Hey, Dems, You ARE The Majority Party, Act Like It

I swear to God, what's the point of being the majority party in the Senate when all you do is roll for the parasites known as the GOP?

I like Harry Reid, especially after pulling the "Rule 21" stunt on the Senate GOP in November 2005, and for all the reasons listed at the link, but at times he sure makes it hard to do so

Rolling over for a clearly out of control President's repulsive desperation to fund a completely unnecessary invasion and military occupation of a country that was never a threat, to the US, and only on HIS terms, ended up costing the Dems dearly, from the liberals and majority of the US public

And now, Reid has let the GOP steal a victory on behalf of the poor, picked-upon Oil Corps, and steal is exactly what happened here, as the GOP achieved their Premiere Whoredom status by getting a cost-free victory on an issue the GOP would have been whimpering for mercy on within days of implementing their threat

Because the Dems in the Senate didn't have enough votes to overcome a threatened GOP filibuster, it caved to demands that the in-progress energy bill not tighten the leash on the Oil industry's biggest players

And the GOP did it by threatening to filibuster

Not ACTUALLY filibuster, just threaten to do so

And so, Reid yanked the Oil Industry Accountability passages from the bill

Big Oil Companies Spared Tax Hikes

Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a $32 billion package of tax breaks for renewable energy that would have been financed mostly by new taxes on major oil companies.

Democrats came three votes short of overcoming a threatened GOP filibuster that was keeping the measure from being attached to a broader energy bill. Republican senators argued that the nearly $29 billion in additional taxes on major oil companies would have led to reduced production and higher gasoline prices.

Because of Republican opposition, Democrats needed 60 votes to allow the package to come up for a vote, but fell short, 57-36. With a number of senators not voting, Democrats could resurrect the measure later, though there was no immediate indication of that.

The tax proposal had some bipartisan support, but also attracted sharp criticism from many Republican senators who lined up against it.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he intends to proceed with consideration of the energy legislation with or without the tax measures. ``There are still good things in the bill,'' he told reporters before the floor vote.

By three votes, with another 7 votes not recorded

So why is this infuriating?

The massive tax measure marked a sharp turn from longtime congressional support of the oil industry to promoting alternative energy development and moving toward energy sources that would help deal with the growing concerns over global warming.

Alas, not apparently enough of "sharp turn from longtime congressional support of the oil industry" for any permanent change that affects the oil industry, which means, other than some slight worry on the industry's part, the GOP still hasn't paid a heavy enough political price for allowing the rape of the taxpayers under it's non-watchful eyes on the taxpayers wallets by it's biggest campaign contributing cronies and corporations

But Republicans complained that it was too harsh on the oil industry and could lead to oil companies reducing investments in new oil refineries and production. They also said that it could lead to higher prices for consumers.

``When you put a tax on a business it gets passed on to consumers,'' argued Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz. ``Instead of reducing gasoline prices, this bill is going to add to the cost of gasoline.''

Kyl had earlier sought to sidetrack the tax measure, but that effort failed.

Yeah, can't have any penalties for shafting the consumers by causing the price of everything else to increase as well, God Forbid the GOP EVER worries about non-campaign contributors or small businesses, and that effort didn't fail, in the end, since Reid yanked it from consideration, it was obscenely successful

The bill's supporters dismissed suggestions that the new taxes on an industry that has had record profits in recent years would cause either less oil production or lead to higher prices at the pump.

Oil companies earned $111 billion in profits last year and at that rate stand to earn $1 trillion over the 10 years covered by the tax package, said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., rejecting suggestions that ``this is an undue burden'' on oil companies.

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., whose Finance Committee crafted the tax package, said the incentives for renewable and alternative fuels ``will help wean ourselves away from OPEC ... from these very high gas prices.''

Then there's this little gem, and here's something to ponder-why anyone would actually reward screwing the consumers, as in not hold those doing the screwing accountable

Senate nears vote on energy bill; oil companies spared

By a 61-32 vote, the Senate moved to shut down debate on a substitute amendment to a broad energy bill that would ramp up the nation’s reliance on biofuels, prohibit price-gouging and require federal buildings to be more efficient.

***************

Democrats are also relenting on their push to require utilities to generate electricity from a set amount of renewable fuels after a rebellion from Southern senators.

Bingaman said he would drop that effort since backers do not have the 60 votes to avert any procedural roadblocks.

Yeah, argue in favor of Price Gouging, that would be SUCH a winning campaign strategy, in fact it's so brilliant one wonders why ALL campaigns don't do just that on a constant basis

I'd love to know just why those "Southern Senators" close their eyes to the reality that it's easier to find another source of fuel while the oil's still flowing as opposed to how much of a bitch that search will be when the oil's all dried up, but as I've learned the hard way from living here in Texas, "Stupid" plays very well with southern states, and not too damn many of these GOP Southern Senators can be considered among the brighter bulbs in the Senate Chandelier

There's another reason this capitulation is such an insult, because a filibuster isn't something the GOP could take advantage of for very long if the Dems had held firm

Picture the sheer gold mine of footage AKA Political Manna From Heaven involving any of these GOP fucktards running for re-election, filibustering against reigning in a rapacious, predatory industry as pursued by it's CEO's and their boards of directors

That's how to spin the issue, yet another example of "corporate accountability" that the GOP refuses to participate in, and then show how it's hitting the taxpayers wallets and bank accounts. More money for an already financially over-saturated industry can't be that smart a strategy to campaign for by way of filibuster

If the GOP really wants to be so stupid as to filibuster AGAINST Price-Gouging restrictions, or higher taxes on an already under-regulated industry-while not doing a damn thing to stop increasing taxes on all others to benefit those at the very top of the economic ladder-then by God, let the GOP be as stupid as it is arrogant

But because the Dems yanked these items from consideration and debate, the GOP rolls up yet another cost-free political victory at the expense of the clear majority of taxpayers, and it's a victory that could/should have, instead, cost it dearly come the November 2008 eletions

What is the point of being the majority party if the only legislative action of any import is always held hostage by the minority party's mere threats of a filibuster, how does it hurt the Dems to let the GOP impale itself with even more self-inflicted political woes?

Make no mistake, the bumper-sticker politics would have played for the Dems this time, as it would have been the GOP in the position of arguing the value of nuance and understanding of complicated factors

And the only message this GOP attempted filibuster would have sent is that the Great Unwashed Electorate, The Angry Mob With Pitchforks & Torches are all too dumb, too blithering and simple to understand the supposedly "logical" intricacies inherent in the oil market

It's as if the GOP was on a high ledge, threatening to jump if it's stupidity wasn't rewarded, saying to the Dems "You'd better stop me from being so fucking stupid", and the Dems, incredibly, do just that

For God's Sakes, Dems, if the GOP wants to hang itself with its own rope, don't save the party from itself, instead, make sure the rope will hold