With this promise in hand our Democratic colleagues scurried to the floor with their amendment and immediately demanded a vote. We will not oblige them. Many Senators have very strong views both for and against raising the minimum wage, and they should have ample opportunity to express those views. Further, there are other issues which a majority of Senators find more pressing, such as reforming welfare and Medicaid. Our liberal colleagues in the minority have not been bombarding us with petitions to set definite time frames for votes on these very important issues.
Deals certainly are possible.
If our colleagues are willing to bring up, debate, and dispose of one of the many issues which they are filibustering, we may be able to set aside time for debate on the minimum wage. Congress has literally doubled the normal workload in the Senate, and has hardly made us more predisposed to give in to their demands that we set aside a couple of weeks for an issue they need to bring up to please a special interest supporter of theirs. If and when we ever get to a debate on the minimum wage, we will discuss how recent research shows that increasing the minimum wage costs blacks and hispanics jobs, and increases the percentage of white students who quit school and take minimum wage jobs. We will have no problem explaining why we do not want high school and college kids quiting school, nor will we have any problem explaining why we are against increasing the already dismally high rates of black and hispanic unemployment. For now, though, we will not give our colleagues their political vote.