How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

http://tucsoncitizen.com/in-the-aggr...the-dream-act/

"How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
by Hugh Holub on Sep. 24, 2010

So the Senate Democrat effort to attach the Dream Act to a military authorization bill failed the other day. Killed by Republicans.

Of course Republicans argue that attaching the Dream Act to the military bill had nothing to do with the military bill. I would hope that Republicans never again try and attach some unrelated piece of legislation to a bill they support.

The fact that Republicans can act piously that they kept an unrelated issue off the bill makes me sick when you and I know they will do just what the Dems tried to do when it is the GOP’s interest. This double standard stuff just increases disgust with the whole political system.

Lets have no unrelated stuff added to legislation by either party. [1]

Then there’s the argument that the Dems were trying to salvage some credibility with Hispanic voters by trying to do something not really controversial to address a tiny part of the immigration issue…before the November elections.

Of course if you are the majority party and want to stay in office you should try and do something to help your voters out. I’ll bet the GOP would have stuck extension of the Bush Tax Cuts For The Rich on the bill if they could have gotten away with that.

Meanwhile a very excellent piece of legislation…the Dream Act…has been dumped in the gutter maybe to rise again next year…or maybe not. So sad for all the young people who would have benefited…and sad for the country because one cannot even deal with a small issue in the immigration debate without it becoming political fodder.

Whatever else Republicans think they are doing now, they are really alienating a whole lot of people in this country for the GOP’s short term goals. I predict that the GOP’s anti-immigrant posture in 2010 at both state level here in Arizona and nationally is really going to come back and bite them, turning the GOP into a fringe minority party full of xenophobic cranks.

What the Democrats really need to do right now is ask themselves, with a majority in the US Senate, how come you can’t pass any meaningful legislation? You’ve let the GOP minority run you into the ground…and you know darned well when the GOP gets control of the Senate, they will strip you of any ability to use the filibuster rules to stop the GOP from running rough shod over the tax code, regulations to protect consumers, and unleash our crooked bankers to rape and pillage the nation’s economy one more time.

While I can be peeved at the GOP…they are doing exactly what they think their voters want them to do.

What really peeves me is the Democrats are letting the GOP destroy the good ideas and goals of the Democratic Party and making being a Democrat next to worthless in America right now."

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

I think its because while Republicans are fairly united with similar ideologies, Democrats while under "one" party are fairly splintered with many different factions within. Some democrats do not like the Dream Act or have constituents who don't like it and so cannot vote yay on something that would cost them votes. They also know voting on Dream Act which is pretty controversial would cost them lots in midterms. I was really surprised when 56 Democrats voted yay during the DOD vote. If this was any year but election year, it would probably have been easier to pass it especially with the Arizona debacle.

Republicans however must know that they are alienating the largest growing voting bloc, the Latinos, by continuously blocking Dream Act and other immigration related bills. In my opinion, I think they just don't want to pass something like DA during a democrat held congress. After Lincoln emancipated African-Americans, they voted Republican for generations and after Democrats passed civil rights laws, black people voted Democrat for years and years. Still do I think. Maybe they would be more inclined to vote yay if they hold either the House or Senate.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

one word: filibuster!

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

This, Super majorities are never good. Simply because the minority ends up having more power through the filibuster.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

I thought super majorities could break all filibusters. If it weren't for freaking Massachusetts, democrats would probably break Republican filibuster easily, pass the Dream Act, so forth. Like they did with the Health Care Reform :P

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

We don't have enough seats to have a filibuster-proof Congress. 60 or more, and the Dems could have done virtually anything they wanted. Unfortunately, they don't, and they can't.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

Two words: Blue Dog.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

The Reps do anything they want with 40,50, and as sure as hell they will do as they please, without apology, should they ever reach 60.

