My latest post over at Greg‘s place is on salvaging what’s left of the lame-duck session by getting a deal on the Bush-era tax cuts out of the way so Congress can get on to voting on DADT repeal, START, and the longshot DREAM Act:
The good news is that a deal on tax cuts will pave the way for the Democrats to move forward on other important parts of their agenda — repeal of don’t ask don’t tell and the START Treaty, since at least two Republicans have indicated a willingness to vote to repeal DADT if a deal on tax cuts is reached. Passage of the DREAM Act would make turn the lame-duck session into a significant net victory for Democrats, but even with substantial revisions to the bill and a CBO score showing the bill reduces the deficit, passage seems like a long shot.The bad news is that, as Ezra Klein has written, unemployment benefits should really be extended as long as unemployment is above seven percent, so this is a fight we’re going to see again in the near future. If necessary, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid should, as Steve Benen writes, extend the lame-duck session.
If the Democrats hadn’t handled the tax cut debate so badly they wouldn’t be in this situation. But given the circumstances, I’d prefer a chance to get those things done to nothing. Pushing to extend the lame-duck is key here, and several Democratic Senators are already on board.
