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Tax Deal Advances in the Senate

Yesterday, President Obama and Senate Democrats seemed to do the impossible: they gathered enough votes to advance their tax-deal in the Senate. Senators voted overwhelmingly to end the filibuster and allow the bill to be brought up for a final vote. After serious complaints coming from liberals and conservatives alike, the bill reached cloture with a huge margin.

From The Hill:

On an 83-15 vote, the Senate quashed a filibuster by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).

Fifteen lawmakers voted against it, including five Republicans: Sens. Tom Coburn (Okla.), Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Ensign (Nev.) and George Voinovich (Ohio).

Nine Democrats and one Independent voted against the bill: Sens. Jeff Bingaman (N.M.), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Russ Feingold (Wis.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Kay Hagan (N.C.), Frank Lautenberg (N.J.), Patrick Leahy (Vt.), Carl Levin (Mich.), Mark Udall (Colo.) and Sanders.

In a nod to a era long past when Senators had to stand up and debate a bill, make grandiose speeches, or at least read from the phone book in order to filibuster a bill, Sen. Sanders spoke for 8 ½ hours on Friday railing against aspects of the tax deal.

From the Washington Post:

“You can call what I am doing today whatever you want, you it [sic] call it a filibuster, you can call it a very long speech,” said Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. “I’m not here to set any great records or to make a spectacle. I am simply here today to take as long as I can to explain to the American people the fact that we have got to do a lot better than this agreement provides.”

Liberals aren’t the only ones complaining about this bill.

From Politico:

Radio hosts Rush Limbaugh and Hugh Hewitt accused Congress of defying the will of voters. Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney weighed in against the deal, too. And Tea Party Patriots launched a petition Monday blasting the bill as a secret pact that violates the House Republicans’ “Pledge to America,” while other tea party groups have declined to endorse it.

Now that the deal will advance in the Senate, the White House is gearing up for a fight in the House of Representatives.

Tags: taxes