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.