While Republicans may be publicly wringing their hands over unemployment numbers (while gleefully calculating how they can use them to their advantage in 2010), they continue to block legislation that would extend unemployment benefits:
Republicans are hoping to attach a number of amendments related to ACORN and immigration — provisions that have delayed floor action on the UI bill indefinitely, according to the offices of both Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
A spokesman from the Majority Leader's office mewls:
It seems as if they aren’t negotiating in good faith on this.
Wow, what insight.
For the second time in a month, the Party of No is screwing over those who need help the most -- but they're getting an able assist from the Party Who Can't Spell Majority:
Senate Democratic leaders have twice tried to get the consent of GOP leaders to pass the bill, only to be shot down over procedural sticking points.
So what happened? Democrats asked for the bill to come to the floor under unanimous consent, and Republicans said no. Of course you can bring a bill to the floor in other ways, such as a motion to proceed, and while that could be filibustered, the leadership isn't bothering to see if Republicans would have the guts to filibuster a bill to extend unemployment benefits at the same time that they're pretending to feel the pain of the jobless.