Dear AP: Senate Republicans Didn't Block the Jobs Bill...Democrats Did

"GOP senators block Obama's jobs bill."  That is the Associated Press' headline today. (1) Republicans blocked the bill.  Unfortunately for the Associated Press, this is a flat out lie. 

The proceedural vote that took place on Tuesday to set a time limit on the debate on the Jobs Bill failed by a vote of 50 to 49.  For those of you not familiar with the inner workings of the United States Senate, the Senate rules require 60 votes to bring cluture (a close to any debate or set a time limit to the debate).  Without a cloture vote, an official vote on the bill will not occur.

Now here's the real reason why this failure doesn't belong to the GOP:  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid couldn't even get HIS caucus to vote unanimously to bring this bill to a vote. The current Senate breakdown is 51 Democrats, 47 Republicans, and two Independents who caucus with the Democrats.  The Democrat caucus has 53 votes. Harry Reid couldn't even get unanimity from his own caucus.

Meanwhile, when Mitch McConnell called for a vote on the bill last week, Harry Reid and the Democrats refused. (2)  Now we know why:  Not even all the Democrats were willing to pass this bill.  And that was just for the procedural vote to bring cloture.  I suspect that at least two more Democrats would have refused to vote for a tax increase in an election season and that the bill wouldn't have passed anyway.

This bill is bad for America.  It won't create jobs, because, as I've said so many times, because business owners don't hire people based on a one or two year tax credit.  They hire people expecting them to be an employee for at least five years or they don't hire.  That's the way business works.  Now the Senate won't let it through.  Good.
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(1) GOP senators block Obama's jobs bill (Source: AP Affiliate St. Petersburg Times)

(2) Actually, President Obama, it's the Democrats Blocking the Jobs Bill