Early "Oscar" Postulating By Sen. Reid
And the winner for Best Befitting Brat In A Petualnt Role goes to...Sen. Harry Reid. Yes, in another act of petulant behavior, Sen. Reid shut down the Senate again. This time it was over a new bill coming up. (Hat-tip: Captain's Quarters)
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005972.php
House and Senate negotiators yesterday reached year-end deals on a $42 billion budget-cuts package and a $453 billion defense-spending bill that includes a provision allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Now Republican leaders just have to find the votes to pass the bills.
Senate Democrats will try to filibuster the spending bill, arguing that adding the drilling provision at the last minute was a perversion of Senate rules.
"These rules mean nothing. It's like a game of monopoly with grade-school kids. But this is the United States Senate," said Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, before using a parliamentary technique to shut down floor action all night.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle. Sen. Reid has little regard for Senate rules, as his illegal and unconstitutional filibusters over the judicial nominees the president has put up can testify to.
He also said he would not consent to passing any of President Bush's pending nominations this year, which in effect blocks seven district court judges and the president's picks to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
See, here we go again. Sen. Reid did not get his way, so now he is picking up his bat and his ball, and he is not playing anymore. All over the ANWR provision in the new defense appropriations bill. What is utterly absurd about this is that ANWR drilling is vital to the nation's economy, but also to it's national security, too. It would end the need to get oil from nations like Venenzuala and Saudi Arabia--two nations that are not too happy with the United States, or Pres. Bush.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, in a sharp attack on his counterpart, said Mr. Reid can't back up his threats on the spending bill.
"The flailing of arms and false bravado reflects the frustration of Harry Reid," Mr. Frist said, adding that he wouldn't have gone ahead with the drilling provision if he didn't think he could win the votes Mr. Reid will force.
The House was headed toward passing the defense bill and the budget bill overnight, and Republican leaders in that chamber said the budget deal was a major accomplishment.
"House Republicans promised the American people that we would restrain federal spending and reform government programs," said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican.
The bill slows the growth of Medicaid and Medicare. Still, some conservatives were irked to find that Mr. Frist had included nearly $4 billion in new spending to what was supposed to be the budget-cutting bill.
The Tennessee Republican announced yesterday that the bill includes $3.75 billion over five years for educational grants for low-income students to attend college. One program would give $750 to first-year college students who have a 3.0 grade point average, and another program would give $4,000 to third- or fourth-year students who major in math, engineering, technology or a critical foreign language.
Four billion is a drop in the bucket right now, and that money is not going for a pork project. It is going for something important to the youth of the nation. I am in college, and it is not cheap. Any little bit helps those of us working towards a better education to be more productive members of society. The extra money spent is not going for a new hall of fame somewhere, or another crazy monument to Robert Byrd. It is going for something that is necessary to the nation.
The Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus in the House, posted a Web log item noting that "without this new $3.75 billion spending increase in the bill, there would be $3.75 billion more in federal government savings, and thus the deficit would be reduced even further."
With so many last-minute deals, Mr. Reid said other questionable provisions are bound to have snuck into bills -- particularly the defense appropriations bill.
"What do you think's in there? You're going to have a couple days to look at it," he said, referring to his threat to use every procedural tool to make Republicans suffer for trying to attach the drilling provision.
This is stupid. The Congress put this bill together. It was for defense appropriations. Okay, so I am not too happy at the fact that the college tuition grants are in it. However, Sen. Reid is only doing this because of the ANWR provision. Lord only knows what environmental group is going to benefit from not having ANWR drilled. I do know that without ANWR in the package, we will be at the mercy of those we import our oil from.
The bill includes $29 billion for hurricane assistance and recovery, nearly $4 billion to address the avian flu and a 1 percent cut across all discretionary spending except for Veterans Affairs.
But drilling is the major sticking point -- as it has been for years.
Lord only knows why. It is not like we want to drill the entire ANWR. We want a little teeny-tiny piece of it. And we want it to ease ythe burden of the nation when it comes to fuel consumption, high costs of gasoline, and to end our dependence on foreign nations. This is not an isolationist point of view. It is one of national security.
Senators usually block drilling by filibuster, so this year, Republicans tried to pass the provisions as part of their budget, which cannot be filibustered.
But some Republican senators objected, and leaders had to remove it from the budget package.
Sen. Ted Stevens, Alaska Republican and the main champion of drilling, is also chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee and proposed attaching drilling to the defense spending bill. Yesterday, the House-Senate conference committee voted to approve his plan, with all Republicans and one Democrat in each chamber supporting it.
