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Rush: The Senate Is Broken - Fix it now.
Rush Limbaugh Show ^ | April 14, 2005 | Rush Limbaugh

Posted on 04/15/2005 9:48:10 AM PDT by Matchett-PI

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: Now, we focused here on the House primarily today, but I'm going to tell you something else. It's time to reform the United States Senate as well, because the United States Senate, ladies and gentlemen, is broken.

The United States Senate has become a body incapable of conducting serious oversight and confirmation hearings.

It has become an institution controlled by a minority of leftists and Republican gadflies who serve the leftists' purposes, and while these senators play these games, and that's what they are: games, []they position themselves for television cameras.

They play to their special interest base like MoveOn.org; the nation is suffering as a result. The Senate does not take its responsibility to ensure our national security seriously. They were AWOL prior to 9/11, and today they pretend to care about security when in fact senators of both parties refuse to even strengthen our driver's licenses and other official documents used by the enemy to kill us, so bogged down in pettiness, so driven by the agenda of a small cabal of radicals and gadflies the nation's legitimate business cannot get done because it stalls in the United States Senate.

For months now, in the United States Senate, they've been debating whether they should change a Senate rule abused by this cabal of Democrat senators and gadfly Republicans to stop the unconstitutional use of filibusters to block the president's nominees to the federal bench.

This cabal of Democrats and gadfly Republicans, with support from these people in the media, actually want you to believe that to change the rule would be equivalent to destroying 200 years of tradition, the Constitution, and Senate comity, yet when in fact the opposite is true.

Never before has the Senate of the United States been so abused as it is being abused today by Dingy Harry Reid and the Democrats in this cabal of gadfly Republicans, and yet the Republican majority talks and talks and talks and we read today in The Hill newspaper that they're just now realizing they need to fight the propaganda efforts of their opponents.

I've got a story in The Hill that Republicans think all of a sudden they're losing the PR battle to Harry Reid. How long has this been going on? It's been going on for four years and they all of a sudden just now realize they've got a problem on the PR side?

Folks, the Senate of the United States is broken. It is controlled by the likes of Ted Kennedy, Barbara Boxer, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid and John McCain, and unless the Senate is reformed, it will continue to be little more than a stage for grandstanding and undermining the proper functioning of certain legitimate government functions like national security, border security, and the confirmation process.

In case your memory is short, you're wondering why I'm including national security in here, these people all see the intelligence reports that the president gets. The president gets a bit more detailed, but they acted like after 9/11 and all these other things that they had no idea.

The weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. They saw that intelligence and they voted for the resolution to authorize war based on it. After there were no weapons of mass destruction, every one of these Democrat senators that saw that intelligence nevertheless acted like they'd been lied to, like they had been fooled by President Bush, that they didn't know what they were getting themselves into.

They don't have the guts and the backbone to stand up for what they do or for what they should do and when they don't do what they should do they blame Bush for not telling them anything. So it's not just the Democrats in the House.

The Senate is at a standstill, and it's unfortunate but the Republican leadership apparently doesn't know what to do about it because in The Hill newspaper today they admit that they're losing the PR battle and they've got a problem here, and I have to tell you something, folks,

losing a PR battle to Harry read is like losing a PR battle to Daffy Duck.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

[]RUSH: All right, now, Republicans admit -- let me find this Hill story. I've put it at the top here. Yeah, here it is. Listen to this here. "GOP Fears It's Losing Frist vs. Reid." It's by Alexander Bolton, HillNews.com. "Senate Republican leaders were due to meet last night amid rising concern that they are being beaten on the 'nuclear option' by Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) public-relations war room.

The GOP’s talks follow a meeting last week in which aides warned Bob Stevenson, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s (R-Tenn.) communications director, that something needs to be done to win back lost ground, a participant said. 'I think there’s a realization that this particular [Democratic] effort has to be countered and they’re in full-scale attack mode,' a GOP aide said, adding, 'I think that people know that we’ve got a serious problem here. There’s been a lot of talk. Advice has been solicited from me and others. I’ve been told that a plan will be submitted tonight. It will be tweaked.'" Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

So do they just now realize they're in a fight? They've been in a fight for four years; they just now realize they're losing this PR effort?

I'm going to try to help out here.

I'm going to offer some strategery here, but my strategery goes beyond ending the filibuster of judges because at some point they're going to figure it's just pull the trigger on the option.

It's just get the senators in this room and tell them the facts of life and pull the trigger on the option, the constitutional option.

Now, what do you do after that, because the Democrats, if this happens, if the constitutional option is triggered and the rule is changed, the Democrats are going to go ballistic.

They're all going to be sputtering around out there like Barney Frank, and the Senate Democrats are going to be making charges of unconstitutional and all these things.

So what should the Senate Republicans do after -- if they do it -- after they change the Senate filibuster rule to exclude judges? This is what they should do because Harry Reid has promised to shut down the Senate, has he not? "We're just going to stop. We're going to shut down the Senate."

Fine.

Here's what the Republicans should do when Dingy Harry shuts down the Senate.

The Republicans in the Senate should propose one bill after another and make the Democrats either filibuster the bills or vote against them, and I'm talking about bills like this: Like issuing Social Security checks, like funding Medicare and Head Start, farm subsidies, education. No omnibus bills, no bills that are totally inclusive of all kinds of legislation. One specific bill after another.

If they're going to stop the Senate and shut it down, Republicans need to propose a bill that says, "Based on this the Senate is voting--" and put a bill up there, "we will suspend the issuance of all Social Security checks."

Just do it and let the Democrats either filibuster that or vote against it, and then do the same thing on Medicare checks, and Head Start, and farm subsidies and education.

I predict to you the Democrats will buckle so fast they'll beg for mercy, and if they don't they're going to get creamed at the polls.

