There Was No Democratic Super Majority in 2009 through 2010!

The Myth of the Democratic Super-Majority

Whenever someone mentions the constant obstruction, filibustering, and threats to filibuster in the Senate from 2009 until now, people of a Republican slant are bound to claim, "Why didn't the Democrats do all of this during 2009-2010 when they had a majority in both houses, including a super majority in the Senate?"

Well, that's simply not true.

First with the constant threats to filibuster, the Democrats needed a super majority in the Senate (60 votes) to pass most bills, as the Republicans were intent on shutting things down.

So.. How long did Obama and the Democrats have a super-majority in the Senate?

The Democrats had a kind of super-majority for all of four months, from September 24, 2009, until February 4, 2010... but that was ONLY if the Blue Dog Democrats and the two independents all voted as a block.  And that was only about 24 Congressional working days. Also, the Blue Dogs are simply not an easy bunch to deal with; negotiations and deals needed to be made to get that 60 vote block to vote as one..  What made it past the Senate during those four months?  The Affordable Care Act, known as ObamaCares.

Update October 24, 2012:

From the EverlastingGOPStoppers on Facebook

Found here, more about that non-existing Super-Majority:

Here's the timeline of that Super-majority:

• Al Franken represented the 60th Democratic vote and he did not take his seat until July 2009 due to challenges and recounts.
• By that time, Ted Kennedy was too sick to attend the Senate.
• Ted Kennedy died in August 2009.
• Deval Patrick, governor of Massachusetts, appointed an interim senator who would only serve until whoever was elected in the Massachusetts special election would be seated. The interim senator, Paul Kirk, was a Democrat, and he was sworn into office September 25, 2009. At this point, the Democrats had a super-majority.. but ONLY if the two independents and all of the Blue Dog Democrats voted as a block.
• The special election to fill Kennedy's seat was held in mid-January 2010, and resulted in the election of Republican Scott Brown. Brown was sworn into office February 4, 2010, after which time the Democrats no longer had a super-majority. 

A comment by "Ray" on the same topic:

So why didn't they have a jobs bill during Obama's first year they had a super majority in both houses and the White house yet they didn't even try to put together a jobs bill and now they want you to believe that they would. They didn't care the first 2 years but vote for them now and they will care. Don't you get tired of being lied to and insulted by them thinking you are so stupid you will believe any garbage they feed you??"

My reply:  

• The stimulus WAS in large part a jobs bill. Every major group (in particular, the CBO) that has looked at the stimulus (ARRA) believes it added or saved 2.5 to 3.5 million jobs, in addition to providing the country with significantly improved roads, bridges, and school buildings. 
• There was a Super-majority in the Senate for all of four months, and that was ONLY if the Blue Dog Dems and the Independents voted with the regular Dems as a block. The need to accommodate the Blue Dog Dems pulled legislation that was passed to the right. 
• Why only four months? See above. 
• "Being lied to and insulted"?  Anybody who is concerned about being lied to only needs to check out Factcheck.org or any of the other fact checking news sites.  Anybody who is concerned about being insulted only needs to listen to the Romney Tapes. Why isn't that obvious to you? What's wrong with your thinking?

You can talk facts to some of these people for years, and they still won't get it.  But they each get one vote, the same one vote that I get or that you get.