A Defeat For Reid — But the Fight Is Far From Over on the Omnibus Bill

By Phil Kerpen
Policy Director, Americans for Prosperity

Senate Majority leader Harry Reid took to the Senate floor tonight and admitted he lost. He admitted that he didn’t have the 60 votes he needed to invoke cloture on the $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill that was expected to pass tonight. He withdrew the cloture request instead of holding an embarrassing vote.

We don’t know exactly who opposed it because the vote didn’t take place, but we have a pretty good idea. Three Democrats–Evan Bayh, Russ Feingold, and Claire McCaskill–have looked at the bill’s pork-barrel-earmarks-as-usual and said enough’s enough. Based on the outcome tonight, there is a good chance that they backed up their public statements with a firm commitment to vote against the bill.

This time, in a sharp departure from the stimulus outcome, principle won. The Senate passed a key test tonight, but this fight is far from over. . . The Senate will take up more amendments tomorrow and try to improve this pork-barrel disaster of a bill.

Reid then turned to persuadable Republicans, focusing mostly on members of the Senate Appropriations committee–who stand to bring home to juiciest pieces of pork if the bill passes.

Assuming those three Democrats were “no” votes, Reid needed to pick up five Republicans for the magic number of 60.

The most likely three are Thad Cochran (Miss.), Richard Shelby (Ala.), Olympia Snowe (Maine). Reid’s other targets were rumored to be: Arlen Specter (Pa.), Lamar Alexander (Tenn.), Bob Bennett (Utah), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), and Kit Bond (Mo.).

These senators faced a choice between pork and principle. This time, in a sharp departure from the stimulus outcome, principle won.

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