Asshole of the day.
Since the Senate
isn't doing anything but letting debate time on bills and nominations count down (since Republicans are refusing to yield it), Sen. Jack Reed's (D-RI)
asked for unanimous consent for the Senate to pass his
three month extension of unemployment insurance. Twice. You can guess how that worked out:
Twice now, @JohnCornyn has blocked EUC extension in the Senate. Note: 285,200 jobless will lose benefits in Texas, 3rd-most of any state.
— @gzornick
The chances of the three-month extension actually being enacted before benefits expire on Dec. 28 are slim. Even if the Senate passed the bill, the chances that the Republican House would come back from its holiday break to vote on the bill are pretty much zero. But if the Senate passed this bill now, it could be the first order of business for the House when it comes back, since helping the unemployed should be the first priority for Congress.
Even so, this is smart politics for Democrats, showing once again that obstruction is the number one priority for Republicans, even over all of their constituents who are facing losing everything.