Senate Republicans Block Own Amendments
Find a Conversation
Senate Republicans Block Own Amendments
| Wed, 07-15-2009 - 11:26am |
Senate Republicans Block Own Amendments on Health Care Bill
How Senate Republicans Obstruct Health Care Reform
by: tparty Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 16:48:45 PM EDT
This is a revealing moment from Monday's markup of the health care bill in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee that illustrates the level of procedural obstruction Senate Republicans are willing to rise to in order to impede its progress and in the hopes of killing its momentum.
At the opening of Monday's hearing, Sen. Dodd asked Sen. Enzi (R-WY), the ranking Republican on the committee, if he would agree to accept by unanimous consent a total of 64 Republican amendments. After a whisper from an aide, Enzi, a little perplexed and not a little embarrassed, refused to allow the 64 Republican amendments to be accepted, lowering his voice to mumble, "I think some of our members want votes on some of those." Dodd's visible exasperation and disbelief is priceless.
Sen. Enzi's pitiful performance here is visual proof of the aim of Senate Republicans - which is not to have their amendments heard, voted on, and accepted, but rather to drag out the legislative process as long as possible on health care reform. And they have many reasons to want to do so, as Brian Beutler at TPM notes:
This is just one example and there are certainly many more ways for those in both Houses opposed to the bill generally and the public option specifically to impede its progress in the coming days. For instance, work on the Senate HELP bill, delayed as it has been, is far ahead of that on the Senate Finance bill.
And with some Democrats, like Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), using the bill's uncertain fate in the Senate to pre-emptively excuse themselves for signaling that they fully intend to vote for a bill without a public plan, whipping the public option in the House is likely the only shot progressives inside and outside of Congress have to ensure a public option remains in the final bill.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nz5AmhI9g7o
Piece by Connecticut blogger......
How Senate Republicans Obstruct Health Care Reform
by: tparty Tue Jul 14, 2009 at 16:48:45 PM EDT
This is a revealing moment from Monday's markup of the health care bill in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee that illustrates the level of procedural obstruction Senate Republicans are willing to rise to in order to impede its progress and in the hopes of killing its momentum.
At the opening of Monday's hearing, Sen. Dodd asked Sen. Enzi (R-WY), the ranking Republican on the committee, if he would agree to accept by unanimous consent a total of 64 Republican amendments. After a whisper from an aide, Enzi, a little perplexed and not a little embarrassed, refused to allow the 64 Republican amendments to be accepted, lowering his voice to mumble, "I think some of our members want votes on some of those." Dodd's visible exasperation and disbelief is priceless.
Sen. Enzi's pitiful performance here is visual proof of the aim of Senate Republicans - which is not to have their amendments heard, voted on, and accepted, but rather to drag out the legislative process as long as possible on health care reform. And they have many reasons to want to do so, as Brian Beutler at TPM notes:
if Congress enters recess with weeks of work left to do, party leaders may have to make a call; and those who oppose passing health care through the reconciliation process -- Republicans and some Democrats -- might be trying to run out the clock -- to call leadership's bluff, or, at the very least, to touch off a game of legislative chicken.
This is just one example and there are certainly many more ways for those in both Houses opposed to the bill generally and the public option specifically to impede its progress in the coming days. For instance, work on the Senate HELP bill, delayed as it has been, is far ahead of that on the Senate Finance bill.
And with some Democrats, like Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), using the bill's uncertain fate in the Senate to pre-emptively excuse themselves for signaling that they fully intend to vote for a bill without a public plan, whipping the public option in the House is likely the only shot progressives inside and outside of Congress have to ensure a public option remains in the final bill.
If it doesn't succeed, if those who say they support a public option - like John Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes, and Chris Murphy - refuse to draw a line in the sand now in the full knowledge that a public option is likely to be ripped out of the final bill if they don't, it's silly not to expect the delaying and obstructing of Mike Enzi and his allies in the Senate to win out over progressive "good intentions" and strategic ineptitude in the end.
More see link........
http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/diary/11565/how-senate-republicans-obstruct-health-care-reform



Liberals have total control of the House and Senate. Republicans can't block anything.
That doesn't stop liberals from crying. :(
If the entire House and Senate were Democrat, liberals would still complain about Republicans. They are a bogeyman for the press and for liberals generally.
You might want to try something novel next time... like reading the article provided.
At the opening of Monday's hearing, Sen. Dodd asked Sen. Enzi (R-WY), the ranking Republican on the committee, if he would agree to accept by unanimous consent a total of 64 Republican amendments. After a whisper from an aide, Enzi, a little perplexed and not a little embarrassed, refused to allow the 64 Republican amendments to be accepted, lowering his voice to mumble, "I think some of our members want votes on some of those." Dodd's visible exasperation and disbelief is priceless.
So yes, in the situation actually discussed in the article a Republican could and did block 64 amendments from being accepted by the committee by unanimous consent.
See what a difference actually reading the article makes?
"
BTW, not all Democrats are liberals, just as not all Republicans are conservatives.
"
As I understand the situation, there were a number of REPUBLICAN amendments which could have gone into the bill by having the ranking REPUBLICAN on the HELP committee accept by unanimous consent. And he wouldn't do it because that would have meant that the bill would go forward with both Republican input and Republican consent. Both those. Input and consent. They could say they made their mark that way.
Instead, they have chosen the route of obstructionism (nothing new there) rather than problem-solving. It's not liberal whining to point out that the Republicans have become the party of "no". No morals, no values, no integrity and sure as hit, no interest in the needs of the nation.
You would think that after they got their arses soundly whupped in November that they would understand their platform is listing badly. At this point, the only thing which MIGHT redeem them is the implosion of Democrats (which certainly is possible if they follow in the steps of the Republicans themselves). But IF the Democrats manage to learn lessons, avoid hubris, and find realistic solutions, the Republicans will have taken one more step towards extinction.
Jabberwocka
Not exactly.
"You might want to try something novel next time... like reading the article provided."
That's a novel idea or watch the video which takes is even less effort.
You are wrong.