(John Gress/Reuters)
This
isn't particularly helpful in making that all-important pivot to jobs.
WLS Radio’s Bill Cameron reports his own party has delayed action in the Senate and talked with Senator Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, about the reason why.
"The oil-producing state senators don’t like eliminating or reducing the subsidy for oil companies, "Durbin tells WLS Radio, "There are some senators who are up for election who say I'm never gonna vote for a tax increase while I'm up for election, even on the wealthiest people. So, we're not gonna have 100% Democratic senators. That's why it needs to be bi-partisan and I hope we can find some Republicans who will join us to make it happen."
But so far, Durbin concedes Democrats don't have the votes in the senate to pass it, "Not at the moment, I don't think we do but, uh, we can work on it."
In Durbin's defense, he was set up with that question. Of course, he could have dodged it with a mumbled a non-answer. Or he could have named names. We pretty much know who he's talking about here: Mary Landrieu, Ben Nelson, and Claire McCaskill. Maybe Bill Nelson, maybe even Jon Tester, as well.
How about instead of protecting these senators, leadership leans on them a little harder to get on board with what is probably the key push to save all their hides, including President Obama's, in 2012: jobs. A little bit of populism, a little bit of taxing the rich, in Nebraska, in Missouri, in Montana, even in Florida, isn't going to hurt any senator seeking reelection. Not in those states. Of course, there's always the possibility that some of these senators are more concerned with their big money supporters than the voters.