Posted on 12/23/2009 8:59:03 AM PST by ConjunctionJunction
Some commentators have accused Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of caving to Democratic pressure by agreeing to hold the vote on final passage of the national health care bill on Christmas Eve morning as opposed to the originally-planned 7 p.m. "Mitch McConnell Surrenders," reads one blog headline. "McConnell Weasels Out," reads another.
But according to a well placed GOP Senate source, it was Majority Leader Harry Reid who approached McConnell in hopes of holding the vote earlier, and McConnell, who was prepared to go ahead with the evening vote, got some key concessions from Reid in return for agreeing to move the vote up a few hours.
There's no doubt that McConnell, with just 40 Republican votes, holds the weak hand in negotiating with Reid. But according to the source, in exchange for agreeing to hold the vote on Christmas Eve morning instead of evening, McConnell got Reid to agree to hold a high-profile debt-limit vote next month -- just before the president's State of the Union address -- instead of burying the issue later, as Democrats had wanted. In addition, McConnell got Reid to agree to showcase a number of deficit-related Republican amendments, forcing Democrats to vote on issues they had hoped to avoid.
The Senate has still not voted on a bill to raise the nation's debt ceiling. It has to do so by tomorrow, before lawmakers leave for the year. Democrats have taken hits for wanting to raise the limit by about $1.8 trillion; raising it by that amount would allow them to avoid another vote on raising the debt ceiling before next year's elections. They also hoped to hide the measure inside a conference report ...
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
The accounting tricks used in Obama/Reid/PelosiCare would make the folks at Enron and Bernie Madoff blush!
I don’t doubt it but is this really true?
I hope McConnell knows what he’s doing. I’m one who doesn’t blame him for the fix we’re in today. That can almost wholly be attributed to ignorance of a majority of Americans.
“He is a very polished liar.”
You can’t shine sh_t... and the average person knows it.
...a very interesting article / thread.
*blush*
I coulda been wrong on my previous posts.
Translation. He caved.
All the supposed Reid “concessions” involve style vs. substance.
If you believe this, you probably also believe the latest Talking Points about the wonderful benefits government healthcare is bringing your way.
I’d like to know why McConnell thinks Reid’s word is worth anything.
I’d like to know why McConnell thinks Reid’s word is worth anything.
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Me, too.
This is utterly pathetic and in keeping with the GOP way of doing business with the left.
Keep your aim trained on the 60-vote side and DON'T LET UP. DON'T BE DISTRACTED.
Ray Stevens We the People
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc_-L4fyLUo
Republicans only look good because they are standing next to Democrats. Both Party’s are weak, power hungry and corrupt. Sure there are exceptions, but, for the most part I believe our elected officials don not represent the will of the people anymore.
More than ever I believe we need a third party with core values like Palin, Reagan and our founding fathers, but with communication skills that can attract center and center left voters (the ones that really have conservative values when you ask questions to drill down and reveal their core values). I really do believe they exist.
Common sense, decency and a strong sense of right an wrong seem to be slipping through our fingers. We need to stop the slide.
Does anyone think Reid will abide by his agreement? What BS!
Thanks to the 2006 and 2008 elections, McConnell has a very weak hand. That will change next year, if conservatives do what they have to do.
someone in another thread made a good point, to wit: The early vote will get the news on the tv and radio by noontime and not after supper, when it would have been ignored by all heading out to Christmas Eve events.
Are there any real conservatives out there who will run against these weaklings in the primaries?
Replace them all.
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