tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post3991221595175715997..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Who Yields Time?Jonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-5422131006417247582010-05-20T16:12:54.255-05:002010-05-20T16:12:54.255-05:00But is lack of Senate floor time really limiting D...But is lack of Senate floor time really limiting Democratic accomplishments? <br /><br />The heaviest lifting, healthcare, took forever, but that was because it was complex, controversial, and an enormous hat trick to pull off. Finance reform seems to be more or less whisking through. The challenge for the upcoming biggies, climate and immigration, is putting together a coalition to do them at all, not how much time is left on the clock.Rickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16932015378213238346noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-19447559585420537192010-05-20T14:17:14.541-05:002010-05-20T14:17:14.541-05:00...looks as if the only other endangered Dem incum...<i>...looks as if the only other endangered Dem incumbents are Blanche Lincoln and Harry Reid himself. Far better to lose those races then to let the clock run out...</i><br /><br />I think you just answered your question right there. Reid isn't keeping the chamber open 24/7 because he's got more important things to worry about... namely, getting re-elected!<br /><br />Frankly (though you will probably disagree, Jonathan), I don't think Reid, as the caucus leader, should be putting his specific electoral concerns over that of his party more generally. But we've seen it before (why else would he give immigration reform higher priority than climate legislation?) and we'll probably see it again. I suppose it just speaks to the problem with selecting a leader who is not in a safe seat. You'd think that, after Daschle, the Dems would have learned...Andrewhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15913245096162048743noreply@blogger.com