Some people, like Tim, have been arguing that Senator Jim Bunning‘s filibuster of unemployment benefits makes the case for reform of Senate procedure, and I agree. But in the meantime, I’m not sure it’s entirely off base for Democrats to be blamed for what’s happening. Obviously the Senate rules make it difficult to end a filibuster, but it’s also true that the Democrats have failed to exert enough political or social pressure on Bunning to make him quit.
Bunning’s behavior is outrageous and unreasonable, but it still calls into question the Democrats ability to govern. If the situation were reversed, is there any question that the Democrat in question would have given up by now?
It just seems to come back to the same question Democrats deal with over and over–they’re spineless. Even when a single Republican Senator is potentially causing havoc for millions of people, they can’t muster up the chutzpah to say more than a few an intemperate words to reporters. Kevin Drum and Matt Yglesias are frustrated that the press seems to be avoiding naming Bunning or the GOP as the source of the impass, but that’s at least partially a function of Democrats’ anemic media operation. They’d apparently rather get liberal bloggers high-fiving zingers from their favorite elected officials instead of constructing a national narrative that forces Republicans to pay a price for being relentlessly obstructionist.
Again, even if you’re a liberal, how do you vote for that kind of uselessness?
— A. Serwer
