Another Thought - Playing Chicken for the Public Good - and For Their OwnGood

One of the problems Democrats face going forward is a deluge of corporate money whose origins need not be disclosed. Granted, money can't by love (ask Meg Whiman), but it can by a lot of attack ads.

Last year, the House of Representatives passed a bill requiring disclosure of the sources of all that corporate money, but the Senate killed the bill by a Republican filibuster, which requires 60 votes to break. However, the Republicans are also screaming about extending the Bush Tax cuts, which AUTOMATICALLY expire on December 31, 2010.

Here's a thought. Before the lame duck session of Congress begins next week, Harry Reid and/or Nancy Pelosi – preferably both – should simply announce that they are going to take up the disclosure bill first, and they will not take up any other business until the bill receives an up or down vote in both chambers.

This will put the Republicans in a severe bind. The public supports disclosure by wide margins – Republicans and Democrats alike. Republicans know this, but they also know they will be the primary beneficiaries of future non-disclosed corporate political spending. The only way they can stop the bill in the lame duck session is by a Republican filibuster – it will pass and become law otherwise. However, the longer the Republicans filibuster, the less time there will be for the Republicans to attempt save their beloved tax cuts (all of which should be repealed, IMHO). And if Republicans complain, the Democrats can simply say that it is the Republicans who are holding up the vote on extending some or all of the tax cuts by filibustering on this other issue of grave importance to American democracy.

Am I crazy, or is this a damn good idea? It reminds me of that scene in Spiderman where the Green Goblin holds Mary Jane in one hand and a bus full of school children in the other and forces Spiderman to choose who he will save. “Tax cuts for the uber-wealthy or secret corporate electoral aid, What’ll it be Spidy - you chose.”

Joe H.