Posted on 01/04/2013 12:59:49 PM PST by Kaslin
The late night drama cast Senator Mitch McConnell and Vice President Joe Biden as heroes. They did what Obama and Boehner failed to do, come together on an agreement to limit the bite of the fiscal cliff's tax hikes. That agreement led to bipartisan Senate action. But the appearance of the Senate coming to the rescue obscures the fact the Senate has recklessly refused to act for months, sitting on the House-passed bill to avert the tax hikes, H.R.8, for fully five months before jamming a massive amendment through when there was no time to consider any changes, or even fully understand its provisions. With another looming deadline coming March 1 when the postponed sequestration spending cuts take effect and the country approaches the debt ceiling, the Senate cannot be allowed to again wait until the last minute and then cut a backroom deal.
The House passed H.R.8 on August 1 on a bipartisan vote of 256 to 171 to postpone all of the "fiscal cliff" tax hikes for one year and set in place a process for fundamental tax reform in 2013. The Senate refused to act on the bill for 152 days before taking the bill up in the dead of night, substituting its own amendment in by unanimous consent, and then voting on a compromise than can only be described as deeply flawed.
Had the Senate passed the same amendment a month earlier, there would have been time to appoint conferees and work out a better final product for the American people. There could have been further debate and amendments in the light of day. But it was Senate's five months of obstinance that was ultimately rewarded by creating an opportunity for them to force the House into a deadline-driven, take-it-or-leave vote in the House.
This wasn't the first time the Senate behaved this way. In fact it's the third year in a row the Senate refused to act until the last minute before ultimately jamming its own vision on taxes and spending through a House up against a hard deadline. They have effectively cut the American people out of the process by replacing open debate and amendment with secret backroom negotiations.
This same Senate has not even passed a budget in nearly four years. Under Harry Reid, the Senate has elevated doing nothing until the night before each crisis deadline to an art form.
Now we're immediately up against another deadline. The automatic across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester were postponed two months until March 1. Around the same time, the Treasury will exhaust its extraordinary measures to finance ongoing government spending under the existing debt limit. The House is likely to move quickly on these issues, but the Senate has a strong incentive to wait until the last minute again before unveiling an emergency backroom deal.
Given the stakes, Senate stalling for political advantage cannot continue to be accepted by the American people. The tax debate took place in secret right up until and past the deadline. We must demand better in the upcoming spending debate, which should occur in the light of day.
...and there’s not a thing we can do about it. We won’t have another shot at fixing the senate until 2014.
USSenate is a big problem. The majority promotes laws foreign to our land and they have the power of treaty! We should have worked harder to get less dangerous members therein.
Obama and his unseen handlers are the problem. The thing is that the Senate, having a Dem majority, is totally wedded to Obama because they feel they are under his protection.
Repeal the direct election of Senators and return the process to appointment by the state legislators. Senators are elected by corrupt entities in the big cities and represent the city parasites. They act like 100 mini Presidents. If the state legislatures can fire them at will, they’d be more accountable to the state. The founding fathers set up a great system of checks and balances. The system is broke by too much ‘Rat meddling.
If the pubbies couldn’t take the senate in 2012, there no way they take it next time. If they had any freekin clue, they would have taken 6 or 8 seats in November.
Yeah, but we could have if people hadn’t sat on their butts in the November election. We had a good chance to take the Senate over. The only way we will have a chance is if we stick all together. Fighting does us no good
VRWC For Truth: “Repeal the direct election of Senators and return the process to appointment by the state legislators.”
The problem with good ideas like yours is simply that it takes political majorities to enact them. 38 states would have to vote for it, and I just don’t see that happening. That’s why the Democrats amend the constitution via the Supreme Court. The other way takes too much work and must be politically popular by a very large margin.
Harry Reid is tearing up the Constitution and throwing it in the fire place, for Harry sees himself as a god among men, enlightened to change our nation from one under God to one under men, fools, they are drunk on power and their own hubris, strange, how mortals like Harry can live their lives with no fear of God, this world is but a blink of the eye, everyone dies, the fires of hell will be kept warm with politicians.
“The Senate Is The Problem”
Nah. It’s the scu&bags who re-elected its members.
IMHO
Mcconnell said his #1 job was to make sure O was not re-elected,. #1 job!!!
If nothing else it should be demanded he resign for that failure of #1.
The ‘symbolism woof-woof’ crowd worships such meaningless barking, but not me.
Democrats wanted to ensure that only Republican alternatives were on the table, so they could demagogue and demonize Republicans through their alternatives without having to take return fire over their own offerings.
It worked. They kept the White House and the Senate.
-PJ
Over the years, I have had several arguments with people about the direct election of Senators by people being a real problem. Many of those people are now finally beginning to see the light and are now ready to repeal of the 17th Amendment.
We also need to reinstate the proper position of the 9th and 10th Amendments, as well as a more originalist interpretation of the Commerce Clause.
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