Some people never learn. Mitch McConnell is a good example.
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Posted on 07/15/2011 7:36:52 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Right now, Senate caucus leaders Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell are putting their heads together to flesh out the specifics of the Plan Z proposal McConnell floated at the beginning of the week. Reid’s involvement has actually improved the idea, National Review’s Rich Lowry concedes, but that doesn’t give conservative firebrand Senator Jim DeMint any warm fuzzies. On Twitter a few minutes ago, DeMint announced that he would block the McConnell plan if presented to the Senate with “every tool” at his disposal:
JimDeMint: I’ll use every tool in Senate to stop passage of “Plan B” blank check debt limit increase.
JimDeMint: No Republican was elected to give President Obama more power and that’s what this plan does.
Every tool means three in particular: the hold, the filibuster, and withholding unanimous consent. The hold is not a permanent block on consideration, however. Senate rules allow for holds to be overridden, although it takes days of floor votes to do so. It’s actually similar to the filibuster, as the remedy is the cloture vote to end debate as in filibusters. If McConnell and Reid united on a plan, one would presume that they could carry enough votes to reach 60, especially since Democrats in the Senate would probably follow the White House lead on this plan.
Unanimous consent is another matter entirely. One Senator can force a near-stoppage of Senate business by withholding unanimous consent simply by objecting to every time-saving order of business on the floor. Bills would have to be read aloud in their entirety as an example, or roll call votes conducted to bypass those requirements. It’s the tedium option, and in this case DeMint has a big advantage: the calendar. A solution to the debt-ceiling issue is now pressing, and the longer DeMint can stall the Senate on all of its business, the more distant the prospects for this proposal becomes.
DeMint is right that this gives the President more power on the debt ceiling, although it’s not entirely unchecked power, and it is for a limited time only. It comes with a price — the responsibility for unpopular increases and further spending. But politically, DeMint is right that handing more power to Obama is not the kind of action that convinced voters to send more Republicans to Congress.
The better bet would be to have the House pass a short-term debt-ceiling increase with balancing spending cuts, and dare the Senate and the President to kill it. Is Boehner moving on that front yet?
DeMint/Rubio ... yes, the two best senators, but wouldn’t they make a nice Pres/Vice Pres?
Conservative leaders need to go on the attack...loud and proud.
Cut spending, cut spending, cut spending, CUT THE DAMN SPENDING!
Get these damn illegals outta this country and stop using American tax dollars to enable them.
Shut down the border and uphold the law strictly to aid illegal self deportation.
Illegals that are left, round’em up and toss’em back across that filthy, poverty stricken, drug and violence ridden, cesspool of a border.
It does nuttin' to place any onus on Dear Leader, cuz all he, his fellow Rats in Congress and the biased Lame Stream Media have to do, is remind all that this "escape plan" was proposed by a "Republi-Tard."
Game, set, match! We lose again.
Thanks, you clueless, dimbulb, wuss, RINO, Mitch....for nothing!!!
LOL!
Outstanding!
Some people never learn. Mitch McConnell is a good example.
Mitch needs to go. Worthless.
I think it is a complete fiction and fantasy that the McConnell plan would lead to voters holding Obama responsible for the ceiling increases, lack of cuts and increased spending.
It’s a friggin’ Republican plan that would make all of it possible! All it looks like is a weaselly attempt to avoid looking like they voted for what they were voting for.
You should be proud. He is a true patriot.
Ed must actually believe spending cuts would happen. If he thinks spending cuts will happen in the future, why can’t they happen NOW?
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