Lone senator blocks unemployment benefit extensions

[WhatMoney]

How is it that republicans have so little power in DC and yet they have been accused of blocking UE benefits or not passing Obama care, etc. They are in the minority and have been since 2006.

Maybe someone smarter then me can answer this. I just do not get it.

Sure, I'll be glad to explain BR.

The UI benefits, Doctors medicare payment, VA doctor funding, highway funding etc., extension bill was being passed in the Senate by unanimous consent - which requires a 100% vote from all present to pass. It's common with non-controversial funding bills to keep the government wheels turning. Bunning was just grandstanding and taking advantage of the publicity by blocking the bill with his sole no vote.

The alternative was to write a new funding bill and have it passed by Congress without Bunning's yea vote. When both Congressional leaders started to introduce a new funding bill on Monday, which would have taken about a week to pass and get signed, Bunning gave up and voted for the present emergency extension this afternoon.

Bunning was also told by his Republican Senate colleague in KY (Mitch McConnell) that he should not attempt to run for congress again, because the KY voters think Bunning is such an old azzhole that if he ran again a Democrat would be elected in his place. Bunning was acting like an idiot at the wrong time and was condemned for his stupid stand by both sides of the aisle.
He'd make a good candidate for the Tea Baggers party - he could be Palin's running mate...

[OhioFiler]

The whole "lone senator" or "one-man blockade" reports on this still have me confused.

How is it that republicans have so little power in DC and yet they have been accused of blocking UE benefits or not passing Obama care, etc. They are in the minority and have been since 2006.

Maybe someone smarter then me can answer this. I just do not get it.

I'm not smarter than you but I'll add my two cents.

The "reports" are the old media failing to explain to the American people what was actually going on.

Bunning acted within the framework of the Senate's rules AND in accordance with Obama's speech on February 13, 2010, that mandated ALL spending bills must be funded. The Unanimous Consent that Reid tried to employ was in direct violation of the PAYGO law signed into law and fully supported by Barack H. Obama.

Irony is this is the FIRST bill voted on by the senate after PAYGO became law and IMMEDIATELY the PAYGO law is waived. I would hope Obama has the courage of his convictions and vetoes this unfunded bill.

Senator Bunning wasn't in favor of ruining lives of unemployed Americans. He simply insisted the Senate follow the law (enacted a mere 2 weeks prior) and create the funding for this bill.

That it would take an extra week to do so is not an issue. Why did Senate Majority leader Reid wait until the very last opportunity to vote to extend the unemployment benefits? He could have begun the process to extend the benefits earlier and had plenty of time for debate on the Senate floor.

The old media is an arm of the Democratic party and still powerful, though losing such power quickly, as was demonstrated by their attempt to demonize Bunning for following the law. All we saw from these relics of the past was how evil Bunning was yet not a peep on why he was holding the Senate to task demanding the bill be funded.

Most Americans aren't falling for the shenanigans in Washington. They are on to this shell game. November is only a few months away.

[backtoschool]

I'm not smarter than you but I'll add my two cents.

The "reports" are the old media failing to explain to the American people what was actually going on.

Bunning acted within the framework of the Senate's rules AND in accordance with Obama's speech on February 13, 2010, that mandated ALL spending bills must be funded. The Unanimous Consent that Reid tried to employ was in direct violation of the PAYGO law signed into law and fully supported by Barack H. Obama.

Irony is this is the FIRST bill voted on by the senate after PAYGO became law and IMMEDIATELY the PAYGO law is waived. I would hope Obama has the courage of his convictions and vetoes this unfunded bill.

Senator Bunning wasn't in favor of ruining lives of unemployed Americans. He simply insisted the Senate follow the law (enacted a mere 2 weeks prior) and create the funding for this bill.

That it would take an extra week to do so is not an issue. Why did Senate Majority leader Reid wait until the very last opportunity to vote to extend the unemployment benefits? He could have begun the process to extend the benefits earlier and had plenty of time for debate on the Senate floor.

The old media is an arm of the Democratic party and still powerful, though losing such power quickly, as was demonstrated by their attempt to demonize Bunning for following the law. All we saw from these relics of the past was how evil Bunning was yet not a peep on why he was holding the Senate to task demanding the bill be funded.

Most Americans aren't falling for the shenanigans in Washington. They are on to this shell game. November is only a few months away.

~~sigh~~

Who is the "old media"? Fox news has been around quite a long time....and so have most of Robert Murdoch's papers. Do you mean Rush Limbaugh's website? He has had that up for awhile as well and has had a talk show for decades.

Bunning is hurting the lives of millions. He should be severely chastised for his infantile behavior.

