Talkingpointsmemo: Watch Live Senate Debate Middle Class Cuts

[flpoljunkie]

Dueling votes on the Democratic and Republican Tax Cut Plans begin about 4PM.

3:46 PM EDT, WEDNESDAY JULY 25, 2012

Watch Live: Senate Debates Middle-Class Tax Cuts

Watch the Senate’s debate over whether all or only some of the Bush tax cuts should be extended:

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nbcnews.com/48324093#48324093

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/watch-live-senate-debate-middle-class-tax-cuts

[flpoljunkie]

1. Vice President Joe Biden is now presiding. Republican bill defeated. Vote was 45-54.

[flpoljunkie]

3. Will the vote on the Dems tax cut bill be that close?

[PoliticAverse]

2. Direct link to C-Span coverage...

http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN2/

[flpoljunkie]

4. Thanks. Majority Leader Reid just finished speaking.

Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is now speaking.

[PoliticAverse]

7. Nice to know John Boehner is Harry's "good friend that I care about". n/t

[flpoljunkie]

5. McConnell keeps extending the debate insisting this vote is all about the campaign

[flpoljunkie]

6. VP Biden: 'The clerk will now call the role.'

[flpoljunkie]

8. Joe Lieberman votes with the R's against the Democrats' tax cut bill.

No surprise there.

[PoliticAverse]

9. The bill passed. n/t

[flpoljunkie]

10. 51-48.

[flpoljunkie]

11. Susan Collins, Scott Brown voted against R's bill; Joe Lieberman, Jim Webb voted against D's bill.

[flpoljunkie]

12. Arkansas Democrat Mark Pryor voted for both the Republican and Democratic bills.

[flpoljunkie]

13. Talkingpointsmemo's Brian Beutler on where the bill goes from here...

Wednesday’s development places the onus of avoiding the full expiration of the Bush tax cuts on House Republicans. They are expected to pass legislation next week to extend all of the Bush tax cuts — but the Senate has already rejected that proposition. That leaves the Senate Democrats’ bill as the only viable vehicle for preventing everyone’s taxes from increasing next year.

Republicans will object to House adoption of the Senate bill on technical grounds. It faces what’s known as a blue-slip problem, because the Constitution requires revenue-raising measures to originate in the House of Representatives. But the blue-slip problem is only an obstacle if House Republicans insist on making it one — and Democrats are confident voters will be receptive to the argument that the GOP is standing in the way of middle-income tax cuts until wealthy Americans get a tax cut too.

To that end, the White House announced President Obama’s strong support for the Senate bill. “All sides agree on the need to extend the tax cuts for the middle class,” reads a statement of administration policy. “[T]his legislation reflects that consensus, and should not be held hostage while debating the merits of another tax cut for the wealthy.”

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