Posted on 02/12/2014 12:06:42 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
The Senate narrowly approved a procedural motion Wednesday to end debate on a bill that raises the debt ceiling, with GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and his top lieutenant Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) providing the key votes.
Sixty votes were needed to clear the procedural hurdle because of a filibuster by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who like other Republicans was deeply disappointed the House bill included no spending curbs.
The 67-31 cloture vote took more Senate time than usual, highlighting the arm-twisting going on behind closed doors, as few Republicans wanted to be seen as casting the deciding vote for the bill. It wasn't gaveled closed until more than an hour after it began.
In the end, 12 Republicans backed the bill. Many appeared to switch their votes before the final gavel, possibly to give one another cover after McConnell and Cornyn's pivotal votes.
McConnell's vote was particularly notable since he is seen as the most vulnerable Republican up for reelection this year.
His GOP primary challenger immediately knocked him for the vote, saying on Twitter that Kentucky deserved better.
Only 28 Republicans voted for the debt hike in the House when it was approved by that chamber on Tuesday.
The bill will raise the debt ceiling by an unspecified amount by suspending it until March 15, 2015. All of the accumulated debt, which is expected to be hundreds of billions of dollars, would be added to the approximately $17.2 trillion U.S. debt at that time.
The Senate is rushing to complete the bill ahead of a snowstorm expected to hit the Capitol. The House approved it in a 221-201 vote on Tuesday evening.
Passage by the Senate will send the bill to President Obama, who had demanded a “clean” debt ceiling bill and is getting his wish.
The Treasury Department had set a Feb. 27 deadline for Congress to raise the debt ceiling. With a recess scheduled for next week, that gave the House and Senate little time for action.
Moving a clean debt ceiling bill is a significant shift for House Republicans, who since taking back the lower chamber in 2010 have fought to reduce government spending.
That’s led to a series of showdowns on bills to raise the debt ceiling and fund the government.
This year, there has been no talk of a “grand bargain” that would tackle entitlement and tax reform in addition to raising the debt ceiling.
After Republicans saw their poll numbers battered by the 16-day government shutdown in October, their leaders signaled no desire to wage another fight.
House GOP leaders initially sought to add legislation reversing a $6 billion cut to military pensions to the bill, but it was rejected by their rank-and-file members and Democrats, who wanted a clean debt hike.
Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) decision to move a clean bill was controversial with conservative groups, however. The Senate Conservatives Fund called for Boehner’s ouster, while the Club for Growth and Heritage Action urged no votes on the debt hike.
Boehner said he had little choice but to cave to Obama’s wishes for a clean bill.
“We don’t have 218 votes, and when you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing,” he said on Tuesday.
Notable absent: El Senor Lindsy Goober Grahamnesty..... wonder why/sarc
http://blogs.rollcall.com/wgdb/senate-votes-on-debt-limit/
Updated 3:05 p.m. | The Senate voted to advance a one-year debt limit hike Wednesday, after a cliffhanger vote ended with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Minority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, voting “aye.”
The Senate voted 67-31 to end a filibuster on the legislation threatened by tea party firebrand Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in a vote that took nearly an hour to complete as senators wrestled with their decision. The Senate is proceeding to a vote on final passage with a simple majority threshold.
McConnell and Cornyn voted when the measure appeared stuck just short of the 60 votes needed.
A dozen Republicans voted with Democrats in all, most in a clump after McConnell and Cornyn led the way: John Barrasso of Wyoming, Susan Collins of Maine, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Jeff Flake of Arizona, Orrin Hatch of Utah, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Mark Kirk of Illinois, John McCain of Arizona, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Thune of South Dakota.
Cruz forced the 60-vote threshold, putting his fellow Republicans on the hot seat as they had to choose between a filibuster — potentially leading to the nation’s first ever default and a government shutdown — and putting the issue behind them ahead of the midterm elections.
Cruz had argued Republicans should stick together to extract spending cuts from Democrats and President Barack Obama, but McConnell privately had counseled against another shutdown showdown.
Kirk said his party had been sharply divided over strategy behind the scenes, including a dispute between McConnell and Cruz.................”
Traitorous, Democrat Collaborators!
Cruz beat the bushes and rousted out some RINOs today.
They should just run as Democrats. Why even pretend anymore.
Horse Sh*t! The vast majority of rank-and-file members of the House GOP voted AGAINST a clean bill.
"Boehner said he had little choice but to cave to Obama’s wishes for a clean bill.
“We don’t have 218 votes, and when you don’t have 218 votes, you have nothing,” he said on Tuesday.
You had the Hastert Rule dumb*ss! You promised to abide by it but you sold out. If I ever catch you and who paid you off, I will make every effort to see you in prison you POS!