I agree with everything you said about Reid. This is mostly his fault in my opinon.

[OhioFiler]

~~sigh~~

Who is the "old media"? Fox news has been around quite a long time....and so have most of Robert Murdoch's papers. Do you mean Rush Limbaugh's website? He has had that up for awhile as well and has had a talk show for decades.

Bunning is hurting the lives of millions. He should be severely chastised for his infantile behavior.

I agree with everything you said about Reid. This is mostly his fault in my opinon.

Absolutely, the old media encompasses all newspapers and AP and Rueters. It also includes the BIG 3 networks.

CNN, Fox News, talk radio and the internet are what I classify as new media.

Show me one life affected by Bunning in a negative way.

It is amazing to me that someone coming out of bankruptcy could look at Bunning's demand that the law be followed and the expenditure be funded with something other than credit and call his actions infantile.

If you want to discuss the affect of unemployment benefit extensions on unemployment we can do so in a separate thread. Suffice to say they don't help.

[backtoschool]

Absolutely, the old media encompasses all newspapers and AP and Rueters. It also includes the BIG 3 networks.

CNN, Fox News, talk radio and the internet are what I classify as new media.

Show me one life affected by Bunning in a negative way.

It is amazing to me that someone coming out of bankruptcy could look at Bunning's demand that the law be followed and the expenditure be funded with something other than credit and call his actions infantile.

If you want to discuss the affect of unemployment benefit extensions on unemployment we can do so in a separate thread. Suffice to say they don't help.

So any conservative media outlet is "new" media. That seems like a circular definition OhioFiler. CNN has been around for decades. And Rush Limbaugh is more theatre of the abusurd than media.

Talk shows are not "media" either and neither are blogs. Ranting and raving does not replace reporting.

Here is one life that is affected by Bunning in a negative way: My stepfather. He is unemployed and got a letter in the mail from the Michigan department of labor saying that his benefits were being stopped. It really scared him for no good reason.

[OhioFiler]

So any conservative media outlet is "new" media. That seems like a circular definition OhioFiler. CNN has been around for decades. And Rush Limbaugh is more theatre of the abusurd than media.

Talk shows are not "media" either and neither are blogs. Ranting and raving does not replace reporting.

Here is one life that is affected by Bunning in a negative way: My stepfather. He is unemployed and got a letter in the mail from the Michigan department of labor saying that his benefits were being stopped. It really scared him for no good reason.

CNN is hardly conservative. There are plenty of liberal new media internet sites (I never indicated blogs as media) such as huffingtonpost. Drudge is a new media outlet followed by millions daily. The numbers turning in to watch Katie Couric continue to dwindle as do the readers of the newspapers.

I agree, the ranting and raving seen by the loons at MSNBC is hardly reporting. In fact, as America has determined via ratings it is not even entertaining.

Your stepfather will not miss an unemployment beat.

In any event, Harry Reid is the problem not Jim Bunning. Harry failed to move quickly on this renewal. Bunning merely did what Obama insisted he do.

[WhatMoney]

As usual OF is not telling the whole truth, and is trying to spin the facts.

The Pay-Go legislation signed by Obama specifically had provisions in the bill for bypassing the requirement for offset spending or tax increases for emergency legislation. Passing this emergency temporary bill resulted in NO violations of the Pay-Go law, contrary to what OF is claiming.

The fact that 80% of the Republicans and Democrats voted for it yesterday is proof of that fact. Only Bunning claimed it was not an emergency to cut Doctor's Medicare and VA Doctor's payments by 21.2%, stop unemployment benefits for 400,000 Americans in a recession, stop Cobra health insurance for the unemployed, stop Medicaid funding for States, and stop funding for highway repair programs. NO ONE else agreed with Bunning. This bill was an emergency temporary provision, that gives congress time to work out a more permanent solution that will follow the Pay-Go laws. There was no one in the US Senate, except Bunning, that opposed this as an emergency bill.
It required 100% unanimous agreement to treat this bill as emergency legislation. When Bunning relented, the bill was voted on and passed by a large majority.

[OhioFiler]

Roll Call vote

Vote Counts: YEAs 78
NAYs 19
Not Voting 3


Bunning (R-KY), Nay

The solution to avoid Obama's PAYGO law is to declare emergency legislation! I never knew! So any time congress wishes to avoid paying for something it becomes an emergency. No accountability. None. Zip. Nada.

I am so glad I don't live life as a liberal.

[backtoschool]

CNN is hardly conservative. There are plenty of liberal new media internet sites (I never indicated blogs as media) such as huffingtonpost. Drudge is a new media outlet followed by millions daily. The numbers turning in to watch Katie Couric continue to dwindle as do the readers of the newspapers.

