Senate Republicans (Plus Republicans Lieberman and Ben Nelson Who Call Themselves Democrats) Block Infrastructure Spending and Higher Employment

Republicans:  How Can We Blame Mr. Obama for Not Creating Jobs if We Let Him Create Some?

A very modest $60 billion spending bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 51 to 49, thus resulting in the rejection of the bill.  Huh?  In the United States Senate, with its 100 members a majority consists of 60 votes, not 51.  Huh?  Yes, those are the rules when the Republicans are in the minority.

The Bill would have been paid for but that was a problem

all 47 Senate Republicans joined Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.) in opposing the Obama infrastructure measure, which would have been funded with a 0.7 percent surtax on those making more than a million dollars a year.

However, the bill will not be defeated in the House,

In the GOP-held House, Republicans do not plan to vote on Obama’s bill. 

But the House Leader, Speaker John Boehner does say this

Boehner told reporters Thursday that Republicans support infrastructure spending and would move a bill before the end of the year to pay for road construction with new revenues from expanded domestic energy production, including drilling.

And the logic behind all of this is that Republicans can obstruct the President and then blame him for failure.  The success of the 2010 election shows that can work very nicely.