Conservative group covering DREAM action live

Conservative group NumbersUSA is covering Sen. Harry Reid's manipulation of the DREAM Act vote. You can watch the Senate action live. NumbersUSA is providing commentary that helps to explain, among other things, the benefits of delaying a final vote via procedural votes.

The Senate is taking up S3992, one of many versions of the DREAM Act. They're presently voting to table consideration of the Senate amnesty bill to next week. The House passed a version yesterday. Reid may think the vote would tank today. It appears, based on vote calls, some Dems want to go ahead and vote because they're worried it may not come back up next week.

Putting this in context, progressive Democrats are occupying themselves with a welfare bill for citizens of a foreign country while nothing has been done to prevent a massive tax hike on Americans.

Thus far, the lame duck session has comprised Democrats continuing to spend money on programs such as the DREAM Act and on intrusive educational bills like the Brownie Police (school nutrition) bill. Yet Democrats harp on the deficit. When did progs ever really make sense?

Politics are in high gear in the Senate right now, with some playing Devil's Advocate to block legislation or move it forward.

Numbers USA is saying based on what's happening with this vote, it appears President Barack Obama's lucrative tax deal just fell apart--this despite the fact Republicans were willing to give more than Democrats on that deal. Dems have in fact tanked the tax bill.

One NumbersUSA analyst said, "In the Senate votes are engineered to be as opaque as possible." Amen to that--that's how we ended up with ObamaCare (the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act).

It appears the Senate has tabled consideration of DREAM for now, but Sen. Harry Reid is capable of anything. After all Reid has said he'll bring a vote on the House version next week.

Rosemary Jenks, NUSA director of government relations, said the vote "makes absolutely no sense."

Jenks said this pretty much does the Senate bill in, so it's looking like they're going to push the House version which was pushed through as part of a completely unrelated bill.

And this came from a Congress whose leaders promised transparency and ethics. So much for campaign promises (as Pelosi likes to say).

(Commentary by Kay B. Day/Dec. 9, 2010)