Sic transit gloria Toomey-Manchin?

They apparently don’t have the votes for a ‘compromise’ amendment extending background checks for firearm purchases.

NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell tweeted this morning “Sen. Joe Manchin tells me ‘ we will not get the votes today.'”

The Senate had been expected to vote Tuesday on the deal Manchin unveiled last week with Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., but Democrats late Tuesday were still scrambling to find the 60 votes the amendment will need to pass.

…Which means that Chuck Schumer’s original, quite comprehensively bad, restrictive background check language will likely be in the final bill*. I certainly hope that every Democrat up for reelection in 2014 in a Red state enjoys voting for it, particularly since John Boehner and Bob Goodlatte are already patiently waiting for the legislation over at the House.  Complete with a brazier, a can of gasoline, and a match.

Continue reading Sic transit gloria Toomey-Manchin?

Time for the *important* Byrd succession question.

Now that it’s been determined by the Secretary of State for WV that there will be no special election for Byrd’s now-vacant seat…

OK, let me just note something here. The seat was held by a Democrat; the Governor is a Democrat; the state government is more or less dominated by Democrats.  The people of West Virginia seem more or less happy about this state of affairs, and state law really does suggest that there is an issue with the fact that the filing period for 2010 has already passed.  Governor Manchin isn’t putting himself in the seat, and he’s probably not going to pull a Blagojevich and try to sell it to the highest Democratic bidder.  There’s not much for us to work with with regard to pushing for a 2010 special election, sorry. Continue reading Time for the *important* Byrd succession question.