CLOTURE NOT INVOKED ON H.R. 4853 - TWO VOTES EACH FAIL BY A SINGLE VOTE

Cloture requires a 3/5 majority of Senators present and voting to terminate debate on a bill. Saturday, Senate Republicans were able to thwart the Middle Class Tax Cut Extension by a single vote.

The votes came on two Senate Amendments, the first was on S. Amendment 4727 to H.R. 4853. This is the Amendment by Senator Baucus, and others, tying provisions of expensing depreciable assets for Small Businesses to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. If this amendment passes any repeal of §10909 of the Health Care Reform law will trigger an extinction of this tax break for Small Businesses. The vote was 53 Senators for invoking cloture and 36 against. Do the math 53 + 36 = 89; 89 / 5 = 17.8; 17.8 * 3 = 53.4. 54 votes were needed to invoke cloture. The Republicans needed to yield only 1 vote to provide certainty that no one's taxes would go up and that everyone would get the Bush Era tax break on the first quarter of a million dollars of reported income.

Senators voting for invoking cloture were:

Akaka (D-HI), Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Begich (D-AK), Bennet (D-CO), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Brown (D-OH), Cantwell (D-WA),
Cardin (D-MD), Carper (D-DE), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Coons (D-DE), Dodd (D-CT), Dorgan (D-ND), Durbin (D-IL), Feinstein (D-CA), Franken (D-MN), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hagan (D-NC), Harkin (D-IA), Inouye (D-HI), Johnson (D-SD), Kerry (D-MA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kohl (D-WI),
Landrieu (D-LA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Lincoln (D-AR), McCaskill (D-MO), Menendez (D-NJ), Merkley (D-OR), Mikulski (D-MD), Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), ,Pryor (D-AR), Reed (D-RI),
Reid (D-NV), Rockefeller (D-WV), Sanders (I-VT), Schumer (D-NY),
Shaheen (D-NH), Specter (D-PA), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT),
Udall (D-CO), Udall (D-NM), Warner (D-VA), Whitehouse (D-RI), and
Wyden (D-OR).

Senators voting against ending debate by invoking cloture were:

Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennett (R-UT), Bond (R-MO), Brown (R-MA), Brownback (R-KS), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Corker (R-TN), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Feingold (D-WI), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA), Hatch (R-UT),

Johanns (R-NE), Kirk (R-IL), Kyl (R-AZ), LeMieux (R-FL), Lieberman (ID-CT), Lugar (R-IN), Manchin (D-WV), McCain (R-AZ), McConnell (R-KY),

Murkowski (R-AK), Nelson (D-NE), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS), Shelby (R-AL), Snowe (R-ME), Thune (R-SD), Webb (D-VA), Wicker (R-MS),

Those Senators who didn't vote were:

Bunning (R-KY), ,Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Cornyn (R-TX), Gregg (R-NH), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Sessions (R-AL), Vitter (R-LA), and Voinovich (R-OH).

Joe Lieberman didn't surprise me. That Joe Lieberman is permitted to caucus with the Democrats does puzzle me. But Senator Jim Webb has me puzzled. This isn't anything difficult with which the Senator from Virginia should struggle. This isn't like Don't Ask Don't Tell. This is telling the vast majority of American taxpayers that they get their tax break. Come On, Man.

Nebraska's Ben Nelson has veered back off the reservation again. I realize that his state has a lot of old people whose minds are distorted by demagoguery from FOX Fantasy. But Ben isn't leading. Ben fancies himself  a broker. The problem is every time he cuts a big deal it gets squashed. Remember the trauma he put us through on Health Care? Come On, Man.

And last but not least is West Virginia's Junior Senator Joe Manchin. For God's sake Joe, are you really going to stake out territory supporting those who spent thousands upon thousands of dollars to make sure you'd never make it to Washington?

