It's All Symbolic Votes From Here on Out
All message, no substance.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe House on Thursday failed to pass a balanced-budget constitutional amendment in what was almost a pure party-line vote -- only six Republicans voted against it, and only seven Democrats supported it. Since constitutional amendments require two-thirds majorities in both chambers to pass, it didn't come close.
That compares with 72 Democrats who voted for such an amendment back in 1995, when it actually passed the House and came close in the Senate. At that point, Republicans had just won by a landslide, and the remaining Democrats didn't know at the time that Bill Clinton would become quite popular and those who survived 1994 were vulnerable. It's also possible that back then more Democrats sincerely supported the idea.