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» Bang for your buck: The above figure is a cause for angst among some U.S. politicians in the wake of the surprising (to say the least) discovery of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden in Abbottabad, Pakistan last week. Senators Frank Lautenberg and Susan Collins have made it clear they may not support further funding — Collins says she’s concerned about Pakistan playing a “double-game.” On the other side of the issue, Senator Richard Luger supports continuation of the aid, saying that Pakistan is simply too critical to counter-terrorism to sever financial ties.

Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

then Susan Collins, the moderate Republican Senator from Maine, previously voted to repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell when the bill was in committee.
now Collins still opposes the policy, but because Sen. Harry Reid, the Majority leader, won’t allow unlimited amendments on the bill, she’ll be filibustering the repeal effort.

“I think it’s the right thing to do.” That’s how Collins feels about repealing DADT, the controversial policy that prohibits openly gay citizens from serving in the military; ending it is “only fair,” she said today. But Reid is limiting the number of amendments that can be added to the bill containing the repeal, and so she’s voting against it. Funny; if you think the bill does “the right thing,” shouldn’t the procedural stuff be a secondary consideration? After all, you came to the Senate to enact effective policy, not uphold Senate procedure. source

Posted by Seth Millstein • 2 Comments • Permalink

didThe three more moderate East-coast members of the GOP – Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.
didn’tRuss Feingold, that scallion of Wisconsin, felt the bill didn’t go far enough. Oh, and Robert Byrd just died. source

» So, what’s next? Well, in a couple of hours, the bill will go through the real vote, at which point it will head to Obama. Then, ta-da! It becomes law.

Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

Every single day since I signed reform into law, there’s another poll or headline that says ‘Nation still divided on health reform! Polls haven’t changed yet!’ Well, yeah. It just happened last week. It’s only been a week!
President Barack Obama • Discussing the health care bill in Maine today. The president, whose political legacy rides on the success of the health care bill, got a tweak in at Sen. Olympia Snowe, saying she was a friend “and who spent many hours meeting with me about this bill.” But really, he main target was the media, which he hit with full force. “Can you imagine,” he said, “if some of these reporters were working on a farm, had planted some seeds and came out the next day and looked, ‘Nothing’s happened! There’s no crop! We’re going to starve! Oh no! It’s a disaster!’” Hey, that hurts, man! source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 May 2011 17:17