Joe, if you think those fat cats are going to forgive and forget their monetary and political losses at your hands in Campaign 2010 by this lame gesture then you're more naive than the President thinking the Republicans are now going to start making decisions based on the best interests of the nation, rather than politics. Come On, Man,

The Next vote came on invoking cloture on S. Amendment 4728. That is an amendment proposed by Senator Schumer to modify the tax extension and extend the FAT CAT TAX BOONDOGGLE to those reporting a threshold income of $1,000,000 rather than the $250,000 limit set by the House of Representatives. The Party of No said no to this as well.

Senators voting to invoke cloture were:

Akaka (D-HI), Baucus (D-MT), Bayh (D-IN), Begich (D-AK), Bennet (D-CO), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Brown (D-OH), Cantwell (D-WA),

Cardin (D-MD), Carper (D-DE), Casey (D-PA), Conrad (D-ND), Coons (D-DE), Dodd (D-CT), Dorgan (D-ND), Feinstein (D-CA), Franken (D-MN), Gillibrand (D-NY), Hagan (D-NC), Inouye (D-HI), Johnson (D-SD), Kerry (D-MA), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kohl (D-WI), Landrieu (D-LA), Lautenberg (D-NJ), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Lincoln (D-AR), Manchin (D-WV),

McCaskill (D-MO), Menendez (D-NJ), Merkley (D-OR), Mikulski (D-MD),

Murray (D-WA), Nelson (D-FL), Nelson (D-NE), Pryor (D-AR), Reed (D-RI), Reid (D-NV), Sanders (I-VT), Schumer (D-NY), Shaheen (D-NH),

Specter (D-PA), Stabenow (D-MI), Tester (D-MT), Udall (D-CO), Udall (D-NM), Warner (D-VA), Webb (D-VA), Whitehouse (D-RI), and Wyden (D-OR).

Senators voting against cloture were:

Alexander (R-TN), Barrasso (R-WY), Bennett (R-UT), Bond (R-MO), Brown (R-MA), Brownback (R-KS), Coburn (R-OK), Cochran (R-MS), Collins (R-ME), Corker (R-TN), Crapo (R-ID), DeMint (R-SC), Durbin (D-IL), Ensign (R-NV), Enzi (R-WY), Feingold (D-WI), Graham (R-SC), Grassley (R-IA),

Harkin (D-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Johanns (R-NE), Kirk (R-IL), Kyl (R-AZ),

LeMieux (R-FL), Lieberman (ID-CT), Lugar (R-IN), McCain (R-AZ),

McConnell (R-KY), Murkowski (R-AK), Risch (R-ID), Roberts (R-KS),

Rockefeller (D-WV), Shelby (R-AL), Snowe (R-ME), Thune (R-SD),

Voinovich (R-OH), and Wicker (R-MS).

Senators not voting were:

Bunning (R-KY), Burr (R-NC), Chambliss (R-GA), Cornyn (R-TX), Gregg (R-NH), Hutchison (R-TX), Inhofe (R-OK), Isakson (R-GA), Sessions (R-AL), and Vitter (R-LA).

Senator Tom Harkin [D-Ia], Senator Dick Durbin [D-Il], Senator Russ Feingold [D-Wi], and Senator Jay Rockefeller [D-WV] went from yes to no on this vote. Good for them. These FAT CATS got Wall Street De-regulation over a period of years, and these tax cuts from George W. Bush. Not only did they not create jobs, they nearly sent the global economy spinning off its axis. The Middle Class Tax Cuts will cost America $1.5 trillion. Any additional borrowing to enhance the greed of the richest American taxpayers is uncalled for.

No Republicans voted to invoke cloture on either Amendment to H.R. 4853. The Republicans don't intend to compromise, they never did, they never will until the American people figure out their game and send them packing to the lands now occupied by the Whigs and the Federalists.

The Buddhist monk said everything has a beginning and everything has an ending. Now may be the beginning of the ending of the Republican Party.

The vote on the compromise amendment was 53 in favor, 37 opposed, and 10 not voting. Doing the math we see why it failed the 3/5 majority required. 53 + 37 = 90; 90 / 5 = 18; 18 * 3 = 54. Once again a Senator short.