Payroll Tax Cut Extension Rejected In Senate Vote 1-2DEZ11

A few repiglicans and tea baggers defeated legislation in the senate that would have extended the middle class payroll tax break and raised taxes on those making $1,000,000.00 or more. The vote was 51 to 48 for the bill, a majority voted for it and still it failed. WHY? Because politicians have been allowed to conduct virtual filibusters and that is what they did this time, requiring 60 votes for passage. The democratic senate leadership can do something about this and end a lot of the gridlock in the senate. Sen Reid, find your spine, invoke the nuclear option, change the rules allowing virtual filibusters and make the republicans remain on the senate floor so the nation can see who is responsible for preventing the extension of the middle class payroll tax cut, who is preventing raising taxes on millionaires, who is protecting the greed of the wealthy and corporate America. Make them show their faces to the nation so everyone can see who is delaying legislation addressing the desperate economic needs of the country. Publicly hold these senators responsible. Don't have the political guts to take such a drastic step? Then you might as well be a tea-baggin repiglican too. Below is info on filibustering from Wikipedia, followed by an article on the vote from HuffPost....
A filibuster in the United States Senate usually refers to any dilatory or obstructive tactics used to prevent a measure from being brought to a vote. The most common form of filibuster occurs when a senator attempts to delay or entirely prevent a vote on a bill by extending the debate on the measure, but other dilatory tactics exist. The rules permit a senator, or a series of senators, to speak for as long as they wish and on any topic they choose, unless "three-fifths of the Senators duly chosen and sworn"^[1] (usually 60 out of 100 senators) brings debate to a close by invoking cloture under Senate Rule XXII.
According to the Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Ballin (1892), changes to Senate rules could be achieved by a simple majority. Nevertheless, under current Senate rules, a rule change itself could be filibustered, with two-thirds of those senators present and voting (as opposed to the normal three-fifths of those sworn) needing to vote to end debate.^[1] Despite this written requirement, the possibility exists that the filibuster could be changed by majority vote, using the so-called nuclear option, also sometimes called the constitutional option by proponents.
WASHINGTON -- The Senate failed Thursday to pass an extension of a payroll tax cut, leaving in limbo a break that saved working class households about $1,000 a piece this year.
Democrats sought to extend and expand the break, while paying for it with a 3.25 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million. Just one Senate Republican, Maine's Susan Collins, voted for the middle class break, which died 51 to 49 in an unsuccessful effort to end a Republican filibuster. Three Democrats opposed the bill.
"I am extremely disappointed that Republicans' insistence on protecting millionaires from paying a penny more in taxes has blocked our effort to extend and expand the payroll tax cut for millions of middle class families and small business owners," said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
Minutes later, a Republican version of the measure was blocked by Democrats and a majority of the GOP senators.
Democrats had complained that it was too small of a break -- and that it was paid for by cutting 200,000 federal workers.
"Tonight's votes highlight a sharp contrast between the two parties: Democrats voted to put more money in the pockets of the middle class families who need it most, while Republicans would only support a bill that exacts a price from middle class workers while protecting the wealthiest Americans," Murray, the fourth-ranking Democrat, said.
Democrats pointed to the defection of Republicans from the GOP bill as an embarrassment for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who had predicted there would be support for some sort of payroll tax cut extension.

"Republicans spent this week trying to convince us that they support middle class tax cuts, but tonight a majority of Senate Republicans voted against their own bill -– calling into question whether they support middle class tax cuts at all," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

"I was encouraged to see one Republican join Democrats in asking millionaires to pay their fair share," Reid said. "But because every other Republican continues to insist on protecting millionaires, middle class families could face a $1,000 tax increase next year."
Reid has said he will bring the measure back. Most Republican leaders have also said that ultimately the payroll tax cut should be extended, but it was not clear how after Thursday's twin failures.
President Barack Obama released his own statement to hammer the middle class message that's emerging as a key theme of his campaign.
"Tonight, Senate Republicans chose to raise taxes on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share," he said. "That is unacceptable. It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet."