This is HUGE! The Senate Dems are drafting the budget for 2011 to include reconciliation rules for job creation, energy legislation, deficit reduction, tax cuts, etc.
http://thehill.com/...
The midterm elections are going to be tough and Democrats will most likely lose 4-8 Senate seats and 25+ House seats with a good chance of losing the House.
What that would mean is that it will be even HARDER for Obama to get anything done and there is a good chance that there will be gridlock.
Knowing that the Senate Democrats are drafting the Senate Budget for 2011 so that many items on the agenda can be passed via RECONCILIATION (requiring only 50 votes in the Senate).
This is GREAT NEWS!
The reconciliation instructions, which allow legislation to move through the upper chamber with a simple majority instead of (50) votes, will be included to ease the passage of deficit reduction measures, according to Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee.
But it could also be used to pass the extension of expiring tax cuts, job-creation measures and energy legislation, according to Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.).
This means that by September 15th 2010 and over the next year, the Senate will be able to pass more job creation measures, energy legislation, targeted tax cuts, etc by only 50 votes in the Senate.
This will be EXTREMELY important for Obama and the Democrats to work around the obstructionist Republicans and get MORE things done on behalf of the American people.