Posted on 06/07/2012 3:03:12 PM PDT by mdittmar
Despite The Challenges We Face To Improve Our Economy, House Republicans Admit They’re Done Legislating for the Year
Washington, D.C. – Nevada Senator Harry Reid spoke on the Senate floor today regarding Republican obstructionism and Majority Leader Cantor’s admission that Republicans are done legislating this Congress. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
Last Congress was one of the most productive – if not the most productive – in the history of the country.
But with a new Republican majority in the House, this Congress has been altogether different.
Consistently, this Congress has taken weeks or months to pass even simple, common-sense proposals – proposals that would previously have passed in minutes.
The Senate has wasted literally months considering bipartisan bills, only to have those bills smothered to death under piles of non-relevant, Republican amendments.
And Congressional Republicans have held even the most important jobs measures hostage to extract votes on unrelated, ideological amendments – despite the Minority Leader’s own call “to stop all the show votes.” Those were his words.
Democrats – and the American people – have endured this blatant obstruction all year.
And yesterday we read that we will have to endure it every day for the rest of the year – every day for the rest of this Congress.
House Republican Leaders admit they have given up on actually running the country.
Despite the work that remains to keep our economy on the right track and continue 27 months of private sector job growth, they say they’re done legislating for the year.
Listen to this report from the political publication Politico yesterday: “Serious legislating is all but done until after the election… The rest of the year, Cantor said, will likely be about sending ‘signals…’”
So, rather than work with Democrats to strengthen our economy or create jobs, Congressional Republicans will put on a show designed to demonstrate the extreme, ideological direction in which they would lead the country.
Majority Leader Cantor’s candor is frightening.
He said out loud what practically every Republican on Capitol Hill has been thinking all along: they care more about winning elections than creating jobs.
But you don’t usually hear them say so in public, where reporters are listening.
Instead, one short month ago, Speaker Boehner urged Congress to “roll up our sleeves and get to work.”
To a conservatives audience, the Speaker said “we can’t wait” until after the election to legislate.
Less than a week later, Leader McConnell urged us to “stop the show votes that are designed to fail. Let’s stop with the blame games. Let’s come together and do what the American people expect us to do.”
Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell’s statements are Orwellian – they do exactly the opposite of what they say.
Even Republican Senator Olympia Snowe – by all accounts a moderate, who is retiring amid frustration over increasing partisanship in Washington – wrote to me in April to urge quick Senate action on many of the challenging issues facing us.
Her letter cried out for help – not from Democrats, but from Republicans.
Leader Cantor’s remarks provide a window into the true Republican agenda.
It seems when Congressional Republicans forget the world is watching, they say what they really mean – they’re more interested in putting on a partisan sideshow than in solving the very real problems facing this nation.
In truth, this comes as no surprise. It’s just more of the same.
Republicans have launched a series of attacks on women’s access to health care and contraception, and filibustered legislation to ensure American women equal pay for equal work.
They’ve put women’s lives at risk by holding the Violence Against Women Act in limbo.
They opposed our efforts to restore fairness to the tax code and to ensure billionaires don’t pay lower tax rates than middle-class families.
They blocked a bill to hire more teachers, cops, firefighters and first responders.
And they stalled important jobs measures like the aviation jobs bill and the transportation jobs bill for months to pursue ideological battles.
For months Congressional Republicans have actively worked against any piece of legislation that might create jobs or spur economic growth.
Don’t take my word for it – just look at their record.
Democrats have known all along that Congressional Republicans’ number one goal isn’t to improve the economy or create jobs – it’s to defeat President Obama.
The Minority Leader, said so plainly, in another moment of candor.
“The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term President.”
Senator McConnell said that in October, 2010 – at a time when this nation faced monumental challenges.
We were fighting our way back from the greatest recession since the Great Depression.
Yet Republicans’ top priority wasn’t to create jobs.
Their top priority wasn’t to help business grow and hire.
