So it happens the Senate Democrats had a majority for a few days …
Senate Democrats didn’t have to wait until November. For two days this week, the party actually held a majority in the Senate.
That is because more Republican Senators than Democrats skipped the two days of work this week, according to a report in the Hill newspaper.
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There were nine Senate GOP absences on Wednesday and eight on Thursday, giving Democrats the majority.
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Because Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer doesn’t want it to come back to haunt him if he takes over the chamber in November, said James Wallner, a political science professor at American University.
“The majority and minority leaders cooperate to keep the Senate from being more free-wheeling than current circumstances suggest it would otherwise be without them. If senators engage more regularly in a free-wheeling and fluid process, leaders have less power,” Wallner said in an email.
What could the Dems have done to either effect change, make some news and/or educate voters about what might be possible with them in charge? Would the Repubs have missed the opportunity if the situation was reversed? Do the Repubs give a crap about stuff coming back to haunt them? Do the Repubs really cooperate to keep the Senate from being free-wheeling — you know, like withholding a Supreme Court nominee for months? Will the Dems ever find a spine?