Republicans blocked passage of the campaign finance law known as the DISCLOSE Act on a 57 to 41 vote today. Though Democrats officially failed to break the filibuster by three votes, they are really only one vote shy from breaking the filibuster.

Harry Reid voted "no" on procedural grounds so he can bring the bill back up for a vote, and Joe Lieberman was at a funeral and unable to vote yes. The Democrats hopes of passing the bill hinged on getting one Republican, such as Maine's Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins, to vote for cloture.

Susan Collins' spokesman explained last night that the senator would vote against the bill because it “would provide a clear and unfair advantage to unions, while either shutting other organizations out of the election process or subjecting them to onerous reporting requirements that would not apply to unions.”

Olympia Snowe told reporters this afternoon that there have been “no hearings, no vetting, no attempt to bring people together.... I know the new routine on legislation these days is to ram and jam…but it really does take time…It really does require building a consensus.”