Senate Dems Jam House Republicans, Pass Bush Tax-Cut Extension For Middle Class

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Senate Democrats have accomplished a feat they were unable to muster back in 2009 and 2010, when they had a much larger majority: On Wednesday, they passed a bill to extend the Bush tax cuts for everyone’s first $250,000 in income.

The legislation prevailed 51-48 — a vote that signals Democrats would ultimately be willing to allow tax cuts for high-income earners to expire at the end of the year.

Republicans aided Democrats in the effort, by agreeing to drop their filibuster and allow the legislation to pass or fail on a simple majority basis. But Wednesday’s tight roll call nevertheless required Vice President Joe Biden to chair the Senate’s proceedings if, in a rare exercise of his constitutional duties as president of the Senate, his vote was needed to break a tie.

Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Jim Webb (D-VA) voted with Republicans against the measure.

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/07/senate-dems-jam-house-republicans-pass-bush-tax-cut-extension-for-middle-class.php

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2:08 PM PT: VP Biden announces the bill passes, 51-48. Roll call as soon as available. Harry Reid just won a big one, and all the pressure is on Boehner, now.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/25/1113610/-Senate-agrees-on-majority-votes-for-tax-cut-nbsp-extensions

[Tx4obama]

1. And the GOP will kill it in The House. n/t

[nolabear]

2. And it'll be clear who did. Hope that message stays front and center.

[markpkessinger]

5. Exactly -- lays a nifty trap for the GOP! n/t

[cstanleytech]

16. I suspect though that the house gop will try to plant a poison pill

though like say that medicare has to take a 20% cut to "pay" for it.

[emulatorloo]

6. +1

Seems to me Boehner's backed into a corner.

[KaryninMiami]

13. That's correct. It will die in the house. NT

[Panasonic]

3. Both Lieberdouche and Webb

are out before their next term.

Lieberdouche finally retires at the end of this term.

Webb needs to be replaced by a more progressive Democrat in Virginia - I know there is ONE somewhere.

[femmocrat]

8. Isn't Tim Kaine running for Webb's seat?

He is running against "Macaca" Allen. Remember him? LOL

Welcome to DU, Panasonic!

[Atman]

7. As a Connecticut resident, I ONCE AGAIN apologize for Joe Lieberman.

We thought we got rid of him once. He is like an intestinal parasite, though. He is very tough to get rid of.

.

[Control-Z]

18. Don't apologize.

You're there helping to keep the state as blue as possible!

I was born in Connecticut and lived there when I was young. It's a beautiful state! I looked up my old neighborhood (Pucker Street in Coventry) on Google Earth for the first time just last week. It hasn't changed at all!! Kind of blew me away. I could see my Grandparent's old house, my cousin's house, my uncle's house. I could even see the barn we used to clean/play in and the ground well in front of it.

More than anything I want to go back to visit on my own. With a car so I don't put out any family to drive me to all of the places I remember from childhood - the parks, the lakes, and especially the beaches.

[Atman]

20. I live in the next town over, Columbia!

Right on Columbia Lake. Beautiful place!

[Control-Z]

23. We lived on Columbia Lake

for a brief period when my mother first left my father. I haven't thought of that place in longest time. It was beautiful!

[Atman]

30. It is still beautiful.

Obviously a bit more developed, but the town has been excellent about making sure the lake is not exploited by commercial ventures. It is still private, with no restaurants or marinas. People have tried to open it up, like Coventry lake, to the general public but all you have to do is look at Coventry Lake to see why the efforts always fail. We have a marine cop, but no town police department. That should tell you something about Columbia's priorities! LOL!

[AtomicKitten]

9. Well done! Screw Lieberman and Webb.

[DainBramaged]

10. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Jim Webb (D-VA) voted with Republicans against the measure

May they sit on a fire ant mound for the rest of their lives.

[cstanleytech]

17. Well with Lieberman its not surprising after all the man has no real honor. nt

[samsingh]

11. lieberman is still the asshole he always was

[lobodons]

12. Webb vulnerable?

I didn't know Webb was vulnerable? Perhaps a move to show VA the importance to get a real D in there.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

15. I thought he wasn't running. If i remember correctly Tim Kaine is running for that seat against

Macaca.

[sofa king]

21. It could be triangulation.

Macaca might have made it an issue, trying to tag Kaine with a Webb yes-vote, but he would be very stupid to touch that issue either way.

Then again, he seems to be pretty stupid, so you never know.

Whatever the case, Virginia Democrats in general seem to me to have been opportunistically tacking to the right to sweep up the vast number of moderate Republicans-by-habit in this election.

I'd like to think of it as shifting one's footing to start a landslide, but truth be told it still pisses me off a little.

[Tx4obama]

14. Here's a link to the roll call

Here: http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=112&session=2&vote=00184

[Ebadlun]

19. This is great news, but what have we come to

when a simple majority vote in the senate being actually honored as such is hailed as a victory?

[billky]

22. tax cuts

People need to remember what Jim Webb did; what's his problem?

[klook]

24. Excellent news

Good work by the Senate Dems, and good strategery to get the House Repukes to create a killer talking point for all their Democratic opponents.

[RedStateLiberal]

25. I'm amazed they got a vote without a filibuster.

Hey, whadda ya know...legislation passed with a simple majority and not a SUPER majority.

Saw the Ed Show host say that Reid cut some kind of deal with McConnell to avoid the filibuster. It's about damn time.

[Major Hogwash]

26. Right down party lines, pretty much. The GOP is AGAINST the Middle Class and the poor.

I think we just took back the House of Representatives.

[Warren Stupidity]

27. Webb and Lieberman are fucking assholes of the first order.

[myrna minx]

28. K&R

[gopiscrap]

29. Excellent!

[alcibiades_mystery]

31. They should mention that Cheney had to step into the same role to pass the Bush giveaway

in the first place...

[avebury]

32. Why did Webb vote against it? I thought he wasn't running for re-election. nt