February 2, 2009, 10:36 am
Time To Call Their Bluff
So the Republicans want to threaten a filibuster on the stimulus package. Why not let them?
Let's get real: Democrats are riding high on election wins, people want the stimulus, and they are pretty much anti-Republican still after eight years of Bush. So let's call their bluff and make them filibuster the bill if they want to stop it.
That's exactly what the American people would loathe to see: Republicans grinding government to a halt, reading the phone book into the record, while thousands lose their jobs. If they played it right, the Democrats could look like the saviors of the economy while the Republicans stand in the doorway, blocking help for poor people. Yeah, that's the image the Republicans want to put forward.
Unfortunately Harry Reid doesn't seem to have a pair and would never force the Republicans to actually carry a cookbook up to the dais. If he did this would be easier. Eventually the Republican support would crack, and since it only takes two Senators in states where they have a 50% chance of losing next election (see Arlen Specter [R-PA]) the Republican caucus will crumble in about a day and a half.
My message: call their bluff, Senator Reid. Make them do it. Let them grind the government to a halt and embarrass themselves. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose.
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Comments:
lynxtdc wrote on February 3, 2009, 10:37 am:
Sounds eerily familiar...didn't they do a West Wing episode or two about that :)
brandon wrote on February 3, 2009, 12:39 pm:
They did have a filibuster on the West Wing but they weren't calling anyone's bluff.