Discussion for article #233670
Harry Reid will get this. Dude is nails.
20 Likes
From what I’m hearing it isn’t going to make any difference. Except perhaps to those people who are going to be flying while the TSA people are working for free and don’t have money to pay their bills.
4 Likes
Sounds like a plan. Boehner will have no choice but to fold (though he may hold out for a few days). There is a huge backlog from the West Coast port strike and they can’t afford any customs delays. And even ordinary folks notice empty shelves.
12 Likes
Why did they originally say that they would filibuster a clean bill? That makes no sense. I’m glad they figured it out, but they should have called me in the first place. I would have told them: "Get that clean bill out of the Senate and onto Boehner’s lap ASAP!
5 Likes
Nothing will unite opponents faster than a common enemy. Screw Boehner seems to be to the mantra of the day. He deserve it too. He’s a weak leader and allows his conference to run amok.
13 Likes
They were trying to pressure Boehner to bring the clean bill up for a House vote.
They’ve changed tactics in pursuit of the same thing.
Basically, Boehner has got his tit caught in a wringer.
11 Likes
So will Cruz, Sessions fuck up the country (and hang it around the GOP’s neck) or will Boehner and the House fuck up the country (and hang it around the GOP’s neck)…?
10 Likes
But by voting on it and sending the clean bill to the house, they are doing just that. I can’t see why filibustering the clean bill would put any pressure on Boehner. Ah, well…moot point now.
2 Likes
Clean Bill-Up or Down Vote! Wasn’t that the battle cry of the republi-tards when the Democrats were in control?! Pay back is a bitch! Keep it up, Democrats!
5 Likes
“Senator McConnell wouldn’t do that,” he said. “We’re beyond that. No, this isn’t the time for games.” Said Charlie Brown to Lucy right before she whipped the ball away from his foot. Reid is not a good leader.
9 Likes
The reason you filibuster it, is that’s what the republicans did to everything, good bad or indifferent, over the last 6 years. Now, the shoe is on the other foot. Magnanimity and two bucks’ll get you a cup of coffee.
2 Likes
I have heard for years that the differences between the Senate and House are greater than the differences between the parties. Apparently the members of each house are convinced the other house is the true enemy.
1 Like
CVilleDem, there is a method to the madness. If the Senate passed a “clean” funding bill and sent it to the House, all Boehner would have to do is agree to go to conference. That would mean they would take the House bill and the Senate bill and reconcile them into 1 bill. Because the House and Senate are controlled by the GOP, they would automatically have more members on the conference than the Democrats, so it would be easy to reconcile the bill to include the immigration provisions. That reconciled bill would not be able to be filibustered due to the rules in the Senate (remember, reconciliation is how we got the ACA passed). All the Senate would need is 51 votes, which they have.
Of course, at that point it would go the President for signature. He could veto it, but then the GOP would blame him, of course, for shutting down DHS.
Reid and McConnell know ALL the rules of the Senate and how to get around them. Presumably, Reid has extracted an agreement from McConnell which Reid is now comfortable with. We shall see.
14 Likes
I think at this point, the difference we’ll see will happen in the House–and how that will affect future legislation. To pass a clean bill, Boehner will have to rely on Democratic votes–which will anger Tea Party folks both in Congress and out among the base, who equate bipartisanship with disloyalty to principles. Or, he can just not put the bill up for a vote, watch DHS partly shut down, and gain the wrath of a majority of people.
Boehner has to choose whether he wants to provoke the partisan anger of a few people (to some of whom he owes his leadership position, after all), or a whole bunch of bi-partisan anger. Not a happy choice, but–full disclosure: I’m no fan of Boehner–his past history shows that if his caucus weren’t effectively controlled by just enough crazy-ass conservatives to make it next-to-impossible for the House to produce passable legislation, he’d want to do the right thing and keep DHS funded and bring up for debate the immigration bill that passed the Senate two years ago. But this silly majority-of-the-majority stuff has tied his hands . . . unless he chooses to untie them.
5 Likes
The Senate has its crazies, Cruz, Lee, et al but there are more of them with nothing to lose for being uncooperative in the House. We gleefully laugh and mock them, but it’s really a sad state of affairs.
5 Likes
That’s the trouble with the self-marytyring types. Getting that last nail in by yourself is always a bitch.
12 Likes
Reading your last paragraph there, I find myself wondering if this is McConnell’s and Reid’s way of sending Boehner a message–and not just for this debate but on down the road (possible ObamaCare replacements should the Supremes rule against the government, infrastructure bills, tax reform, whatever): “Either get control of your caucus for the sake of governance, or ignore the crazy people when the chips are down and just get a bill up for a vote that Democrats will vote for, too.” Obviously, Reid and McConnell have different agendas, but the greater good is the same for both: Get legislation passed that Obama is likely to sign.
Of course, Tea Party types don’t see it that way–they want to force Obama to sign things; but I don’t think they’ve quite figured out that while the GOP has majorities in both the House and Senate, those majorities aren’t veto-proof. Maybe they’ll figure it out–the Keystone veto might do it. (Sorry–just rambling; your comment just got me to thinking, is all.)
3 Likes
Somebody tell Boehner that GOP controls Senate too now. So he must remove the obstruction hat for the governing one.
Harry’s experiencing a moment of schadenfreude, which we all know is a bitch. If he weren’t wearing bandages currently, what you see here is what he’d look like.
3 Likes