Mr. Frist said it was the right move. He said that because a majority of senators have voted for drilling in the past, attaching it to another bill is justified.
But Mr. Reid was furious.
"We've become like the House of Commons. Whoever has the most votes wins. It hasn't worked that way in 216 years," he said.
Um, since when? The last time I checked, a majority of votes in favor of something, passes it. That is how it has worked in the Congress since it's inception 229 years ago. Now, if Sen. Reid is meaning something different, he should be more clear on it. However, if he is referring to how bills are passed in Congress, I suggest he go back to a remedial course on the Constitution along with Sen. Feingold.
The whole kit-and-kaboodle in this bill is ANWR. If ANWR were not in this bill, Sen. Reid would not be pulling this sort of garbage. But it has been one of the most contentious pieces of legislation ever dealt with by the Congress. And for some ungodly reason, it always provokes a firestorm when the merest of mentions is made about it. I do hope Sen. Frist has the votes and the fortitude to see this through. Right now, a spine is still something the GOP need to locate.
Finally, to Sen. Reid, you might want to reconsider this. In 2004, you lost four seats due to the obstructionism that the Democrats were pulling. Further, it cost you Tom Daschle, then-Minority Leader, and relegated the party to the minority side ever since. If the obstruction continues, America will respond in like kind. They disapproved of the obstructionist tactics then, and they will do so now. Such tactics will not return you to power, no matter what lie you tell America. By continuing this, you are hanging an albatross around your neck, and starting on January 1st, the new election cycle begins. You have four people up for reelection in states carried by the president last time around. You have eleven other colleagues also up for reelection. You keep this crap up, and you could end up losing more than a couple. You could lose a lot, which will take away quite a bit of power.
There will be no more failed clotures. Your filibusters will go nowhere, and should you decide to filibuster a judicial nominee, Sen. Frist will have more than enough votes to break that filibuster, and execute the Constitutional Option. That move will strip the remainder of your power away. It will be a cold day in Hell when you see the light of day again if you choose to make this stand. Sen. Reid, for the sake of your party, you had better think this through. It could get real ugly real quick.
The Bunny ;)
And the winner for Best Befitting Brat In A Petualnt Role goes to...Sen. Harry Reid. Yes, in another act of petulant behavior, Sen. Reid shut down the Senate again. This time it was over a new bill coming up. (Hat-tip: Captain's Quarters)
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/005972.php
House and Senate negotiators yesterday reached year-end deals on a $42 billion budget-cuts package and a $453 billion defense-spending bill that includes a provision allowing oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Now Republican leaders just have to find the votes to pass the bills.
Senate Democrats will try to filibuster the spending bill, arguing that adding the drilling provision at the last minute was a perversion of Senate rules.
"These rules mean nothing. It's like a game of monopoly with grade-school kids. But this is the United States Senate," said Minority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, before using a parliamentary technique to shut down floor action all night.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle. Sen. Reid has little regard for Senate rules, as his illegal and unconstitutional filibusters over the judicial nominees the president has put up can testify to.
He also said he would not consent to passing any of President Bush's pending nominations this year, which in effect blocks seven district court judges and the president's picks to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
See, here we go again. Sen. Reid did not get his way, so now he is picking up his bat and his ball, and he is not playing anymore. All over the ANWR provision in the new defense appropriations bill. What is utterly absurd about this is that ANWR drilling is vital to the nation's economy, but also to it's national security, too. It would end the need to get oil from nations like Venenzuala and Saudi Arabia--two nations that are not too happy with the United States, or Pres. Bush.
Majority Leader Bill Frist, in a sharp attack on his counterpart, said Mr. Reid can't back up his threats on the spending bill.
"The flailing of arms and false bravado reflects the frustration of Harry Reid," Mr. Frist said, adding that he wouldn't have gone ahead with the drilling provision if he didn't think he could win the votes Mr. Reid will force.
The House was headed toward passing the defense bill and the budget bill overnight, and Republican leaders in that chamber said the budget deal was a major accomplishment.
"House Republicans promised the American people that we would restrain federal spending and reform government programs," said Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, Illinois Republican.
The bill slows the growth of Medicaid and Medicare. Still, some conservatives were irked to find that Mr. Frist had included nearly $4 billion in new spending to what was supposed to be the budget-cutting bill.
The Tennessee Republican announced yesterday that the bill includes $3.75 billion over five years for educational grants for low-income students to attend college. One program would give $750 to first-year college students who have a 3.0 grade point average, and another program would give $4,000 to third- or fourth-year students who major in math, engineering, technology or a critical foreign language.
