Subject: Re: Time for Offense
Except for Mike Johnson (and the sponsors of the bill(s)), that is true. If Johnson refuses to bring it to the floor, we know where he stands.

And probably John Thune. But those guys aren't the sort of frontline members that you can really squeeze with a tough vote - the leadership is generally (not always, but generally) not really in danger of losing their seat in an election.

This is all just quibbling - the main point is that the Democrats really have very little formal power in the Congress right now, and people tend to forget that. Even Rubin, who writes about politics regularly, lost sight (I think) of the fact that the Democrats can't force votes or force lawmakers to get on the record.