What Does It Take?

Via C&L:



This is another one that should be a no-brainer, and I think Weiner's tirade on the floor of the House was perfectly justified (we've lost Alan Grayson, but at least we still have Anthony Weiner, for which we can be thankful). Here's a key point:

We figured out a way to pay for it. It's completely paid for now. And we have the votes and so for John McCain to say this is some kind of a game or a stunt... no.

John McCain is a disgrace to the Senate. (This is the same John McCain who's talked to "thousands" of enlisted personnel who oppose DADT repeal. Yeah, right.) That, at this point, is too obvious to need repeating. Sadly, it's at the point where the Senate is a disgrace to America. They've forgotten why they're there. And yes, it's largely the Republicans, but not entirely. There are enough Rahm Emanuel Democrats on board with the whole kabuki thing that the Senate is a waste of time -- they can't even manage basics, like voting on bills.

UPDATE:

Well, it seems there was another player in the defeat of the first responders bill -- the U.S. Chamber of Commerce:

I was surprised to find out that the Chamber put the full court press on the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 ”because it was funded by ending a special tax loophole exploited by foreign corporations doing business in the United States.”

Here's the story from ThinkProgress.

And when the Senate does manage to pass something, it's a stopgap or a maybe -- like DADT "repeal," which is not repeal. The Pentagon will slow-walk that one until they manage to make a mess of it, I suspect because, like the Senate, there are no leaders left there, just kabuki actors and politicians -- which have become pretty much the same thing.

It's kind of appalling to have two failed presidencies in a row. (Yes, I've written off Obama as someone who can actually get anything done without bastardizing it enough to make it useless -- except, for some reason, budget-busting tax cuts for the rich.)

Footnote:

This is what John McCain does for a living:



If he had any integrity left, he'd retire.