Is Harry Reid Finally Growing A Spine ?

I'm not sure what to think of Majority Leader Harry Reid's actions regarding the jobs bill. Is the old fossil finally growing a set of balls or a spine? If so, all I can say is it's about time! According to news accounts, Reid is finally going to stand up to the Republicans and show them who the majority party is in the Senate.

In the spirit of "bipartisanship" (which really doesn't exist in the Senate), Senator Baucus had reached an agreement with Republicans to include a bunch of tax cut extensions in the jobs bill. As usual, the Republicans made no sense. At the same time they're complaining about budget deficits, they want to cut taxes for their rich compatriots. They don't seem to realize that a jobs bill is to put people back to work -- not give more money to those who don't need it.

But Reid ripped those unneeded tax cuts out of the bill, and is daring Republicans to vote against a badly needed jobs bill with an election coming up. The Republicans probably wouldn't have voted for the jobs bill anyway. They just wanted to get their rich buddies a tax break and then blame Democrats for increasing the deficit. Now that can't happen.

Now they must vote up or down on a jobs bill without the tax breaks, and if they vote against it they must explain to jobless Americans (8.4 million of them) why they voted no. Reid said, "The Republicans are going to have to make a choice . . . I don't know in logic what they could say to oppose this." But then the Republicans are not big believers in logic anyway.

If that's all there was to this, I'd have to give Reid some props for finally showing some political courage, but it's not. Reid isn't being brave. He's running scared because he's up for re-election and he's afraid the voters will buy the Republican argument that the Democrats are spending too much. That's the only reason he cut the jobs bill from one that would cost about $85 billion over ten years to one that will cost only $15 billion over ten years.

And while the tax cuts he pulled out of the bill needed to be pulled out, he's done something else that make no sense and will actually hurt the people the bill is intended to help. He has also thrown out an extension of unemployment benefits and subsidies that would help jobless people keep their health benefits. Instead of helping, that will just create more pain.

He also left one kind of tax cut in the bill. It is a cut that would reward businesses who hire workers that have been out of work at least 60 days. That might sound like it will create some jobs, but it won't. There's only one reason that a business hires new workers, and it isn't to get a small tax cut.

The one and only reason businesses hire new workers is because they need them to meet increased demand for their good or services. This tax will just enrich companies that were going to hire new workers anyway, and won't actually create any new jobs. The only tax cut that will create new jobs is one aimed at consumers -- thus creating new demand for goods and services.

Is Harry Reid finally growing a spine? Not at all. He's just pandering for votes so he can be re-elected. When are the Democrats going to get themselves a real majority leader with guts and political courage?