It wasn’t to train the next generation of skilled employees, hire more cops and firefighters or put construction crews back to work building roads and bridges.
It was to drag down the economy in the hopes of defeating President Obama.
And thanks to Leader Cantor’s words, today we know Republicans’ priorities haven’t changed one bit.
Harry's still as sharp as a bowling ball.
Memo to Harry Reid: Barack Obama is the NUMBER ONE obstacle to job creation.
Its a twofer Harry, we dump Obama and that will create jobs, and a much better economy.
Reid: Republicans’ Top Priority Is To Defeat President Obama, Not Create Jobs
Hey Dumba$$... the two aren’t mutually exclusive, you worthless communist POS.
Defeet?
I wants to indict him, try him and hang him for high crimes against the U.S and it people.
Using the U.S. Justice Dept.
Yeah, the same group of slackers who are responsible for fast and furious and so many other f-ing illegal B.S.
The ouster of Obama will replace the Wikipedia page for "spontaneous healing" as a definition case.
Harry’s whining; how choice is that? He and his ilk never had jobs as a priority only furthering their Liberal agenda. If he opened his eyes, he would see the handwriting on his walls and the fact that the RAT feces are circling the toilet bowl. They’re toast.
Defeating Barack Obama IS creating jobs even if the victor were Jimmy Carter.
HEY DINGY!! TERMITES ARE PRODUCTIVE!! YOUR CONGRESS PRODUCTIVELY DESTROYED THE REPUBLIC! It's time to put the adults back in charge!
At least Reid is half right, for once.
Usually his utterances are in the crack pot, space cadet neighborhood.
So, yes, Harry, in the order of events, beating Obama comes before anything else CAN happen.
Like JOBS. Kilt’ dead regulations. Oil expansion. Foot off neck sorts of things you wouldn’t know anything about.
Defeating Obama is a good start, and it has to be done before anyone can create jobs. He is turning us into a nation of part time burger flippers. ...If you flip the same burger twice, is it considered a green job?
they both happen at the same time.
Gonna do both, Chicken Neck, gonna do both.
Defeating Obama on Nov 6 will create jobs come Jan 2013.
The tasks are one and the same.
It sure looks liek the only way to start creating jobs again, or letting the actual creators of jobs get it done, is to get rid of the thugocracy of little barry and the Reid riders. Adios, horrible Harry.
It sure looks like the only way to start creating jobs again, or letting the actual creators of jobs get it done, is to get rid of the thugocracy of little barry and the Reid riders. Adios, horrible Harry.
Ok Harry, and your top priority back in 2004-2008 was to lose the Iraq War and ride every death of our brave fighting men and women into power. You are the poster boy for what is most wrong with our current political system. Now go back to passing legislation that cashes in your corrupt land deals you sick scumbag.
So, when Bush ran for re-election in 2004 was it not the dems’ number one goal to defeat him?
The Constitution requires you to produce one...oh, never mind, you and 0bama use the Constitution as toilet paper.
You Harry, 0bama, and the democRAT party are pieces of sh#t.
5.56mm
Works for my you little dork. Get rid of him in the most humiliating manner possible, and all sorts of good things may happen.
They are the same thing.
Getting rid of Obama will create jobs.
Harry Reid, the far-Left Mormon Mob Attorney...
Dingy Harry, overseer of $12T in debt, Union toadie, partisan hack, outright liar.
You can't have the later without the former!
Is that what your mob connections tell you, Harry?
Well! DUHHH!!! Isn’t that what elections are all about??? Living in Nevada,I can tell you, he’s a sad sack of S_ _ T! Just hope they do here with SEIU what they did in Wisconsin. Won’t have anyone to fix his elections for him.
It’s two of the same.......If you defeat 0bama, you will create jobs. Business will feel more confident once the Kenyan Marxist is defeated.
harry, when is the last minute of any day this year obamalamadingdong acted as POTUS and not as CIC (Candidate in Chief)???
Defeating Obama will create jobs.
One begets the other, Harry.
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