Say It Ain't So Already

The Senate Lowers Vote Threshold for Bernanke Confirmation

January 26, 2010

This is unbelievable:

The public health insurance option was stripped from health care reform because it didn’t have 60 votes. An expansion of Medicare took its place but it, too, was dropped for having fewer than 60. Both proposals had at least 50 votes. Dawn Johnsen, a nominee to head the Office of Legal Counsel, has the backing of progressive organizations, but a 60-vote threshold has held her up for a year.

The threshold for the re-confirmation of Ben Bernanke?

When it comes to progressive priorities in the Senate, there’s one standard: 60 votes are needed. But for Ben Bernanke, there’s a second standard: 50 will be just fine, thank you.

So, when the ruling/criminal class wants something, i.e., to retain Ben Bernanke as head of the Fed, the Senate figures out a way to deliver.  When the public wants something?  Houston, we have a problem.

This is so infuriating and I was already suffering from an overload of furious before I got this news.

Entry Filed under: Financial Crisis. .