GOP FIGHTING BACK IN SENATE – AT 11:20 A.M. ET:  As the coronavirus relief bill makes its way through a bitterly divided Congress, the Republicans are putting up a good fight, and forcing Democrats to take votes on items that will hurt them in next year's congressional elections.  From Fox: 

The "vote-a-rama" in the Senate that started at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday concluded shortly before 6 a.m. Friday after a marathon process in which Republicans forced Democrats to take votes on tough issues for more than 15 hours.

The Senate adopted a budget resolution for coronavirus relief 51-50 with Vice President Harris casting the tie-breaking vote. It's not a final bill, but allows the Senate to proceed toward a final bill under the budget reconciliation rules, which would let Democrats pass a coronavirus stimulus plan without help from Republicans if their caucus remains united.

Senate Republicans were taking advantage of a Senate procedure that allows them to propose a plethora of amendments to the budget resolution Democrats are using to advance their coronavirus stimulus plan.

Among the issues Republicans forced votes on were efforts to support the remain in Mexico policy from the Trump administration, oppose the blocking of the Keystone XL Pipeline by President Biden, oppose banning fracking, oppose the increase of the federal minimum wage during the pandemic and more.
A final Democratic amendment proposed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., undid three GOP-proposed amendments that passed with bipartisan majorities on fracking, the Keystone XL Pipeline and opposing stimulus checks for illegal immigrants.

Senate Minority Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated that Republicans would drag out the process with the aim of extracting a pound of flesh from Democrats in uncomfortable votes.

"We're going to put senators on the record," he said on Thursday. "Expect votes to stop Washington from actively killing jobs during a recovery — like terminating the Keystone pipeline; that job-killing, one-size-fits-all minimum wage hike; and whether to bar tax hikes on small businesses for the duration of this emergency."

He'd also previously said Republicans would bring up amendments on stimulus checks for illegal immigrants, federal funding for schools districts that don't get children in classrooms and more.

COMMENT:  The sad fact is that many things the Dems want are being made possible by the loss of those two Senate seats in Georgia last month.  One vote in the Senate the other way, and the GOP would be able to block some of the worst ideas of the Democratic Party's salute-to-Lenin fringe. 

But the GOP is forcing the Dems to build a record that won't fly well in highly competitive states and congressional districts.  Please remember that the start of the 2022 campaigns will occur late this year.  We'll be back in combat.

February 5, 2021