Lansing, Mich. – Remember when Tom DeLay kept a House vote open for three hours in order to get the desired result? Majority Democrats in the Michigan state House kept a vote open yesterday for eight hours in an attempt to raise the state income tax from 3.9 percent to 4.6 percent.

The state is facing a $1.7 billion budget gap that must be filled by the end of the month. Democrats, who hold a 58-52 majority in the House here, needed 56 votes to raise taxes on what is arguably the worst state economy in the nation today — Michigan suffers from a 7.2 percent unemployment rate.

House Democratic leaders were counting on help from as many as 12 Republicans who had shown signs of weakness. But when the vote came, every Republican held firm against a tax increase and one Democrat unexpectedly voted with them. Democrats could only get 43 of their own to vote yes.

The session deadlocked until it ended (by rule) at midnight, and a new session began again at 12:01 a.m., upon which Democrats started trying again.

The House is the last line of defense for taxpayers, as the Republican-majority Senate appears certain to cave.