Thursday, November 17, 2005

This just in, common sense makes a comeback...

Today the House of Reprehensibles failed to pass a bill that would gut the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program (keeps poor folks and old folks from getting their heat shut off in the winter), Head Start, Medicaid, and the Department of Education.

The reason this happened is that (for once) every Democrat made a principled stand and voted no(!) , and they managed to peel off 20 or so centrist (read: Not Certifiably Insane) Republicans.

The result was an overwhelming loss for House Republican leader Roy Blunt. His job is to count noses and see if his legislation will pass or not. It didn't, which begs the question: is it that he can't lead, or that he can't count?

Josh Marshall reminds us not to go and get all happy and excited and shit because they'll likely just reintroduce everything that was just voted down in some huge-ass omnibus bill that no one can vote against because it funds the national Motherhood and Apple Pie Iniative.

Still, any day that's bad for Roy Blount has to be good for me.

No comments: