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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (449154)	10/4/2011 8:23:33 PM
From: Brian Sullivan	Respond to of 794015

Obama bluff is being called by the Senate GOP. What a poker player Obama is... GOP Pushes for Jobs Bill Vote Republicans Hope to Expose Limits of Support Within President's Own Party for $447 Billion Proposal At last, President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans agree on something. They both want the president's $447 billion jobs bill to be at the center of the political debate. Mr. Obama, seeking an economic and political boost, has demanded Congress act on the proposal and dared Republicans to oppose it, even though White House officials privately acknowledge it probably won't reach his desk in full. "Put your cards on the table," the president said Tuesday, while pitching the proposal. Mr. Obama Tuesday in Mesquite, Texas. New politicking over his jobs bill suggests that fighting over the legislation will be a staple of the debate. Now Republicans seem to agree. After four weeks of hearing Mr. Obama blame Congress for allowing the bill to languish, Senate Republicans Tuesday forced his hand and demanded an immediate vote on the bill. The move is intended to expose the limits of support within the president's own party for the bill, which includes some tax increases opposed by many Democrats. "I agree with the president that he is entitled to a vote," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), who called for a vote on the proposal as an amendment to an unrelated bill. "There's bipartisan opposition to the president's proposal." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) blocked the move, calling it a "political stunt," but promised a vote on the bill later this month. Pieces of the bill may yet get passed by the end of the year, before the 2012 election campaign effectively forecloses legislative action on it. Mostly, though, the tactical back and forth suggests that fighting over the jobs bill will be a staple of the political debate to come. American Crossroads, a well-funded backer of Republican candidates, kicked off an effort to link vulnerable Senate Democrats to the bill. The group is also running ads against Mr. Obama's proposal to raise taxes on millionaires. On Capitol Hill, Mr. McConnell's move was designed to call attention to the fact that many Democrats have expressed reservations about elements of the jobs bill. Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania has said it is too big and should be broken into pieces. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia has said it spends too much money. Many Democrats have disapproved of the tax increases Mr. Obama proposed to pay for the bill. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana has criticized the plan to raise taxes on oil and gas companies. Mr. Reid said the Obama jobs bill would come to a vote this month but acknowledged that Democrats were likely to first change some of the more controversial proposals to pay for the bill by raising taxes. Senior Democratic aides said Tuesday that Mr. Reid was considering alternatives, which a White House official said Mr. Obama supports. Even with such changes, the jobs bill isn't expected to pass intact, because it would need 60 votes to advance in the Senate. But Senate Democrats still want to send a political message by putting Republicans on record voting against a bill that includes proposals many GOP lawmakers have backed in the past. Mr. McConnell's push for a vote on the jobs bill came one day after his House counterpart, Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R., Va.), said the bill wouldn't come to a vote in the House. That made Mr. Cantor a target of the president, rekindling some of the animosity evident between the two during budget negotiations earlier this year. Mr. Obama singled out Mr. Cantor Tuesday in a speech promoting his jobs bill in Texas, the home state of GOP presidential candidate Rick Perry. "I'd like Mr. Cantor to come down here to Dallas and explain what exactly in this jobs bill does he not believe in," Mr. Obama said in a speech at a community college. Brad Dayspring, a spokesman for Mr. Cantor, said Mr. Obama was taking a " 'my way or the highway' approach," while Mr. Cantor had promised to act on some portions of the bill. "House Republicans have different ideas on how to grow the economy and create jobs, but that shouldn't prevent us from trying to find areas of common ground with the president,' Mr. Dayspring said.