In political gamble, Reid seeks votes that are sure to fail
On Wednesday afternoon, the most powerful man in the U.S. Senate did something that sounds odd: He set himself up to lose an important vote…
Four times in the same afternoon, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) planned votes where his favored bills were expected to fail. For Reid, failure is actually the point. He wants to put Republicans on record as blocking all four - which deal with immigration rules, police and firefighters’ unions, health benefits for responders to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and seniors’ benefits.
These “test votes” are a sign of the sclerotic state of Congress, clogged by filibuster threats. Usually, it is the people out of power who resort to grand, futile gestures.
Now - in a political gamble - it’s the guys in charge.