We've gone from "pass the bill now" to 16 Dem Senators who have concerns about the proposal.
This is a list of the Dem Senators who do not want to pass the bill "now":
“Reid Blocks McConnell’s Call For An Immediate Vote On Obama’s Jobs Plan” (Josiah Ryan, “Reid Blocks McConnell’s Call For An Immediate Vote On Obama’s Jobs Plan,” The Hill’s “Floor Action Blog”, 10/4/11)
Bob Casey (D-PA): “I Think The American People Are Very Skeptical Of Big Pieces Of Legislation … For The Reason Alone I Think We Should Break It Up.” “‘I think the American people are very skeptical of big pieces of legislation,’ Senator Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said in an interview Wednesday, joining a growing chorus of Democrats who prefer an à la carte version of the bill despite White House resistance to that approach. ‘For that reason alone I think we should break it up.’” (Jennifer Steinhauer, “Some Democrats Are Balking At Obama’s Jobs Bill,” The New York Times, 9/14/11)
#2 - Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA): Webb Called Obama’s Tax Proposals To Pay For The $450 Billion Stimulus “Terrible.” “‘Terrible,’ Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) told POLITICO when asked about the president’s ideas for how to pay for the $450 billion price tag. ‘We shouldn’t increase taxes on ordinary income. … There are other ways to get there.’” (Manu Raju, “Hill Dems Pick Apart Obama Jobs Plan,” Politico, 9/14/11)
#3 - Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA): Obama’s Offset’s Are “Not Going To Fly” And Questions Whether Obama’s Jobs Plan Is “Just For His Election.” “’That offset is not going to fly, and he should know that,’ said Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu from the energy-producing Louisiana, referring to Obama’s elimination of oil and gas subsidies. ‘Maybe it’s just for his election, which I hope isn’t the case.’” (Manu Raju, “Hill Dems Pick Apart Obama Jobs Plan,” Politico, 9/14/11)
#4 - Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA): Feinstein Will Not Vote For Obama’s Stimulus Until She Is Convinced It Will Actually Help Bring Down Unemployment. “Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, said she won’t vote for it unless she’s convinced it will help employment in her economically hard-hit state. ‘We have the highest unemployment. We have the most people. We have the biggest problems in terms of state and local cuts. So, I need some specificity,’ she said.” (Ted Barrett, “Obama Aides Hear Jobs Bill Concerns From Senate Democrats,” CNN’s “Political Ticker,” 9/15/11)
#5 - Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE): “A Long-Term Deficit-Reduction Plan” Is “Better Than Everything Else The President’s Talked About – Combined.” “’I think the best jobs bill that can be passed is a comprehensive long-term deficit-reduction plan,’ said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), discussing proposals to slash the debt by $4 trillion by overhauling entitlement programs and raising revenue through tax reforms. ‘That’s better than everything else the president is talking about — combined.’” (Manu Raju, “Hill Dems Pick Apart Obama’s Jobs Plan,” Politico, 9/14/11)
#6 - Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE): “No, No, No.” “Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) said he cannot support the Senate even taking up legislation that would raise hundreds of billions of dollars in taxes to pay for a payroll tax cut and infrastructure investment. ‘No, no, no,’ Nelson said, when asked if he would roll the dice by allowing the bill to come to the Senate floor in hopes it could be amended.” (Alexander Bolton, “Senate GOP To Force Vote On Jobs Bill,” The Hill, 10/04/11)
#7 - Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK): “On The Pay-Fors, I Have A Problem.” “Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, from the oil-rich state of Alaska, said it was ‘frustrating’ to see the president single out the oil industry after calling on the congressional supercommittee in last week’s address to Congress to find savings. ‘When you start singling out certain industries, there’s an unfairness to it,’ he said in an interview. ‘On the pay-fors, I have a problem.’” (Manu Raju, “Hill Dems Pick Apart Obama Jobs Plan,” Politico, 9/14/11)
#8 - Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO): McCaskill Said She Opposes Extending Unemployment Benefits. “President Barack Obama is for extending unemployment but it may run out if Congress does not act soon to continue long-term unemployment assistance. Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill told News 4 that she does not support extending any unemployment benefits any further. Senator McCaskill was touring Trinity Products in St. Charles to discuss creating jobs and the deficit with the company employees.” (“Senator Mccaskill Opposes Extending Unemployment Benefits,” KMOV [St. Louis, MO], 8/9/11)
