Damn It Harry Reid you F*#%ed the country

[hepkat]

Gun Safety Bill going down due to 60 vote standard.

[CanonRay]

1. If it fails, you can lay this right at Mr. Wimp's feet

Harry Reid is an idiot. We could have passed the assault weapon ban if we only needed 50 votes plus Joe.

[lastlib]

3. +1! Weakest.Leader.Ever!

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[brooklynite]

5. ...except that we didn't have 51 votes to pass filibuster reform.

[CanonRay]

12. Do you really think he twisted anybody's arm?

He didn't want to do it himself, and had a comfy excuse.

[brooklynite]

21. Well, since I've talked to him about it and you haven't...

I have an understanding of how he feels, and particularly how he felt about the Republicans screwing us over in 2011. But this isn't the House and "twisting arms" isn't as easy. If Max Baucus isn't going to support filibuster reform, what are you going to do to force him?

[premium]

11. Uh, no,

There wasn't even 40 votes in favor of Sen. Feinstein's AWB and magazine limit.
It was a no-go from the very start and she knew it and so did Sen. Reid, that's why he separated those 2 from the main bill and told her that she could offer it as an amendment or as a stand alone bill.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2013/03/19/assault-weapons-ban-likely-to-die-in-full-senate/

[Filibuster Harry]

20. Absolutely -- what the hell is wrong with these officials?? No balls, all cowards.

[madrchsod]

2. well he`s no mike mansfield.well....

obama is`t a lbj either.

only the senate of our republic is 51 not a majority.

[dmosh42]

4. Congress should donate all their pay back to the IRS! Useless sacks of shit!

[get the red out]

6. Yep

It's the same as if the constitution were changed to say that in a Republican Majority Senate it takes 51 votes to pass a law but in a Democratic Majority Senate it takes 60 votes. How is this anything in the ball park of democracy?

I am completely disgusted.

[leftyohiolib]

7. NO THE DEMOCRATS F'D THIS COUNTRY - harry didnt have the votes to change it

[Proud Liberal Dem]

8. No the REPUBLICANS F'D this country

Put the blame where it belongs- Republicans and those whom voted for them. Blaming Harry Reid/Democrats is idiotic IMHO and lets the Republicans off the hook

[leftyohiolib]

9. well imho they are working with in the framework - unprecedented but within the framework

the dems had a chance to change that and they blew it. yes i agree with you but the dems should have stuffed a spine up their asses and changed the filibuster so imho they had the chance to fix it and fucked up.
if someone puts a baby in a pond with an alligator and the alligator chews up the baby do you blame the alligator or the person who put the baby in the pond
that's the way i see this situation

[NYC Liberal]

10. Really? And Reid was supposed to do what to senators to get the necessary votes?

Bribe them? Threaten their families?

I blame the senators who are voting against the bill.

[4dsc]

13. Weak leadership what do you expect

Another fine example of weak leadership

[MrSlayer]

14. It was never going to pass the House.

So it doesn't really matter. None of this was ever going to pass.

The time for filibuster reform was in 2009. If they ever wanted to pass a truly progressive agenda, and they didn't, it was when they had majorities in both houses. They chose to go with a bunch of Republican ideas that not a single fucking Republican voted for. Woohoo!

[Stonepounder]

15. If anyone still thinks we have a 'representative' Democracy

this should put that idea to rest. Something well in excess of 70% of the population wanted background checks. But our 'representatives' couldn't bring themselves to to vote for it. Instead they listened to the NRA, which doesn't even represent actual gun owners any more, just the guns and ammo industry.

I am just so disgusted with our government that I don't know what to do. If you don't have big bucks, they don't give a flying f*&k about you. You can take your demonstrations, petitions, and the like and shove them. If you have big bucks, then they will vote for anything you want, including taking money from the poor and giving it to the rich.

They are ALL (with a very few exceptions, corrupt, lying, gold-diggers.

[ChangeUp106]

16. $ OUT

Money out of politics. Join the movement. I know Cenk has WolfPAC. Anything else out there?

[treestar]

17. Why does he keep getting blamed for how other people vote?

I guess next it will be the President's fault.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. The news media is already (somewhat) portraying it as "a big defeat for President Obama"

The freakin' bill had more than a simple majority. It passed but for an unprecented procedural parlor trick that the Republicans have consistently foisted on the Senate since 2009 (well, technically, 2007). Yet, every time they do it, people take to the airwaves to proclaim that the "Democratically-controlled Senate" rejected it and/or to attack Harry Reid and Democrats for not blowing up the filibuster at the beginning of every session even though they didn't ultimately have enough votes to do that. I would like to see more Democrats get up and denounce Republican tactics but ultimately, it's the Republicans to blame for their parlimentary tricks to prevent legislation/nominees from being debated let alone adopted.

[phleshdef]

18. With a Republican majority in the house, how in the fuck does it even matter?

Getting past the Senate would've made no difference anyway and I suspect you know that. It would've been the same exact result. Nothing is getting passed with Republicans in power. Period.

[budkin]

19. No, he will "consider" changing the rules!!!

[Jamaal510]

22. It was partially his fault for not doing the filibuster reform,

but the bulk of the blame should lie on the Senate Republicans and the small handful of Democrats who voted against it. Plus, it wouldn't have passed anyway, even if it had reached the House.
The bill may not have passed the Senate, but at least now the country knows who is responsible for impeding progress towards safer gun laws. Each of the people who opposed the bill will be remembered in history for where they stand on this issue.

[hepkat]

24. Diane Feinstein opposed fillibuster reform

Chickens apparently come home to roost. 55 senators are dems or cacus with the dems and they cannot accomplish anything because they are lead by a wimp.

[davidpdx]

27. Feinstein AND Boxer opposed it

They were close enough if both had come over it would have been worth taking the vote. I agree Reid is weak and spineless, he always has been and always will be. How many more years do we have to put up with him as the Senate Majority Leader (or if god forbid we lose the Senate, Minority Leader)?

Meanwhile, as I like to remind everyone BOTH senators from Oregon supported the filibuster reform. Senator Merkley was one of the sponsors. It's too bad some D's screwed their party and the country.

[hepkat]

25. And to those of you who say he didn't have the vote

BS.... He didn't want the votes. I've revisted several articles and all of them show that Harry Reid killed it.