July 30th, 2010, Washington, DC–From ALG News’ Capitol Hill Correspondent Derek Baker: 
In the Senate, the vote to invoke cloture on the Small Business bill failed yesterday afternoon by a 58-42 vote, with Republicans voting against the measure as a block and Reid voting against it for procedural reasons (so he could call another vote later) when he saw it would fail. This represents a significant blow to Reid as the Leader and jeopardizes Reid’s busy schedule for the remainder of the session before the long August recess. While the Kagan nomination vote is still slated for early next week and energy is also on the agenda, it is unclear what other measure Reid may move to next.
Bottom Line: For Republicans, confusion in the Senate and delay of Reid’s agenda is only a good thing, in that it hinders liberal policy and shows Reid for the inept and duplicitous majority leader that he is. Barring unforeseen circumstances, Kagan will get confirmed, but nothing else will be accomplished in the remaining days of session in the Senate that will do Democrats any good going into the Fall campaign season. Read the rest of this entry »



