Senate Blocks American Jobs Act With Filibuster

It’s a no go for President Obama’s American Jobs Act. All Republicans and two Democrats (Ben Nelson and Jon Tester) voted to stop the bill when it reached the Senate floor on Tuesday.

As previously reported the bill required 60 votes to advance with only 53 seats currently residing with the Democratic party.

Before the vote Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said:

“The truth of the matter is, most Democrats know just as well as I do that passing another stimulus and tax hike is a lousy idea — which is why the president is having such a hard time convincing many Democrats to vote for it.”

Speaking in defense of the American Jobs Act Jim Messina, campaign manager of Obama for America noted:

“Their strategy is to suffocate the economy for the sake of what they think will be a political victory.” Messina added, “They think that the more folks see Washington taking no action to create jobs, the better their chances in the next election. So they’re doing everything in their power to make sure nothing gets done.”

Several Democrats who voted yes to the bill said they opposed the proposal as it currently stands but would be willing to vote yes in the future when the bill is broken down into it’s basic components and voted on again.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the bill didn’t pass, various members of the Republican led Senate said they would filibuster the act when it reached the voting floor.

Do you believe Republican lawmakers made the right decision in terms of shooting down the bill or should the American Jobs Act have been passed in the hopes of ensuring 5 million American’s don’t lose unemployment benefits come January 2012?