There's any number of ways of dealing with this, but not if you're afraid.

Not if you're looking at things through fear.

END TRANSCRIPT Click here to access hot links below and throughout the transcript: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com

Read the Articles... (The Hill: GOP fears it's losing Frist v. Reid) (LA Times: In Nevada, Reid Is the Name to Know - 06.23.03)

Read Rush's Original Coverage... (Media Goes Nuts Over Martinez, DeLay; Ignores Rampant Harry Reid Corruption - 04.07.05)


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: 109th; congress; constitution; constitutionaloption; delay; dhpl; dittosrush; filibuster; hillary; johnmccain; obstructionistdems; reid; rush; senate
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Do Your Own Side-by-Side Comparison: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com
1 posted on 04/15/2005 9:48:11 AM PDT by Matchett-PI
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To: Matchett-PI

Rush is so hot today it's great


2 posted on 04/15/2005 9:49:56 AM PDT by The Wizard (DemonRATS: enemies of America)
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To: Matchett-PI; Born Conservative

ping


3 posted on 04/15/2005 9:50:02 AM PDT by RushCrush (Blind Rushbot)
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To: All

Turn On Rush, he's hot today


4 posted on 04/15/2005 9:50:23 AM PDT by The Wizard (DemonRATS: enemies of America)
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To: oldglory; MinuteGal; mcmuffin; sheikdetailfeather; JulieRNR21; gonzo; blackie; Web Offset; ...

((((PING))))


5 posted on 04/15/2005 9:50:28 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (The DemocRAT Party is a criminal enterprise.)
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To: Matchett-PI
and put a bill up there, "we will suspend the issuance of all Social Security checks."

Gotta love that idea. :-)

6 posted on 04/15/2005 9:51:06 AM PDT by k2blader (Immorality bites.)
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To: The Wizard

Ditto that!

People can tune in at his web site here: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com

or here: http://www.wlsam.com


7 posted on 04/15/2005 9:53:06 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (The DemocRAT Party is a criminal enterprise.)
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To: Matchett-PI
Rush takes on Harry Reid and his dirty family at www.rushlimbaugh.com

GO RUSH! Giggadittoes!

8 posted on 04/15/2005 9:54:05 AM PDT by RushCrush (Blind Rushbot)
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To: k2blader
"Gotta love that idea. :-)"

Not for the timid, or those who put their own interests above that of their kids and grandkids - ie: what's best for the country down the road after they're dead and gone.

It's unfortunate that the ignoble outnumber the noble in any society by a WIDE margin.

9 posted on 04/15/2005 9:56:46 AM PDT by Matchett-PI (The DemocRAT Party is a criminal enterprise.)
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To: Matchett-PI

Indeed, FRiend, indeed.


10 posted on 04/15/2005 9:58:30 AM PDT by k2blader (Immorality bites.)
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To: Matchett-PI

It's time to call the lunatic left senators on their BS ~ NOW!

Get a backbone pubbie senators!

Be Ever Vigilant ~ we're watching you!


11 posted on 04/15/2005 10:01:08 AM PDT by blackie (Be Well~Be Armed~Be Safe~Molon Labe!)
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To: Matchett-PI

Rush is missing the obvious solution: repeal the seventeenth amendment.


12 posted on 04/15/2005 10:03:35 AM PDT by NCSteve
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To: b4its2late; Recovering_Democrat; Alissa; Pan_Yans Wife; LADY J; mathluv; browardchad; cardinal4; ...

13 posted on 04/15/2005 10:12:26 AM PDT by Born Conservative ("Mr. Chamberlain loves the working man, he loves to see him work" - Winston Churchill)
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To: Matchett-PI

So good and so true, I have changed my tagline.


14 posted on 04/15/2005 10:19:01 AM PDT by JustaCowgirl (losing a PR battle to Harry Reid is like losing a PR battle to Daffy Duck.)
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To: kjenerette

...time to repeal Amendment XVII?


15 posted on 04/15/2005 10:23:09 AM PDT by Van Jenerette (Our Republic - If We Can Keep it!)
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To: NCSteve
Rush is missing the obvious solution: repeal the seventeenth amendment.

Yep. Let Senators get elected by the state legislatures again.

16 posted on 04/15/2005 10:26:56 AM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist (Harmful Or Fatal If Swallowed)
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To: Matchett-PI; blackie; JustaCowgirl; Born Conservative; k2blader; RushCrush; The Wizard; All
You call Frist; Chafee; Collins; Warner; Sununu, McCain, Specter, etc. on this toll free number to the Capitol Switchboard:

1-877-762-8762

This number works fine....I just spoke to McCain's office and told them the Senator misinformed regarding the 'Constitutionsl Option' and he needs to get onboard with the Republican leadership in the Senate!

17 posted on 04/15/2005 10:29:39 AM PDT by JulieRNR21 (Memo to MSM: Free Republic is a forum; not a blog!)
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To: Matchett-PI
In the history of the Senate, the most notable use of the filibuster by Democrats has been to defend slavery and oppose the Civil Rights Act. The filibuster has never been used to defend the correct side of history.

The minority is the minority because that is the will of the people of the United States.
18 posted on 04/15/2005 10:34:52 AM PDT by IamConservative (To worry is to misuse your imagination.)
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To: NCSteve

Ditto to that, Repeal the 17th.


19 posted on 04/15/2005 11:04:52 AM PDT by el_texicano
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To: Matchett-PI
The United States Senate has become a body incapable of conducting serious oversight and confirmation hearings.

Strike that RUSH. It's the "Two-Party Cartel" & it's the elite/internationalist/puppetiers that made this cartel into a nonfunctional group toward conservativism.

20 posted on 04/15/2005 11:10:38 AM PDT by Digger
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