#9 - Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD): “I Disagree With The President.” “Senator Barbara Mikulski, a Maryland Democrat whose state includes some of the wealthiest counties in the U.S., said she didn’t support the health-care tax. ‘I disagree with the president,’ she said. The proposal, she said, would be problematic for people with fluctuating incomes. Some of her constituents ‘might make one year $300,000 and the next year $30,000,’ she said.” (Steven Sloan and Kathless Hunter, “Obama Plan To Tax Health Benefits Stirs Democratic Opposition,” Bloomberg Businessweek, 9/14/11)
#10 - Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY): Obama’s Proposals To Pay For His Stimulus “Are Probably Not The Best Way To Garner The Votes.” “‘After [Obama] announced the jobs bill ... he proposed ways of paying for it that are probably not the best way to garner the votes,’ Schumer said. ‘We're looking for better ways,’ said Schumer, the third-ranking Democrat in the Senate.” (Lore Croghan and Alison Gendar, “President Obama’s Jobs Bill A Tough Sell, Sen. Chuck Schumer Says,” New York Daily News, 10/3/11)
#11 - Sen. John Kerry (D-MA): “I Don’t Think Anybody Expects It To Pass En Bloc.” “Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Tuesday that he doesn’t expect President Obama’s jobs proposal to pass Congress all in one piece. ‘I don’t think anybody expects it to pass en bloc,’ Kerry told reporters Tuesday afternoon after the Senate Democrats’s weekly policy luncheon. ‘So, the issue is going to be what, if any, parts of it might be cherry-picked. And really that depends a lot on the overall mix of the negotiation.’” (Felicia Sonmez, “Obama Jobs Proposal Won’t Pass In One Piece, Kerry Says,” The Washington Post’s “2chambers”, 9/13/11)
#12 - Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT): Obama’s Jobs Bill Will Make It Harder To Focus On Dealing With Our Long-Term Debt Crisis. “‘Every dollar that is spent on the jobs bill … is not going to be available to Congress to deal with the debt,’ said Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who caucuses with Democrats. ‘And to me, the top priority of ours should be long-term major debt reduction.’” (Manu Raju, “Hill Dems Pick Apart Obama Jobs Plan,” Politico, 9/14/11)
#13 - Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL): “President Obama's Jobs Bill Will Likely Need To Be Changed In Order To Win Enough Votes For Passage.” “President Obama's jobs bill will likely need to be changed in order to win enough votes for passage, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said Tuesday. Durbin said Democrats are still working to round up votes in the Senate for the $447 billion plan, but said the final proposal probably won't be a carbon copy of the one Obama proposed in September.” (Daniel Strauss, “Durbin Says Obama’s Jobs Bill Will Likely Need Changes To Pass,” The Hill’s “Blog Briefing Room,” 10/4/11)
#14 - Sen. Bill Nelsen (D-FL): Obama’s Stimulus Contains Tax Hikes He Has Voted Against Before. “‘The president’s jobs plan has some things Senator Nelson favors, like extending and expanding the payroll tax cut. But it also has some things he’s even voted against before, like increasing income tax rates on people who make more than $200,000 a year,’ Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlin said Monday. ‘So he wants to see what the final package looks like after it’s revised. There’d probably be a better chance of something passing if the plan were broken down into smaller parts,’ McLaughlin added.” (Kenric Ward, “Bill Nelson Waiting For Final Jobs Package; GOP Foes Blast Him Now,” Sunshine State News, 10/4/11)
#15 - Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV): “If Some Of The Recommendations That Are Out There Hadn't Worked In The Past, Why Would We Do Them Over Again?” “‘If spending money would solve our problems and crisis in America, we wouldn't have a problem right now because we sure did our share of spending money in the last few years. It's just common sense to me. If some of the recommendations that are out there hadn't worked in the past, why would we do them over again?’ he asked.” (Joselyn King, “Manchin Sees ‘Ugly’ In Obama Jobs Bill,” The Intelligencer, 9/17/11)
#16 - Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT): “Jon Is Against The President’s Proposal.” “We went above and beyond by calling the Senator’s office and speaking to Aaron Murphy, Tester’s spokesman. ‘I can say that Jon is against the president’s proposal,’ Murphy told HOH.” (Neda Semnani, “Heard On The Hill: HOH Scores The Montana Money Quote,” Roll Call, 9/22/11)"We also hear that there are some bad feelings between Dems and Pres BO: "More and more Democrats are publicly challenging Obama on a range of issues." (TheHill)
So what's going on? Why is Pres BO losing Dems?
The answer is simple:
1) Pres BO is very weak at the moment. Nobody fears him overseas or here at home. This is the closest thing to "Carter-ism" that I've seen since "Carter-ism" itself!
2) Pres BO's speeches continue to reveal a man disconnected from reality. He seems to be speaking to the wind or to a smaller and smaller group of "yes we can" screamers who apparently will go down with the ship.
Yes, there is opposition to Pres BO's jobs bill and it's coming from his own party!
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