As all politicians in Ohio have been addressing, job creation is a serious concern for the 2010 elections. All across the state, Ohioans are being, or have already been laid off as more and more industries move away from Ohio. With so many employment problems recently, unemployment compensation extension has given vital aid to many needy Ohio families, and has essentially kept food on many tables through these rough economic times.
On Thursday, however, the Senate bill to extend unemployment compensation through the rest of the year failed. According to the Wall Street Journal, this means that approximately 1.3 million Americans will lose unemployment benefits almost immediately, many of them in Ohio. Democrats were unfortunately unable to stop Republican Senators from killing the bill by filibuster; the motion to invoke cloture only reached 57 votes, with 41 Senators voting against cloture. Ohio's own Republican Senator, George Voinovich, voted against stopping the filibuster, and in the process essentially denied the extension of unemployment benefits. But Voinovich was not alone in killing the bill that was meant to help needy American families. In fact, all Republican Senators, except for Alaska's Murkowski who did not vote, voted to kill the bill. They're reasoning behind filibustering involved their opposition to deficit spending, although they didn't seem to mind spending to clean up a foreign company's mess in the Gulf of Mexico.
This is a big vote for the 2010 elections. If Republicans want to win in Ohio, they need to be more conscious of unemployment and Ohio's battered economy. Frankly, this vote could potentially make the Republican Party look out of touch or even irresponsible as many Ohio families face even more hardships as a result of Republican actions. It's almost as if the Republican Party is playing a political game that puts innocent families in jeopardy. Democrats must make their Republican opponents address this serious blunder during their campaigns, especially considering that many Republicans, including Rob Portman, are using jobs as a main issue. They must be held accountable for their actions and for the actions of their party.
If you would like to see the roll call vote for cloture, the results can be found here:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=2&vote=00200
Comments
Austin, son you need to understand. No one wants to hurt already suffering families. There is just no money left. This administration has fractured our economy, our dollars value and spent 3 trillion on needless programs. There is just no more to go around. Finally The cleanup in the gulf is the federal govt's responsibility.
No it is not our governments responsibility to clean up the gulf. It is BP's
As for jobs, if we the United States of America would run these illegals back to their owe country, quit taking them in and giving them free services, (like Social Security when they have never worked for it, free medical and free food stamps and money) we would not have all this job mess. So grow a backbone America, take back what is yours. And vote against all the GOP that voted against unemployment extentions.
Austin, son you need to understand. No one wants to hurt already suffering families. There is just no money left. This administration has fractured our economy, our dollars value and spent 3 trillion on needless programs. There is just no more to go around. Finally The cleanup in the gulf is the federal govt's responsibility.
Let me clarify, it is bps responsibility to cleanup the spill. It is the presidents responsibility to protect our shores from the pollutants. A job that he has surely neglected to do. I concur, the illegals need to be deported immediately. It's also the Feds job to protect our boarders from those who wish to enter illegally. As far as the jobless rate. Obama again was at the helm. His stimulus failed. We need less tax to stimulate job growth. Yes that will benefit the rich. However none of us were ever employed by a poor man.
It is an absolute outrage that it has been decided that there will be no more unemployment! Maybe all of the political big wigs should have thought about all of this before they exported all of our jobs to foreign countries. The amount of benefits paid through unemployment was a joke anyway, but at least it helped, now all of these people have nothing and no jobs, this country is going down the toilet fast and no one seems to care. And furthermore, I don't want to hear that funding has run out! We help fund a muli-billion dollar war in barbaric dust bowl countries like Iraq, but our government can't afford to fund unemployment benefits? HELLO! People need to wake up!
And I totally agree with Sleepyjns, this country allows people to penetrate it's soft borders everyday, people who have absolutley no right to be here and thats okay. We give them benefits, housing, loans, free rides to colleges, and ohh... not to mention we hand them the jobs that were once ours. It makes me mad just to think about it, America used to be a superpower, and now countries like China and North Korea sit back and laugh at us because we have no back bone! The US better shape up quick or we are going to become a 2nd or even a 3rd world country.
Todd, just to remind you that THIS administration didn't fracture the economy. That was the result of the Iraq war brought to you by George W. and the same republicans who are suddenly all for fiscal responsibility. They ran the economy into the ground, so should I now believe they can bring it back?
This article is written with the usual Democratic slant. First and foremost, Republicans are not indicating they will not pass Unemployment. Its the other little "programs" in the bill they do not want and fall under pay go. The Democrats should be bringing unemployment to the floor TODAY as a separate measure and passing it. Democrats are catering to their "contributors" not to the "middle class" that they actually represent. THIS IS WHY I AM A HILLARY DEMOCRAT!
it must be so easy to take food off of the table when its not your table the food is coming off of.........yes i agree on the voting against.....these political powers seem to have no regard for the struggling families......and as far as no more money....i cant tell when these polititians drive home from work everyday in their $100,000 cars and step into their $500,000 homes and eat $500 dollar meals daily at the nearest 5 star restaraunts....yea we r rely hurting allright....hurting because we werent wise enough to become a political crook basterd.....damn them all to hell and vote against ......this will make people who never even voted before vote just out of spite....
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