Posted on 12/01/2010 8:35:57 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Senate Republicans intend to block action on virtually all Democratic-backed legislation unrelated to tax cuts and government spending in the current postelection session of Congress, officials said Tuesday, adding that the leadership has quietly collected signatures on a letter pledging to carry out the strategy.
If carried out, it would doom Democratic-backed attempts to end the Pentagon's practice of discharging openly gay members of the military service and give legal status to young illegal immigrants who join the military or attend college.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made both measures a priority as Democrats attempt to enact legislation long sought by groups that supported them in the recent midterm elections.
A nuclear arms treaty with Russia that President Barack Obama wants ratified would not be affected, since any debate would take place under different rules than those that apply to legislation. Even so, its passage is not assured as Republicans are seeking concessions from the White House.
Officials who disclosed the new Republican maneuver did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not authorized to discuss it.
It was not known how many of the Senate's 42 Republicans had signed the draft letter, which the leadership intends to make public quickly.
Senate Democrats need 60 votes to overcome any delaying tactics, meaning they could be thwarted if 41 Republicans join in the commitment.
Democrats' chances of passing politically charged legislation will dim when the new Congress convenes in January, since Republicans will take control of the House and gain more Senate seats.
The letter comes after comments by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others in his party that the voters made it clear in the elections they want lawmakers to focus on economic issues.
"Despite what some Democrats in Congress have suggested, voters did not signal they wanted more cooperation on the Democrats' big-government policies that most Americans oppose," McConnell and incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in an op-ed article published in the Washington Post.
The GOP needs to block everything. No Dream Act or Amnesty and they need to open up drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
Best news I’be heard all week!
The emerging Dem strategy was to to work the social stuff and do a last minute cram down on the tax stuff. This will put the kibosh to that.
YES BUT...can McConnell hold them all in line? Susan Collins said AFTER the letter was released she would still vote to repeal DADT if Reid allowed amendments. And Lugar and Bennett have said they will vote YES on the DREAM Act. So this letter may be all hat no cattle.
In practice, we have a lot of virtual Democrats in the Senate.
I count Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Dick Lugar, the defeated Bob Bennett and Lindsay Graham among them ( and I’m sure I’ve missed several other names ).
LEST WE FORGET....
Ping list holders, please invoke your lists. We need to hold some people accountable.
Seriously.
BTTT
Calling attention to the complete failure of the GOP elite to stand up to Reid, Pelousey, Obama.
Keep on throwing the bums out!
Epic fail. Empty promises. Looks like America will be a communist state after all.
What will it take to make this work?
It can be done. I truly believe the Tea Party is a force to be reconded with and will only grow stronger. I just refuse to believe that the bluest of blue states have that many ignorant people in it as to keep on re-electing some of these idiotic, socialist, commie liberals time after time. Oh yeah, another thing.....I consider RINO’S and elitists in the Republican Party in that bunch too. ;(
YES! EVERYTHING!
Well, this story is three-weeks old, but it shows how feckless and ineffectual the GOP turned out to be in dealing with Obama.
> “Well, this story is three-weeks old, but it shows how feckless and ineffectual the GOP turned out to be in dealing with Obama.”
.
Almost makes one believe that much of the GOP elite want Obama to succeed...
.
I would suggest it highlights plainly the difference between pseudo conservatives and authentic conservatives that comprise the republican party. Many of the pseudo conservatives are RINO's due to their social liberalism that promotes leftist causes.
Well, it also showed that McConnell and the rest of the GOP leadership in DC talked a good game, but when the rubber met the road, they fell back into their old reflexive instinct to compromise with the Rats, thereby handing Obama some success when they could have stuffed him and his uber-liberal agenda altogether.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.