President Obama was sworn in on January 20, 2009 with just 58 Senators to support his agenda.
He should have had 59, but Republicans contested Al Franken's election in Minnesota and he didn't get seated for seven months.
The President's cause was helped in April when Pennsylvania's Republican Senator Arlen Specter switched parties.
That gave the President 59 votes -- still a vote shy of the super majority.
But one month later, Democratic Senator Byrd of West Virginia was hospitalized and was basically out of commission.
So while the President's number on paper was 59 Senators -- he was really working with just 58 Senators.
Then in July, Minnesota Senator Al Franken was finally sworn in, giving President Obama the magic 60 -- but only in theory, because Senator Byrd was still out.
In August, Senator Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts died and the number went back down to 59 again until Paul Kirk temporarily filled Kennedy's seat in September.
Any pretense of a supermajority ended on February 4, 2010 when Republican Scott Brown was sworn into the seat Senator Kennedy once held.Do you see a two-year supermajority?
I didn't think so.
Originally Posted by CJ7
This post has to be one of the most pathetic whines in history. The Dems had the presidency, the House of Representives, and 58-60 Senators, depending on what day it was, and you are acting like they were impotent and helpless. The GOP was hanging on by a thread, barely 40 votes in the Senate and you talk about them like they were the Incredible Hulk.
You just highlighted the fact that neither Obama nor the Democratic in Congress was able to sway even ONE Republican senator. Or so it would appear.
But you left something important out, didn't you?
On March 23, 2010 - if you're keeping score at home that's AFTER February 4, 2010 when the pretense of a supermajority supposedly ended - the Senate passed "Obamacare" with the necessary 60 votes.
Obamacare - the signature achievement of the Obama administration - somehow got passed, despite that fact that it was loathed by the Republicans.
So, if he could get the 60 votes needed to pass the bete noire of the GOP, what else was there that was so hated that he couldn't get 60 votes? What other great proposals did he have that were SO controversial that he couldn't overcome a threatened filibuster?
We weren't borrowing enough money? We weren't raising the debt ceiling enough?
The GOP didn't need a filibuster to stop that. Obama couldn't even get enough Democrats to sign off on it.