How Bunning's Playing
If Dems have their way, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) will be the new face of the GOP as he stands in the way of a benefits extension bill. Bunning, hardly a household name around the country, is taking heat in local media even as both sides predict the extension bill will pass easily once it comes up for a vote.
Bunning is objecting to a call for unanimous consent that the Senate consider a benefits extension bill. The measure would provide $10B in funding for unemployment benefits, federal highway funding and the Medicare Doc fix, among other programs. But, Bunning says, he won't give up his objections without offsets to pay for the bill.
Some local clips, being gleefully passed around by Dem strategists today:
Las Vegas Sun: "The bill had bipartisan support, but Bunning, one of the most conservative members of the Senate, said he was concerned about the deficit. He did not, however, suggest how Americans could get the help they need in the interim. ... [U]ntil something passes, Americans will suffer due to Bunning's obstructionism."
AP, published in the http://www.detnews.com/article/20100302/POLITICS03/3020364">Detroit News and the Arizona Daily Star: "Jobless benefits suddenly ended for some laid-off workers, Medicare payments to doctors were delayed and 2,000 federal transportation workers were sent home Monday in a spending dispute tinged with election-year politics."
Fargo Forum: "Those who still want flood insurance coverage before this spring's high water must now wait until the U.S. Senate renews the National Flood Insurance Program. ... Kentucky Republican Sen. Jim Bunning, the lone objector to the bill, reiterated Monday that he wants the $10 billion price of the bill offset by budget reductions before he'll support extending the government programs."
Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The numbers are still rough, but Kentucky senator Jim Bunning's political stand against a 30-day extension of unemployment compensation may affect 8,000 to 9,000 Minnesotans, according to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED)."
Houston Chronicle's "Texas On The Potomac" blog (TX): "The cost of Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning's political maneuvering on Capitol Hill became clear this evening when the U.S. Labor Department reported that 27,400 Texans will lose their unemployment benefits this week. Those Texans -- along with about 400,000 other Americans who have been out of work for more than six months -- will lose jobless aid because the Kentucky Republican has single-handedly blocked passage of an extension of unemployment coverage for long-term benefits."
Readers of McClatchy papers saw a graphic illustrating the nearly 1.2M people who will not get unemployment benefits until the bill passes.
Meanwhile, Bunning's stand could be a problem for KY GOPers who hope to take back his seat. Both the Lexington Herald-Leader and the Louisville Courier-Journal
criticized Sec/State Trey Grayson (R) and ophthalmologist Rand Paul (R), the 2 leading GOPers, for standing with Bunning.
Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid could file cloture, but he has not done so yet. Once the bill hits the floor, it could even pass unanimously -- Bunning supports the bill, his spokesperson says, as long as there are spending offsets.
"Bunning supports the bill, his spokesperson says, as long as there are spending offsets."
Yeah, like the offsets for 2 rounds of tax cuts for the rich, 2 bungled wars, and medicare part d that Bunning voted for. Mr. Consistency, standing on long held principle, immune to any partisan motivation. /snark
Probably supports healthcare reform too for that matter, as long as no one actually tries to do it.
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