Rolfe Winkler
Option ARMageddon
Splitting hairs on the Bernanke vote
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In the Bernanke confirmation vote this afternoon, seven senators wanted to be seen opposing Bernanke but didn’t actually want to stop his confirmation. In other words, they wanted a campaign talking point, not an actual fight.
Simple maneuver: As with most business in the Senate, Bernanke’s confirmation only required 51 votes. But before getting to the final vote, the Senate must first vote to cut off debate. Cloture, it’s called.
Seven senators, including six Democrats, voted aye on cloture and then flipped to nay on the motion to confirm:
Six Dems: Barbara Boxer (Calif.), Al Franken (Minn.), Tom Harkin (Iowa), Kaufman (Del.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), and Byron Dorgan (N.D.)
One Rep: George LeMieux (Fla.)
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Thank God, Bernanke gets through. Politics can go elsewhere, let him concentrate on his job. The dangers of changing horse at this crucial moment is drastic, yet these guys persist in playing politics right till then end……
Lim Boon Chuan
You are Shalom Bernanke’s mother and I claim my £5
“Politics can go elsewhere…”
Yeah, right into Bernanke’s confirmation when Reid asked him for favors in exchange for his vote. This whole “Fed is apolitical” nonsense is beyond stupid and anyone peddling it should immediately be branded a fah king we todd.
Bernanke, Paulson, and Geithner claim no involvement in the Government Sachs (via AIG) bailout. So who called the 100%-CDS-payout shot that kept Government Sachs alive?
Why do your posts above appear to have “comments” absent?
Many Dems right now will vote for cloture on everything as a sign thats what people should do to get it to a majority, rather than super majority, vote.
This is what is holding up the health care bill, for example. It isn’t the vote, it is the cloture. So this particular instance isn’t about Bernanke – even though the vote concerned his re-confirmation – it is about health care.