So he put partisan gamesmanship above basic principles and decency.
Got it.
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Bingo.
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Russell has good instincts with respect to the merits and morality of the issue, but, taking him at his word, he’s terribly naive and thus a bad legislator. It’s plain to all that the Republicans in Congress just aren’t going to negotiate to allow in any significant number of Syrian refugees. They’ve backed themselves into a corner with their hateful and inflammatory rhetoric. The “seat at the table” offered to Russell means nothing.
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A peak inside the sausage factory. Berkh.
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So the rep gets “a seat at the table” to get strong-armed again?
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[quote= …nobody believes the bill passed on Thursday will
be the final legislation and that the veto-proof majority would give
the House leverage when negotiating with the Senate] [/quote]
What kind of logic is that? If enough people had voted no on this ridiculous bill, then it would have been a dead issue, no leverage needed.
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So… he took a bribe! What a guy!
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I think Congressman Russell’s vote reversal was a smart play. He is correct that this particular House bill version is moot. Even before Harry Reid said that the Senate would kill it completely, Russell knew the Senate would revise it. When the ensuing joint panel meets to negotiate the differences, he nudged himself to where his viewpoint matters more than 1:434. If Russell means what he spoke on the floor of the House, it will be good having him as a negotiator fighting for his principles. There is little difference between Congressman Russell changing his vote, and Harry Reid changing his vote to refight later a presently lost issue.
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We’ll find out soon enough which of us is right.
IF he meant what he said and is willing to fight and he’s put himself in a better position to make a difference, then the leadership team just bought a symbolic vote from him at the cost of even bigger headaches down the line. That would be pretty bad horse-trading. Not impossible, but I’m inclined to believe they know better. They got him over a barrel once and he’ll let them do it again.
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Post Deleted due to me needing a strong coffee.
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His explanation doesn’t cut it. The veto proof majority isn’t important before sending the bill to the president; it’s important after the president signs. They already had enough votes to pass, so he could have used his leverage to say “no changes to the bill (to make it more like his rhetoric), no veto proof majority when it counts.”
But it’s all kabuki anyway. 2 or 3 criminal acts from 750,000 refugees since 2001 says everything you really need to know about the refugee vetting process, so no bill of any kind is needed. It’s all to keep the pants-wetting caucus happy.
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Profiles in cowardice?
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Pssst! You weren’t suppose to talk about the deal.
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Wow his vote came pretty cheap!
“He demanded that he have “seat at the table on all future discussions on this issue,” and once an agreement was met, Russell switched his vote.”
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See: Tyranny of the majority.
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The only thing I would caution is the gun program is something that I remember hearing about. However, the goal was to take guns from mentally ill veterans so they didnt shoot themselves or family members when they have a ‘glitch’.
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Americans are scared.
No, your bigoted, pants-pissing fellow Republicans are scared.
Real Americans aren’t scared.
We’re just disgusted.
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“Americans are scared. That’s why you saw such an overwhelming vote — a veto-proof vote”
“He said that he has seen some use the issue for “political leverage” over the past few days”
ter·ror·ism ˈterəˌrizəm
noun
the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
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From:
."…Russell said of the bill that if lawmakers react with “xenophobic and knee-jerk policy, the enemy wins.”
To…
“His colleagues then “surrounded” him on the floor and asked him to switch his vote since his approval would give the bill a veto-proof majority…”
So you traded against the United States, from the floor of the House, for politics?
No matter the issue; health care, the economy, diseases, infrastructure, veterans, immigration, energy, mowing down 1st graders with guns - you name it - Republicans will sell out the nation every time. Every. Time.
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“something that I remember hearing about.”
OK. How is this supposed to work? I mean, in reality. A quick google turns up an endless list of ravings from the usual neofascist websites, and one information flyer from the VA about dementia and firearms.
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