Collins Goes No Go

Yesterday GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee predicted 70 bipartisan votes in the Senate for financial reform legislation. If that's true, Corker has a long way to go as Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins says she will vote to filibuster financial reform.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) announced after meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday that she will vote to filibuster a Democratic Wall Street reform bill.

Her announcement hurts Democratic chances of moving financial reform legislation through the Senate this week.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last week that he planned to bring the legislation to the floor this week, but Collins’s stance means that Democrats will likely not have the 60 votes needed to begin floor debate.

Collins said she and Geithner found common ground on many areas of financial regulatory reform and urged Democrats to spend several more weeks negotiating the measure. 

The key here is "this week."  Right now, all 41 GOP Senators will filibuster this bill if brought as is to the Senate floor.  Remember, Corker's qualification was "By Memorial Day".  The message is clear:  the GOP is playing the same game they did with health care reform.  GOP Senators will say "I can't vote for the bill in its current form now, but with another couple months of work, it might get to a point where I can support it."  That will continue until the Democrats get sick of it.  How many Republicans actually voted for HCR?  None.

If Democrats fall for this, they actually deserve to get tossed by the voters because they're not smart enough to represent the American people.  For now, Reid seems quite interested in forcing the GOP to actually make that filibuster vote, which would put all 41 GOP Senators on the record against financial reform.  Reid is doing the right thing here, and needs to stick with it.

Force the GOP to vote against it.  Go go Party of No!