Do Democrats Need 51 Or 60 Or 80 Votes To Get Something Passed? They Just Managed A Big One Yesterday With Only 66 Votes

The Senate's two worst extremists-- DeMint and Coburn

In 2006 we worked hard to make sure there would be at least 50 Democratic senators and we sorta/kinda managed... if you include Joe Lieberman as a Democrat (not to mention Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Mark Pryor, Max Baucus, Blanche Lincoln). But then it turned out Democrats don't need 50 votes, or even 51, but 60 votes. In 2008 we worked extra hard and managed 59. Too close for comfort, Obama now says he really needs 80 votes to get anything big done. Does it even matter that George Voinovich (R-OH) is announcing his retirement? Maybe the Obama Administration should just figure out a way to retain Cheney.

Fortunately, when it came to shutting down the Senate's crankiest kook, Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, a special Sunday vote yesterday yielded 66 votes (actually 59) were needed, with only 20 far right extremists going to Coburn's aid. A dozen Republicans, mostly from hunting states, joined every Democrat in voting to shut down Coburn's crazy filibuster of S.22, an omnibus bill that combines 160 bill previously passed by the Senate and blocked by the Oklahoma obstructionist. The bill sets aside 200 million acres for public wilderness in nine states. It adds more than 1,000 miles to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 2,800 miles of new trails to the federal system and bestows the government's highest level of protection on land ranging from California's Sierra Nevada mountain range to Oregon's Mount Hood, Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado and parts of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Land in Idaho's Owyhee canyons, Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan and Zion National Park in Utah also would be designated as wilderness. And, over objections of extreme right maniacs like Coburn, DeMint and Inhofe, the bill also designates the childhood home of former President Bill Clinton in Hope, Ark., as a national historic site.

Environmental groups are happy of course, but partisan wing nuts are going beserk: "If my colleagues on my side continue to accept this, there's going to be no such thing as a Republican Party," fumed the GOP's most extreme fringe senator, South Carolina throwback Jim DeMint. (This should put DeMint into elliptical orbit around Uranus.) Joining DeMint and Coburn in their pointless and hysterical opposition were Sam Brownback (R-KS), Bob Corker (R-TN), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Mike Johanns (R-NE), John McCain (R-AZ), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Richard Shelby (R-AL) and John Thune (R-SD).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell ducked this vote. The girl's a mess. His caucus, as DeMint-- who would like to replace him-- warned, is a shambles. Miss McConnell will "have to fight to keep moderate Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania from joining Democrats on such key votes as the proposed $1 trillion economic stimulus package, environmental protection measures, broadening health care coverage and stem cell research. Former presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has also broken with party ranks on campaign finance reform and immigration."

The Obama administration has made overtures to the moderate Republicans. Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden recently called and transition officials met with the two Maine senators to discuss the stimulus proposal.

In the meantime, McConnell has touted the spirit of bipartisanship and urged his party members to hold the line during future procedural fights to give the GOP more room to negotiate.

"He's a good mathematician and he's going to be counting votes - especially if Obama will be wading in," Chafee said. "And if the Obama people are smart they won't depend on a razor-thin margin to prevent filibusters."

Obama's proposed economic stimulus package may prove one of the first tests of McConnell's ability to keep his party in line.

McConnell's "going to try and get Republican priorities into the stimulus bill" and that will require negotiating with moderate Republicans, said Michele Swers, an associate professor of American government at Georgetown University.

"Democrats will be concentrating on getting votes over to their sides. Moderate Republicans and the conservative Democrats are in a prime position because they can be the turning point," she said. Collins, Snowe and Specter "will ask for certain things for Maine or Pennsylvania."

Republicans have made it clear they want Obama's economic stimulus package to reflect generous tax cuts and limits on spending. And since they will have the 40 votes needed to halt debate, they'll still have a prominent role in shaping the legislation.

McConnell said he wants at least two elements to be key parts of the plan: A reduction of the 25 percent tax rate now paid by middle-class taxpayers to 15 percent, and aid to states as loans, not grants. He and House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, made other requests: That there be full hearings, and that the federal debt not go up too sharply.