Posted on 07/28/2015 7:56:30 PM PDT by VinL
After a group of GOP senators huddled Tuesday afternoon to discuss the recently released undercover "sting" videos of Planned Parenthood, Republicans unveiled legislation to strip the family planning provider of its federal funding.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fast-tracked the legislation Tuesday night using Rule 14 of Senate procedure, setting up a procedural cloture vote to move the bill to the floor as early as Monday. That all but assures the bill will get a final vote before Senators depart for August recess.
McConnell huddled with Sens. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and a handful of other Republicans Tuesday afternoon to work through details of the bill.
"On the issue of these horrendous videos that we’ve seen with the discussions from Planned Parenthood people, we have a working group ... and it is our plan to have a vote on preceding to a measure that they support sometime before we break for the August recess," McConnell said earlier Tuesday before fast-tracking the bill.
After the meeting, Ernst introduced the legislation, which will defund Planned Parenthood and redirect its federal funds to other women's health organizations.
The push to defund the organization comes after "sting" videos emerged two weeks ago purporting to show Planned Parenthood doctors talking about the illegal sale of fetal body parts after abortions. Planned Parenthood defends its work, saying the videos in fact show doctors discussing reimbursement for the costs incurred for donating fetal tissue for medical research -- a practice that is legal.
Republicans claim the videos are evidence the family planning provider sells the fetal tissue for profit. Some 25 Republican senators signed on to the bill, including Ted Cruz (Texas), John McCain (Ariz.),
(Excerpt) Read more at huffingtonpost.com ...
I dare you to veto it Obama.
This would be a more devastating veto over-ride than any on the horizon.
This is foundational for the libs.
What is wrong with Republican politicians. They are absolutely craven disgraces. Lets engage in a thought experiment. Pretend all the Democrats in the Senate suddenly became Republicans and all the Republicans became Democrats.
What Chuck Schumer and his compatriots would do is start off with a bill that completely defunded Planned Parenthood. Period! The monies wouldn't go anywhere else. The funding would just be eliminated. Then they would negotiate from that there and maybe give some of the funding back to other organizations. That's how people who want to win would act.
If the Pubbies were serious (the likes of Ernst, Midge, etc) why not attach this to the Highway Bill? Then 0 wouldn’t be able to veto it....as easily.
But isn’t this just another step in McConnell’s game to make sure certain bills or amendments have little chance of passage? Cruz attempted to attach an amendment to defund Planned Parenthood to the Highway Bill on Sunday, but McConnell “filled the tree” and would not allow it.
Now as a stand alone bill, the defunding has little chance of reaching the 60 vote threshold, whereas chances of passage as an amendment to the Highway Bill would have been much higher.
McConnell also blocked amendments to end the Congressional Obamacare exception, and to implement Kate’s Law.
They aren’t serious ....they’ll table it and mention new guiedlines, need to be reformed and blah blah blah.....and that will be that. Unless someone keeps it in the news this will flatline when the next news bites bring something else onto the front page.
Doesn't sound like a bill to defend anything.
These were actual (lib) comments made, to the linked article...
Xxxxxxx
Want to incentivize women to go to term? 1. Make pregnancy free. 2. Make children’s medical care to 18 free. 3. Offer free day care. 4. Offer paid maternity leave and guarantee women’s jobs upon return.
Like · Reply · 30 · 50 mins
XxxxxxXxxx
They don’t care about babies. They really just want to punish women for having sex.
Pocket veto because of August recess.
GREAT ..!!!!! Get these baby killers on record.
BIG mistake.
Take time. let the pressure build. Right now with allegations of a doctored video it will look no more than Right v. Left.
What upsets me is that the GOP’s strategy seems to fall into two categories:
1. Do nothing
2. Hit it with a hammer
Years of strategy in Prosecuting cases, arguing in Federal Courts, getting to know many Politicians I have seen how strategy makes a difference.
Let the anger build. But to score voter points for the upcoming debates, etc this is what is going to happen. It will either get filibustered of vetoed and devolve into “he said she said”.
But hey, they never ask me for strategy and the GOP has done it SO well so far, right? Right?
If they were serious they would make Obama veto it, then they would put every Democrat on record voting to support the veto ... then they would beat hell out of Democrats with political ads that would eviscerate the liberals with the straight-up facts and cause conservatives to send them money.
But they won’t do any of this. As you say, there will be a little more theater from them, grave expressions on their sad old faces, much shaking of heads, then they sadly throw up their arms, and conservatives then desert them and the Grand Old Party dies like a mangy, rabid dog in the wilderness whimpering and wondering how it came to this sad end.
If the Democrats were pushing this he would have added it to must pass legislation. Since it is a conservative issue, a show vote will suffice.
It’s time to stop all taxpayer dollars going to these serial baby killers.
More political theatre by the devious MConnell. However, he did not even want to so this. He is backed into a corner on it by pressure from the public? Thanks to Cruz!
Kabuki theatre unless they go nuclear this is not getting 60 votes and they know it
Didn’t he just give a shout out to PP? His DOJ is investigating the filmmaker. What’s a little veto to The Dictator.
McCommie’s phone melted down today.
Pray America is waking
What you say makes perfect sense; however, since McConnell appears to be pathologically devious, he must be aware several moves ahead.
He is responding to pressure and doing the expedient thing. Further, he has shown he really has no care or concern re this issue, so why measure the response. He would do what you suggest if he cared. Looks like he’s
worried about his political image, such as it is.
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