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Can you name the seven states in which more than 50,000 people have lost their unemployment benefits, thanks to the efforts of jackass Sen. Jim Bunning, who, on his own, has managed to hold up completely fuck over the unemployed, halt construction projects, end the government's subsidization of COBRA, and drastically cut payments to Medicare doctors? California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, New York, and, of course, Pennsylvania.
Bunning, if you haven't been following the news, is holding what is in essence a one-man filibuster of one-month extensions of these programs, unless and until Democrats figure out where to find an extra $10 billion to pay for it. Of course, Bunning, a former baseball player who is generally regarded as one of the Senate's lesser lights — so dimwitted, in fact, that Kentucky Republicans successfully pressured him into not seeking reelection — has converted to deficit hawkery only lately. After all, he backed Bush's $1.2 trillion tax cuts.
Bunning is holding up the unanimous consent needed to move the process forward. His objection is that he wants the package funded through unused stimulus funds (which means the projects those funds are meant to pay for will go dark). Harry Reid allowed that this was a reasonable argument: He promised Bunning he'd bring up his amendment for a vote. Not good enough, Bunning replied. Why not? "I was not ready to risk voting on a bill," he explained. "I knew it would not get the amount of votes necessary to pay for it.”
In other words, Bunning would lose the vote. Even with the filibuster, he'd lose the vote. But his play isn't to win the vote. His play is to win the clock. Breaking his hold would require a cloture vote, which would mean two days to let the cloture vote "ripen" and then 30 hours of post-cloture debate. That means benefits will run out.
He, of course, totally sympathizes with your plight, you poor unemployed bastards.
As Democratic senators asked again and again for unanimous consent for a vote on a 30-day extension Thursday night, Bunning refused to go along. And when Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) begged him to drop his objection, Politico reports, Bunning replied: "Tough shit."
Meanwhile, Bunning was not happy about at least one aspect of single-handedly screwing over millions of people.
And at one point during the debate, which dragged on till nearly midnight, Bunning complained of missing a basketball game. "I have missed the Kentucky-South Carolina game that started at 9:00," he said, "and it's the only redeeming chance we had to beat South Carolina since they're the only team that has beat Kentucky this year.
Fuck you, too, dickbag. Until recently, congressional Republicans had shied away from endorsing Bunning's brand of cold-heartedness. But then the GOP's No. 2 guy in the Senate, Jon Kyl of Arizona, offered this thought:
Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Republican whip, argued that unemployment benefits dissuade people from job-hunting "because people are being paid even though they're not working."
Unemployment insurance "doesn't create new jobs. In fact, if anything, continuing to pay people unemployment compensation is a disincentive for them to seek new work."
Hear that, you lazy shitheels? Why can't you find a fucking job already? It's not like there aren't six unemployed people for every job opening. What's your problem?
And we're supposed to take these people seriously.
Go Bunning Go!
He's a former Phillie. I request that Ruben Amaro and the rest of the Phillies disown this dbag.
The democrats have NEVER EVER EVER played politics with GOP legislation all those years they were in the minority - never ever! The democrats would never engage in chickenshit political sabotage!
"Hey Jim, Nice going on Friday. You pitched another no hitter. Too bad it wasn't a game but healthcare. I work with over 1,000 emergency physicians that see over 2.5 million emergency department visits annually ...and this represents ONLY about 2% of the total emergency department visits in the country annually. With the 21% reduction in physician Medicare pay. where you threw a strike, on Friday.... you just put in excess of 110 million people (number of annual ED visits in US) at risk for their emergency visits. As you know by law, Emergency Departments must see and treat every patient that presents no matter their ability to pay. Well, fireballer, by cutting emergency physician pay by over 20%, access to qualified emergency physicians that must be available 24 hours per day 365 days per year might not be there. I see in the past you credit your record with offering expanded Medicare drug benefits - good move. Where will these folks with better drug benefits go when they have a health emergency in the middle of the night ? I'm fine with you making your fiscally conservative point with highway funding or the space program ...grandstand on those issue - but with healthcare ? A life a death issue ? At the 11th hour with no alternative other to let it all fall off a cliff ? I think you got to where you are by being smarter than that. Get back on the mound on Monday and get this thing fixed. And get Congress moving while you are at it. Thank you. David Singley Southlake, Texas
Robert, I hope you lose you f****** job.
Bunning & Kyl will hopefully lose their jobs!!!!!!!
Wow, what a jerk. I hope he loses his job so he will know how it feels.
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