A supermajority was never necessary to accomplish anything in the Senate. And the Democrats are to blame because they drove anyone moderate enough to vote with them out of office. It's Rahm's fault that we have the Blue Dogs who betray their leadership and party to represent Republican interests in their states. Then why the f*** even have them included in the caucus? Look at Specter -Republican who supported immigration reform, even though now he's a Democrat. He was part of the Republican leadership, and had he stayed a Rep, I'm sure he would have pulled several colleagues in line for reform.
Bennet - Republican who supported/supports (?) DREAM Act. Collins and Snowe, too. There were many others who've now left office who had common sense and compassion to get immigration reform done.

We and the country should not have had to come to this point had we not been betrayed by the seven Democrats who voted down DA last time.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

the democratic party is a big tent party. meaning they're willing to let traitor democrats or blue dogs be in the democratic party so they could have more number of member in their party and because they're very open minded. in contrast, republican party is a small tent party. their extremism and their ignorance and close minded priciples drive moderates and blue dogs away from their party. there is a saying that should explain why democrats can't do shit even with a big majority. "democrats are pussies and republicans are assholes". its true. democrats aren't tough and they're wimps, they can't get shit done even when they have a good agenda. but republicans are assholes so they bully people around and yell at people and they always have their way even when what they're proposing and their arguments dont even make sense. look at how much shit they wanted got through during bush years (2 tax cuts, declaring 2 wars, etc.) when they didn't even have a big big majority and were in the minority the last 2 bush years.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

Watchdogs and filibusters.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

Diversity in ideology is both the strength and weakness of the Democratic Party. In contrast, unity in ideology is both the strength and weakness of the Republican Party.

The Democrats always have unity problems when it comes to voting for certain issues. That is why they had so many problems when they tried to pass some of the most important items on their agenda such as the health care reform. And, that is why they do not have an agreement on the Bush-era tax cuts that are making news. You see a lot of conservative Democratic lawmakers. Although you might say it is a bad thing, it gives them chances of having A LOT of seats (ex - supermajority in the Senate) that the Republican Party will never get unless there is a fundamental change in the distribution of the seats in the Congress.

The Republicans, on the other hand, do not have many moderate Republicans. They had many just a few years ago, and now they have only a handful of them. That makes them unite easily and fiercely oppose anything the Democrats try to do. As you all know, they use fear and extremism to scare people. While that gives them an advantage in the short run, it will make them a smaller minority over time. It is just a matter of time. Also, the "Tea Party" candidates that the Republican leaders are willing to support right now will become troublesome for the leaders in the near future. They will be literally "uncontrollable" in the Congress. The Republican leadership won't have any control over them. These people are a double-edged sword.....

However, for us, the short-term disadvantage that the Democrats have is toxic. Unless they pass the DREAM Act this year, we won't have much of a chance for the next few years as more extreme Republicans are expected to enter the Congress.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

yes. i completely agree. thats exactly what i was talking about on the page before and on the lame duck worries thread. you must be a poli sci major too and watch a bunch of news also

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

let me ask yall something.. Bc I am semi-ignorant to how the senate does business.. Has the senate always needed 60 votes to pass a damn bill or is this a new trend?

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/ima...ats-chart2.jpg

yes and no. it used to be that it required 60 votes to pass only very controversial laws (like the civil rights act and tax laws) so the 60 vote requirement was used only little but republicans recently since 4 years ago started demading that 60 vote requirement for every single damn thing. 4 years ago democrats took back control of senate.. you can easily tell from the graph. hmm what a coincidence. they're all just fucking sore losers like john mcfake. and that picture doesn't even show the 111th congress which is this 2009 and 2010 congress and there were even more filibusters this past last two years than ever before. republicans broke the record. good job you unconscionable and shameless bastards

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

:) No... I'm not a political science major... I'm a biology major, but you're correct. I read a lot of news articles, partly, because I'm worried about the passage of the DREAM Act and my future... It's sad... I do not like politics, but the little hope that the DREAM Act might pass makes me keep reading news articles about politics and immigration... It just repeats over and over again...

And, it's maddening to see these ignorant and crazy Republicans use false information and fear to take control of the Congress and our future. It looks like they will be partly successful... Average Americans are too ignorant to see that.....

It's depressing to acknowledge that these people have control over my future.

Re: How come the Dems with a majority can’t pass the Dream Act?
 

How come pigs dont fly?