Republicans block popular piece of Obama jobs bill

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WASHINGTON | Thu Oct 20, 2011 10:25pm EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Republicans blocked a popular piece of President Barack Obama's stimulus plan -- one to raise taxes on millionaires to create or protect 400,000 jobs for teachers and firefighters.

The vote was 50-50 on Thursday evening, 10 short of the 60 votes needed to clear a Republican procedural roadblock.

The action came shortly before Democrats were expected to block a Republican bid to stimulate the economy by repealing a pending 3 percent business withholding tax.

The opposing positions underscored the difficulty of finding common ground on job creation, which is certain to be a key issue in the presidential and congressional elections in November 2012.

(Reporting by Thomas Ferraro)
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Comments (1)
doggydaddy wrote:
Thanks for nothing, GOP, though it comes as no surprise. It’s clear to any thinking person that the Republicans are only interested in serving the 1%. Their gated communities have their own security. The private schools they send their children to don’t need funding for more teachers. And a few prestige garnering donations to the local fire department can guarantee prompt service if a fire breaks out in one of their homes.

It also explains why the Republicans are passing all of these voter suppression laws, laws that don’t affect the 1%. Republicans hate democracy unless they’re getting what they want. So what do they do? They pass laws to limit the number of people who can vote. It’s just their latest version of the old jim crow laws, a poll tax. It’s despicable, but the Republicans make it crystal clear why Americans feel the need to protest, and why a majority of Americans support the Occupy Wall Street protests. The Republicans are on the side of despotism.

Oct 20, 2011 11:37pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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