I STILL Don't Understand Harry Reid

This:

Meanwhile, a jobs bill that was wending its way through the Senate was sideswiped by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV). Reid erased near $70 billion worth of tax breaks for businesses and individuals, including unemployment benefit extensions. The bill would allow a break on Social Security payments for businesses on new hires and a $1,000 tax credit for any new workers who were still employed a year from now. It also sent $20 billion to the highway trust fund.

The irony of Reid's taking away the unemployment extensions is that he lobbied for them only last month but was kept from it by a lack of votes.

At the same time, Ohio and other manufacturing states are struggling to keep their unemployment systems afloat. Ohio's unemployment was at 13.6 percent in December, the last month for available data. But that is only what is called the U-3 number.

And then there is this:

Without another extension, people losing their job -- and their COBRA coverage -- as of March 1 won't get the 15 weeks of health care payments and people out of work now will only get to finish their current tier of unemployment insurance, without extra checks.

Norm Isotalo, a spokesman for the state's Unemployment Insurance Agency, said Monday that 290,000 Michigan workers on one of the four tiers of the federal emergency program that provide up to 53 weeks of benefits beyond the initial 26-week period would see benefits end between now and July without an extension.

And another program with an another 20 weeks of benefits would disappear by late March without more federal funding, he said.

On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., appeared prepared to try to move a short extension -- one of perhaps up to 15 days -- to give Congress breathing room to pass a longer one soon thereafter.

Now he's proposing to extend jobless aid through December:

Majority Leader Harry Reid is pressing to extend unemployment benefits and health insurance subsidies for the jobless through December as he and Republicans try to figure out a way to clear the Senate’s plate of business left over from last year.

Reid also hopes to keep helping cash-strapped states with their Medicaid budgets, he said Tuesday on the Senate floor.

The Nevada Democrat is in talks with GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky over what to include in catchall legislation to help the long-term unemployed, extend several expired tax breaks and prevent doctors from suffering a big cut in their Medicare reimbursements.