[Old Retired Army Guy]

Relax. That no vote by the majority leader is just a procedural vote under the stupid Senate rules so he could bring it up again at a later date.

[rollo tomasi]

"...so he could bring it up again at a later date."

The "moderates"/vote for republicans blindly are the ones that are being duped.

What purpose would this "procedural vote" do to create another "stand alone" appropriation/cut piece of legislation? McConnell knows this will never pass cloture. So, he votes no, refuses hardball tactics via attachments/riders, and laughs at the Republican or else idiots who trust in futile "poker tactics" of keeping this subject "on deck".

Now if McConnell has a plan that will work and meet the objective then I will change my POV. Unfortunately McConnell's track record is awful so my skepticism remains.

[Political Junkie Too]

Sometimes the optics outweighs procedure. McConnell outsmarted himself on the optics this time. He's on record as opposing defunding Planned Parenthood, and no amount of explaining procedure will overcome that.

The fact remains that McConnell boxed himself into this corner all by himself. He chose to block Rand Paul's defunding amendment to the highway bill that would only have needed 51 votes to pass, in exchange for this standalone bill that needed 60 votes to pass.

Ted Cruz says that McConnell did that to protect his back-room deal for the Ex-Im bank, because Obama would have vetoed the bill with defunding in it. It was all for nothing because the House refused to take up McConnell's highway bill and recessed for August.

So now McConnell is left with the stain of this Nay vote, and an explanation that is falling on deaf ears.

-PJ