The 5 year long, lopsided power struggle continues on the now shredded Congressional Field of Battle in the District of Corruption, along the muddy banks of De Nile River.
The simple goal of the much-praised Left Team, also called “Democrats,” as stated by their team captain B. Hussein Soetoro-Obama is to “Fundamentally change the United States of America.”
The multiple, and very complex goals of the Right Team, as yet unstated but consistently acted out by Special Wrongway RINO Defense Squad Co- Captains John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Kevin McCarthy and Pete Roskam is to DO NOTHING that will irritate the Left Team.
The Right Team is also known by the name “Republicans,” a nostalgic name from a long-past time when there was “Liberty and Justice for all.”
The Left Team has a single Offense Squad with All Democrat Stars from many Schools of Higher Government Learning, to name just a few:
* Department of Gestapo Justice, (DOGJ);
* National Spy On U., (NSOU);
* Interrogate Ream Sue U., (IRSU)
* Reid Barrycade Senate Universal, (RBSU).
The Left Team always runs down the Congressional Field of Battle together, and has been admiringly nicknamed “ District of Corruption, United.”
The Right Team has never allowed the many Constitutional Offense Squads onto the Congressional Field of Battle, due to well-timed and strongly worded objections from many RINO luminaries such as Loser Emeritus, “Wacko Birds” McCain.
After a recent weekend, group-hug, bonding session, many caucus meetings, and private deal-making, Lead Co-Captain John Boehner picked up the ball yesterday and ran down the Congressional Field of Battle to score a goal for the Left Team.
Thanks to the RINO Defensive actions of “Wrongway” Boehner and his ‘gang of 27,’ an additional 1 to 4, (nobody is really sure), TRILLION dollars will be added to the National Poverty Debt Game Clock.
Co-Captain “Wrongway” Boehner was assisted by 27 Members of the Special Wrongway RINO Defense Squad.
Needless to say, “Wrongway” Boehner and his ‘gang of 27’ made no contact with any of the Left Team Members.
Time will tell if donations to the Special Wrongway RINO Defense Squad, (SWRDS), will increase or decrease before the Championship Game in November, 2014.
“.........The Senate vote was dramatic.
Democrats appeared to be at least one vote shy of being able to overcome a GOP filibuster, and it wasn’t until Mr. McConnell voted in favor of it that it became clear the debt increase would pass. After he voted, his top lieutenants, who had already voted against the debt increase, switched — and then went to other rank-and-file Republicans and asked them to switch too, trying to present a united front.
“Alright, let’s go — come on down,” Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who had earlier switched from “No” to “Yes,” told his colleagues on the floor.
But few of them followed their leaders, leaving the dozen Republicans who backed the debt increase on a precarious political ledge.
“This clean debt ceiling increase will grow nothing but the debt and will only make life harder for working Americans,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, who voted against the increase.
Democrats looked on in amusement during the hour-long vote, which broke with usual Senate tradition in that the clerk didn’t read out the senators’ votes.........”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/12/congress-approves-massive-debt-increase/
Of course, it's going to end badly -- when your leadership is afraid to stand their ground.
Of course, there isn't much else you can do -- when your leadership has already said that they'll cave before a government shutdown.
Of course, you can't win -- if your leadership has already given up.
This whole affair has made it crystal-clear that the GOP leadership is worse than useless.
At the same time, it has revealed that the majority of the Republican caucus in both the House and the Senate is either with the Tea Party -- or afraid of us.
This whole affair has made it crystal-clear that the GOP leadership is worse than useless.”
That much we agree on. But, The Dem’s with thier help of th media will out maneuver us for sure. We need a majority and then we can do things. But, if we do something stupid we won’t get that.
We're not going to "do things" with this leadership. Even if we have a majority!
“members give leaders cover “
No they didn’t and that was the most important thing ‘that didn’t happen’.
The RINOs forced Mitch and Cornyn to vote for cloture- despite the damage it would do to Mitch and Cornyn’s reelection chances.
The RINO knives are flashing in their cloakroom. Next year’s majority Leadership positions will be very valuable.
Mark Levin said there were other Republican Senators who really wished to vote with the RINOS but voted instead with Cruz and his allies because they were afraid of YOU, the people.
IOW without this stand by Cruz in forcing this issue front and center, more would have quietly joined in the debacle, but felt the political heat from back home, not to.
Thank you Senator Cruz.
You make us proud.
Any combination of eight of these that either voted for or didn’t vote
would have kept the colture vote from passing.
Barrasso (R-WY)
Collins (R-ME)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Flake (R-AZ)
Hatch (R-UT)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kirk (R-IL)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Murkowski (R-AK)
Thune (R-SD)
Not voting:
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
As far as I am concerned, you ARE your tagline.
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