You know what’s really sad? The general public doesn’t know it’s the Republicans that are keeping anything from getting done in congress. They just look at what doesn’t get done and they know the Democrats are supposedly in control. We’re really no better off than we were before the 06 elections as far as the senate goes. We need a clear majority, then if nothing gets done we can bitch about the Democrats not doing it. The Post headline here is “Senate Rejects Expanding Detainee Rights.” It should read GOP REFUSES TO RESTORE HABEAS CORPUS BECAUSE THEY HATE THE CONSTITUTION.

A Republican filibuster in the Senate today shot down a bipartisan effort to restore the right of terrorism suspects to contest their detentions and treatment in federal courts, underscoring the Democratic-led Congress’s difficulty with terrorism issues.

The 56-43 vote fell short of the 60 needed to cut off debate and move to a final vote on the amendment to the Senate’s annual defense policy bill. But the measure did garner the support of six Republicans, a small victory for its supporters.

The Senate then moved to the first big showdown over Iraq war policy of the fall, taking up a measure by Sens. James Webb (D-Va.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) to guarantee that troops receive home stays at least as long as their last combat deployments before being sent back to war.

More at the Washington Post