A victory in the senate. Senate Democrats succeeded in getting an amendment passed to block the White House’s proposal to restrict overtime pay. The vote wasn’t even as close as might have been expected — 54-45. As noted earlier, this is a very important issue in its own right. But it’s also a cutting political issue and one that will now keep bubbling through the system.
The president has issued a veto threat against any legislative attempts to overturn his new overtime rule. And at first I had assumed the whole issue was academic since the Senate amendment would be stripped out by the House in the conference. But apparently the Dems might get another bite at this apple in the House, and perhaps even a vote to instruct the conferees. And I’m curious to find out whether that nine point spread in the Senate points to a shifting political climate, a growing perception of the Republicans’ vulnerability on the economy, or a growing salience of economic issues as the foreign policy trump card weakens.
In any case, I’ll try to find out more.
