As expected, Senate Democrats failed last night to get 60 votes on a procedural vote to just start official consideration of a Wall Street Reform bill, as Republicans stuck together to oppose that often routine parliamentary motion.

"The Republicans won't even let us debate," said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), part of a parade of Democrats who took to the floor into the night, denouncing the GOP filibuster.

"They do not want a debate in public on how to reform Wall Street," added Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR).  "They want a conversation behind closed doors," as Democrats cast the GOP as the protectors of Wall Street Greed.

One Democrat broke ranks and voted against bringing up the Wall Street bill - that was Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE), who remains in deep doo-doo with many of his voters back home over his support for health care reform.

Also voting 'No' was Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, but that was just a parliamentary switch, as it will allow him to force another vote on the same cloture petition as early as today.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Democrats try to schedule a cloture vote almost every day this week if they could, just to hammer home their arguments that Republicans are nothing more than water carriers for Wall Street Fat Cats.

Republicans meanwhile brushed off the Democratic complaints, saying this is their best chance to win some favorable language on a variety of subjects, before the bill gets to the Senate floor.

"If we hang together on the floor, we can create critical mass," Shelby told a meeting of Community Bankers in Washington, who must have been shaking their heads at the timing of their legislative conference.

"I wish we'd stand together, period." Shelby told the bankers, knowing full well that some in the GOP may soon start peeling off to vote with Democrats on this issue, as both parties predict a bill will get through the Senate sooner or later.

"My vote tonight was to send a signal that this legislation should be written to achieve broad-based bipartisan support," said Sen. Charles Grassley, who had raised GOP eyebrows by voting for new regulations on derivatives in the Senate Agriculture Committee last week.

Grassley said he wants to see language added that limits the authority of the Federal Reserve and allow more accountability on actions taken by the Fed, along with two organizations that many say are to blame for the housing crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

"At this point, the bill is a missed opportunity to reform Fannie and Freddie, which were in the middle of the financial crisis," Grassley added.

Republicans know that if they don't get some changes in this bill now, they will have no leverage when it comes to working out a final House-Senate agreement on financial reforms.

We'll see how long Republicans hang together in the Senate.