Posted on 10/03/2013 7:20:26 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
On Day Three of a partial government shutdown, the Senate got off to a snippy start as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid elevated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as the new “joint speaker” of the House of Representatives.
Reid, a Nevada Democrat, was referring to the Republican-led House’s new tactic of passing piecemeal funding bills to fund agencies such as the National Institutes of Health.
The House leadership “is following Cruz’s idea specifically,” Reid said. “Sen. Cruz is now joint speaker. He lectures the House on occasion, as he does people over here.”
“We’re not going to give a blank check to the junior senator from Texas to pick his favorite person in government on a daily basis. Today it’s the parks. Tomorrow it’s NIH. Maybe later it will be something else,” Reid continued.
That prompted a terse exchange between Reid and top Senate Republicans Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and John Cornyn of Texas.
“With all due respect to my good friend, the majority leader, he was speaking about the junior senator from Texas, who I don’t see on the floor here at the moment,” McConnell said.
Cornyn, Cruz’s home-state colleague, said that by Reid criticizing Cruz while he was not around on the floor and able to defend himself, the spirit of Senate decorum was in “jeopardy of being transgressed.”
What followed was a procedural charade where Senate Republican leaders took turns attempting to pass separate funding bills for veterans benefits, to open up national parks and the World War II Memorial, NIH funding and legislation set to pass the House later Thursday that would ensure Reserve military service members would get paid.
All four were blocked by Democrats. Reid and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) also tried to get unanimous consent to pass a clean continuing resolution to fund the government, but that was also blocked — by Republicans.
“If Democrats are unwilling to fund other parts of the government, at the very least they can agree to support our veterans,” McConnell said.
The floor shenanigans that made no progress to reopen the government transpired, despite an opening prayer from Senate Chaplain Barry Black that blistered Congress.
“Save us from the madness,” he said.
“Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable,” Black said. “Remove the burdens of those who are the collateral damage of this government shutdown, transforming negatives into positives.”
Harry Reid, keep on talking.
Ted Cruz is representing the people who elected him in Texas. The rest of us are just getting the bonus energy.
I’m beginning to think they are more p.o.’d that Cruz has “stepped out of place” than they are about anything he has said.
Hey, Reid sounds just like Schumer.
Will someone please slap a straitjacket on Reid and transport him to his new home? The man needs to be booted from politics permanently.
Dingy Harry has a tipped uterus because it’s working for conservatives and there’s not a thing he can do about it.
Hey Dingy, CRUZ is the PRESIDENT. You jump when he speaks or makes a move. Your water boy in the WH isn’t fit to run an ant farm.
Save us from madness?
Do you own a gun, Harry? Then eat it. Save us from madness.
In the movie “Casino” (1995), Reid is the Dick Smothers character who denies Robert DeNiro the gaming license for a casino. And who was comped food and women the whole time leading up to the decision.
The mob sports book genius who was the real life person played by DeNiro always said so.
Good. Better yet, make Mr. Cruz SPEAKER of the House. He doesn’t have to be a member of the House to be speaker, Har-har.
Ted Cruz’s response was “ I accept, the first order of business is The removal of Senator Reid for abuse of Power.”
“He lectures the House on occasion, as he does people over here.”
Actually it’s dingy Harry that lectures the House more than anyone else.
Granny Reid needs to go fix some vittles.
Oohhh... I'm quaking in my boots now!
Is this the first statement a reemerging Mitch McConnell has made so far?
-PJ
I think they are angry because Cruz has shown the House Republicans they are not under the direction of Harry Reid, and the Democrats, and they will be supported for standing up to them. If the Republicans in the house finally find a spine, they could make things very uncomfortable for Obama, and the Democrats for the next three years.
They sure do seem obsessed with Ted Cruz, Dirty Harry!
Reid is pissed Cruz had a tele-town hall meeting today with over 1,000 participants.
Reid can’t get one person to stay on the phone when he calls the 900 numbers and pays them!
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid elevated Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) as the new “joint speaker” of the House of Representatives.”
If only it were true, just think what could be legally and Constitutional achieved with Cruz as the Speaker instead of the corrupt partisan hack leading the Senate now.
EVERYONE who claims to be a Conservative, and that INCLUDES you and I, needs to STAND STRONG.
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