In the wake of the November midterm elections, President Obama attempted to show that he got the message regarding reducing federal spending by announcing his pay freeze on all federal employees on Monday.
In his morning after news conference from the election, in which he acknowledged his "shellacking," Obama mentioned a few other items in which he might be able to find common cause with the GOP going forward, such as banning earmarks.
As has been widely reported, the tea party influence on the Republican party has been so significant that even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a big fan of getting federal money back to the Wildcat state of Kentucky, buckled a few weeks ago and said he would stand behind the idea of banning earmarks, which first gained some currency in John McCain's futile presidential run in 2008.
On the floor of the Senate today, the entire body was asked to vote up or down on the matter, and did, 56-39. However, though that would be the majority in seemingly any particular contest, this is the U.S. Senate, where the magical number of 60 is required these days to pass anything.
So it failed.
One of seven Democrats who supported the tea party influenced vote was Florida Democratic Senator Bill Nelson, in a reversal of an earlier vote on the issue. When asked why the change of philosophy, Nelson spokesman Dan McLaughlan told the St. Pete Times Alex Leary:
"These are unusual (economic) times. … Going forward Sen. Nelson will keep looking for ways to cut spending, while also fighting to make sure Florida gets its fair share of federal funding for things like ports, military bases and major projects that bring new jobs."
This article appears in Nov 25 – Dec 1, 2010.