Four billion is a drop in the bucket right now, and that money is not going for a pork project. It is going for something important to the youth of the nation. I am in college, and it is not cheap. Any little bit helps those of us working towards a better education to be more productive members of society. The extra money spent is not going for a new hall of fame somewhere, or another crazy monument to Robert Byrd. It is going for something that is necessary to the nation.
The Republican Study Committee, the conservative caucus in the House, posted a Web log item noting that "without this new $3.75 billion spending increase in the bill, there would be $3.75 billion more in federal government savings, and thus the deficit would be reduced even further."
With so many last-minute deals, Mr. Reid said other questionable provisions are bound to have snuck into bills -- particularly the defense appropriations bill.
"What do you think's in there? You're going to have a couple days to look at it," he said, referring to his threat to use every procedural tool to make Republicans suffer for trying to attach the drilling provision.
This is stupid. The Congress put this bill together. It was for defense appropriations. Okay, so I am not too happy at the fact that the college tuition grants are in it. However, Sen. Reid is only doing this because of the ANWR provision. Lord only knows what environmental group is going to benefit from not having ANWR drilled. I do know that without ANWR in the package, we will be at the mercy of those we import our oil from.
The bill includes $29 billion for hurricane assistance and recovery, nearly $4 billion to address the avian flu and a 1 percent cut across all discretionary spending except for Veterans Affairs.
But drilling is the major sticking point -- as it has been for years.
Lord only knows why. It is not like we want to drill the entire ANWR. We want a little teeny-tiny piece of it. And we want it to ease ythe burden of the nation when it comes to fuel consumption, high costs of gasoline, and to end our dependence on foreign nations. This is not an isolationist point of view. It is one of national security.
Senators usually block drilling by filibuster, so this year, Republicans tried to pass the provisions as part of their budget, which cannot be filibustered.
But some Republican senators objected, and leaders had to remove it from the budget package.
Sen. Ted Stevens, Alaska Republican and the main champion of drilling, is also chairman of the Appropriations defense subcommittee and proposed attaching drilling to the defense spending bill. Yesterday, the House-Senate conference committee voted to approve his plan, with all Republicans and one Democrat in each chamber supporting it.
Mr. Frist said it was the right move. He said that because a majority of senators have voted for drilling in the past, attaching it to another bill is justified.
But Mr. Reid was furious.
"We've become like the House of Commons. Whoever has the most votes wins. It hasn't worked that way in 216 years," he said.
Um, since when? The last time I checked, a majority of votes in favor of something, passes it. That is how it has worked in the Congress since it's inception 229 years ago. Now, if Sen. Reid is meaning something different, he should be more clear on it. However, if he is referring to how bills are passed in Congress, I suggest he go back to a remedial course on the Constitution along with Sen. Feingold.
The whole kit-and-kaboodle in this bill is ANWR. If ANWR were not in this bill, Sen. Reid would not be pulling this sort of garbage. But it has been one of the most contentious pieces of legislation ever dealt with by the Congress. And for some ungodly reason, it always provokes a firestorm when the merest of mentions is made about it. I do hope Sen. Frist has the votes and the fortitude to see this through. Right now, a spine is still something the GOP need to locate.
Finally, to Sen. Reid, you might want to reconsider this. In 2004, you lost four seats due to the obstructionism that the Democrats were pulling. Further, it cost you Tom Daschle, then-Minority Leader, and relegated the party to the minority side ever since. If the obstruction continues, America will respond in like kind. They disapproved of the obstructionist tactics then, and they will do so now. Such tactics will not return you to power, no matter what lie you tell America. By continuing this, you are hanging an albatross around your neck, and starting on January 1st, the new election cycle begins. You have four people up for reelection in states carried by the president last time around. You have eleven other colleagues also up for reelection. You keep this crap up, and you could end up losing more than a couple. You could lose a lot, which will take away quite a bit of power.
There will be no more failed clotures. Your filibusters will go nowhere, and should you decide to filibuster a judicial nominee, Sen. Frist will have more than enough votes to break that filibuster, and execute the Constitutional Option. That move will strip the remainder of your power away. It will be a cold day in Hell when you see the light of day again if you choose to make this stand. Sen. Reid, for the sake of your party, you had better think this through. It could get real ugly real quick.
The Bunny ;)
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 1:20 PM
1 Comments:
Excellent explanation of what's going on with the traitor Read. We need Anwar. We must not be depended on any foreign oil. We need refineries. Rawriter
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