Dana Bash: Durbin says 'very close elections' likely to cause Senate to adjourn early
2 p.m. ET - The Senate's number two Democrat was very candid in a gaggle with a few of us just now that the Senate is likely to adjourn late next week – a week earlier than planned.
"I think we're going to try to get out of here next week if we can," Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill, said.
"Why?" I asked.
"People want to get home," said Durbin, "It's an election year and there are a lot of very close elections."
I then asked if there is concern that in an anti-Washington year, the longer Democrats are here, the worse it is for them.
"It's part of it, sure, its part of the calculation," Durbin responded, "if we can't do anything positive, if we can't do anything to pass laws of importance, then why stay here and debate? And unfortunately we've been tied up with so many cloture votes and filibusters we have passed very few things."
House Democrats have been signaling for some time that they would leave late next week too.
The Senate leaving early is news, and Durbin blamed Republicans for blocking movement on issues that topped the Democrats' agenda during this brief fall session.
As of now Senate Democrats say they still plan to try to bring up a huge election year flashpoint – extending Bush-era middle class tax cuts.
But they also expect Republicans to block that bill from coming to the floor, because of GOP insistence that Congress extend all tax cuts, including those for the wealthiest Americans.
Congress must also pass a bill to keep the government funded, known as a continuing resolution, before lawmakers leave town.
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good... go home you have cause enough damage this year....loosers..
They have a Filibuster proof majority, what he really means is they can no longer convince all of the member of the Democrat party to follow the party line blindly. Thank God for that!
The Senate making once again making sure that the American People again do not get their moneys worth.
Does Mr. Durbin forget that we don't pay him to campaign ? Maybe they and their staff should all forfeit their paychecks for these nice extended vacation days ?
DEMAND TERM LIMITS
If it werent for gerrymandering districts,we wouldnt have any republicans,which would be a good thing.
Time to just end the mid term elections so there is a potential that things will actually get done and the parties are not just constantly campaigning.
"continuing resolution".....Sounds like what the Dems did in '07 and '08 to help W's deficit grow leaps and bounds.
Instead of raising taxes why not reduce spending? Illegal aliens cost the American taxpayer $338 billion a year. We give billions annually to farm subsidies that help keep the price of their products high. We have military bases all over the world at a cost of about $700 billion a year(does not include cost of wars, just foreign bases). We have given N Korea $1.276 TRILLION in the last 12 years. And the list goes on and on. We don't need to worry about tax increases or decreases, we need to quit giving taxpayers money away to people who hate us and to projects that do nothing for us.
But yea, let the like of Harry Reid go home aerly so they can try to get elected again and continue their ways.
ha ha a haa ha ha bash has more of a moustache thaan hubby john king.
It's a shame that running the country often takes a back seat to politician campaigns.
talipublicans can be classified as the biggest sewer dwellers
Why they ask? Easy, the liberals/democrats are about to get their butts handed to them. They are running from their tax and spend policies, TARP,bailouts and the obama care. They cannot run on their accomplishments and these same accomplishments are the reason they will be fired in November 2010.
Whye do they even have this senate all they ever do is block and stall everything and say no.