"When I think of Senator Domenici, I always think of fairness. Always!"

Poor Ron. He's already beginning to hallucinate. :)

There's additional commentary over at Loaded Orygun and DailyKos.

FYI, the filibuster started at 7:51 a.m. PST.

"I'm not interested in sweetening these sugar-laden incentives -- and do it behind closed doors!" "I'm not going sit by while taxpayers get fleeced again!"

Go Senator Wyden! The voters -- and drivers -- of Oregon appreciate your efforts.

The phone #s for Smith's D.C. and State Offices:

Washington, DC Office 404 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510 Phone: 202.224.3753 Fax: 202.228.3997

Portland, OR Office One World Trade Center 121 SW Salmon Street, Suite 1250 Portland, OR 97204 Phone: 503.326.3386 Fax: 503.326.2900

Pendleton, OR Office Jager Building 116 South Main Street, Suite 3 Pendleton, OR 97801 Phone: 541.278.1129 Fax: 541.278.4109

Medford, OR Office Security Plaza 1175 East Main, Suite 2D Medford, OR 97504 Phone: 541.608.9102 Fax: 541.608.9104

Eugene, OR Office Federal Building 211 East 7th Avenue, Room 202 Eugene, OR 97401 Phone: 541.465.6750 Fax: 541.465.6808

Bend, OR Office Jamison Building 131 NW Hawthorne Avenue, Suite 208 Bend, OR 97701 Phone: 541.318.1298 Fax: 541.318.1396

Looks like there was a deal offered -- a guarantee of a vote, and he would stop -- and it looks like the deal failed: Thad Cochran objected to the guaranteed up-or-down vote.

Wyden: "What we saw, folks, in the last few moments was the ballgame. You can't get an up or down vote in the US Senate on this rip-off."

McChris: We want good jobs and clean energy. You guys want tax breaks for oil companies and polluters. We want open, accountable government -- not the GOP culture of corruption that lets energy executives write their own legislation behind closed doors. It's clear who's looking out for consumers here -- and who's going to pay a political price in November.

First Reid and now Durbin are lobbing softballs to Wyden. Good show.

However, I would like a straight answer as to why Dems are upset by high gas prices when they've openly admitted to desiring that exact same thing in the past.

Which Democrat specifically has articulated that they'd like to be fleeced with price gouging by oil companies?

It's not about prices right now. It's about giving oil companies a break on taxpayer-owned land, when their profits are at record levels? And it's about why the Senate isn't willing to vote on that amendment...

Domenici: "I was under the impression that the Senator was going to withdraw his amendment."

Wyden: "I'm certainly not going to withdraw my amendment."

Domenici is starting to go a little apeshit. "It's meaningless! It will save the taxpayers ZERO DOLLARS!" And he's waving a piece of paper wildly. He almost hit a staffer in the face with it a moment ago. The guy flinched a little bit, then grasped the handle of his briefbox a little harder and went stonyfaced once more.

Wyden's smart response: if this amendment is such a pointless loser, why are certain Senators fighting so hard not to have to vote no on it?

Reid is pulling the rug out on Wyden. He's telling him to give up.

Looks like it's over.

It's over. Wyden yielded.

And it's over.

Senator Wyden is really on a roll. I've thought for a long time he's the most underrated official in the state by progressives, and today really confirms my feelings. He's had a pretty remarkable 12 months.

Chris--

I didn't advocate for a $1.50 taxes on gasoline anywhere in this post:

McChris: We want good jobs and clean energy. You guys want tax breaks for oil companies and polluters. We want open, accountable government -- not the GOP culture of corruption that lets energy executives write their own legislation behind closed doors. It's clear who's looking out for consumers here -- and who's going to pay a political price in November.

We should do more to encourage energy consumption but there are other strategies to accomplish this besides a one-size-fits-all tax on gasoline. It's also a strawman argument that was used by Bush against Kerry in the summer of 04. I believe BC04 went back to the mid 70s to source Kerry's "support" of higher gas taxes if I remember correctly -- a position which of course Kerry did not hold.

I've thought for a long time he's the most underrated official in the state by progressives, and today really confirms my feelings. He's had a pretty remarkable 12 months.

Charlie, I think that's because he has previously spent his time working with Gordon Smith to bring back good things for Oregon, which didn't exactly burnish his progressive cred. Since the Bush presidency has metastacized, he's stepped away from Oregon and emerged, along with Russ Feingold, as one of the Senate's main national leaders. Very cool.