I agree, the ranting and raving seen by the loons at MSNBC is hardly reporting. In fact, as America has determined via ratings it is not even entertaining.

Your stepfather will not miss an unemployment beat.

In any event, Harry Reid is the problem not Jim Bunning. Harry failed to move quickly on this renewal. Bunning merely did what Obama insisted he do.

Huffington Post and Drudge report are news aggregating blogs. They combine news pulled from elsewhere, with opinionated blogging.

I am still not understanding why CNN is "new" media, but ABC is not. And why Fox news is ok but MSNBC is not. I have no problem with you watching your conservative slanting pap OhioFiler, but why say that what you are watching is "new" or "objective"? It isn't. Hatred has been around for years......

Unemployment will be delayed for millions while they get the system back up and running in each state. Why should someone who has paid their dues their entire life have to live in fear due to one crazy senator?

[backtoschool]

Roll Call vote

Vote Counts: YEAs 78
NAYs 19
Not Voting 3


Bunning (R-KY), Nay

The solution to avoid Obama's PAYGO law is to declare emergency legislation! I never knew! So any time congress wishes to avoid paying for something it becomes an emergency. No accountability. None. Zip. Nada.

I am so glad I don't live life as a liberal.

As a liberal I am able to sleep at night, knowing that I am not stealing granny's social security check, or taking away loans and financial aid that junior is going to use to go to college. I am giving financial assistance to those in need, am raising the standard of living for everyone, not just the rich, and am trying to preserve the planet. I live a very content life as a liberal.

[OhioFiler]

Huffington Post and Drudge report are news aggregating blogs. They combine news pulled from elsewhere, with opinionated blogging.

I am still not understanding why CNN is "new" media, but ABC is not. And why Fox news is ok but MSNBC is not. I have no problem with you watching your conservative slanting pap OhioFiler, but why say that what you are watching is "new" or "objective"? It isn't. Hatred has been around for years......

Unemployment will be delayed for millions while they get the system back up and running in each state. Why should someone who has paid their dues their entire life have to live in fear due to one crazy senator?

CNN is a full time always available news source. ABC has a 22 minute window between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm each day to reach its consumers. BIG difference.

I see no difference in Fox and MSNBC in terms of old vs new media. I let the jury decide whether Fox or MSNBC is better. MSNBC is a comedy station in my book.

Delayed unemployment is not the end of the world. No one on unemployment should have expected congress would extend benefits and alternate plans should have been in place.

What hate to do you speak of on Fox News?

[OhioFiler]

As a liberal I am able to sleep at night, knowing that I am not stealing granny's social security check, or taking away loans and financial aid that junior is going to use to go to college. I am giving financial assistance to those in need, am raising the standard of living for everyone, not just the rich, and am trying to preserve the planet. I live a very content life as a liberal.

How exactly are you doing those things?

[backtoschool]

How exactly are you doing those things?

The same way all my liberal friends are OF. I am voting for politicians that believe in progressive principles.

I also volunteer for several causes locally so that "make a difference" in a more personal way.

[OhioFiler]

The same way all my liberal friends are OF. I am voting for politicians that believe in progressive principles.

I also volunteer for several causes locally so that "make a difference" in a more personal way.

The progressives have had 14 months to accomplish all their progressive goals yet accomplished nothing. I would think that by now all the world's problems would have been solved given the whole hopey changey thing Obama promised.

Maybe you need to clone Dennis Kucinich and run him in every district.

I'm glad to know you volunteer. Volunteerism is the backbone of America helping others. Most volunteering and charity are provided by conservatives. Study after study has shown liberals tend to not do either at any rate near that of conservatives. I'm glad to see you are a mold-breaker!

[backtoschool]

The progressives have had 14 months to accomplish all their progressive goals yet accomplished nothing. I would think that by now all the world's problems would have been solved given the whole hopey changey thing Obama promised.

Maybe you need to clone Dennis Kucinich and run him in every district.

I'm glad to know you volunteer. Volunteerism is the backbone of America helping others. Most volunteering and charity are provided by conservatives. Study after study has shown liberals tend to not do either at any rate near that of conservatives. I'm glad to see you are a mold-breaker!

Where do you get info like that OhioFiler? "Compassionate conservatism" is a nice sounding catchy slogan, but there is no reason to believe that when the religious organizations of the religious right are moved from the equation, that conservatives give any more than liberals.

Of course since conservatives believe in only private help, it makes sense that they should give more to make up for the government aid they are voting against.