Lots of tough talk from Dems on Sen. Jim Bunning's (R-KY) filibuster against the extension of unemployment insurance and COBRA benefits, but no real fight.
Last night, Roll Call (subscription only) was reporting that Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) was ready for a knock-down, drag-out with Bunning over this much-needed extension:
Retiring Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) late Thursday launched a one-man crusade to block an extension of unemployment and COBRA insurance benefits, vowing to allow the benefit programs to expire Sunday unless Democrats agreed to pay for them with unused stimulus funds.
Bunning's quixotic pursuit of deficit offsets at the potential expense of payments to unemployed or uninsured citizens enraged Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other Democrats, who vowed to keep the chamber in session until Bunning relents or collapses.
A senior Democratic leadership aide said Durbin would ask for unanimous consent to pass the extensions without Bunning's payment scheme every half hour for the foreseeable future. "We're going to keep doing it until we break him," the aide said.
And this morning, Roll Call tells us Bunning was on the verge of losing what's left of his mind, which is exactly what forcing a one-man filibuster is all about:
rest at http://www.congressmatters.com/storyonly/2010/2/26/11810/1125
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