the heat for failing to fund government even with our large majorities.
Instead of taking the blame for proposing stupid earmarks, the republicans are now attacking Obama on the issue.
Reid’s dilemma has been that to win over Republican support, he had to be willing to allow votes on amendments. But to meet Friday’s deadline, he had to be prepared to kill whatever the GOP offered so that the measure didn’t have to go back to the House for further consultation.
Thus, some otherwise popular initiatives, such as increasing funding for Native-American health programs, were scuttled. And Democrats had to rally behind sometimes embarrassing earmarks that had been negotiated between the two chambers back in December.
I've had enough of you Harry Reid. Enough tolerating of republican obfuscation.