Reid: GOP Should 'Stop Crying About Reconciliation'
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) began to make the case on Tuesday for using a majority-vote process to move the final piece of health care reform through the Senate and he slammed the procedure's GOP critics. Known as budget reconciliation, the maneuver requires 51 votes and can't be filibustered.The GOP has been demanding that Democrats take reconciliation off the table in advance of a bipartisan health care summit on Thursday.
"I would recommend they go back and look at history. Since 1981, reconciliation has been used 21 times," Reid told reporters after the weekly lunch with his Democratic caucus.
He insisted that Democrats would go to the bipartisan summit with an open mind and attempt to win Republican support, but if that didn't happen, "nothing's off the table."
"Realistically, they should stop crying about reconciliation as if it's never been done before," Reid advised the GOP. It's been done in almost every Congress. And they're the ones who used it more than anyone else."
Reid then rattled off a list of Republican legislative achievements that were pushed through the Senate. "Most of the stuff in the Contract for America was done with reconciliation; tax cuts, done with reconciliation; Medicare [prescription drug benefits], done with reconciliation," said Reid.
Things are happening fast and furious. Don't get negative people, you need to sign everything that comes into your inbox from the progressive organizations, you need to call the White House and the Senators who have not signed the public option letter. My Senator Menendez signed it! Our voices ARE being heard FINALLY!
There are 290 pieces of legislation the House has passed that are sitting in a drawer in the Senate chamber, When you say nothing is getting done it's because of the obstructionist Congress! After reconciliation is used for the HC bill I think it will be used for the other pieces of legislation too.
Here's a bit of news from Dennis Kucinich,
Congress could temporarily lower the age at which Americans can claim Social Security benefits as a jobs bill, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) said Sunday.
Kucinich, a liberal Democrat from the Cleveland area, said a $15 billion proposal he's floating would create 1 million jobs for the U.S. economy.
read the rest here
We all know Scott Brown voted yes on the jobs bill, I knew the conservatives would be furious. here's a bit from Huffington Post,
That(the vote) was enough to earn Brown the Drudge banner, complete with the demon-red tint of betrayal! And, subsequently, Scott Brown's honeymoon came to an end like all political honeymoons: amid hotheaded recriminations on Twitter. Ken Layne at Wonkette documented the carnage.
Over at Scott Brown's Facebook page, the mood is much the same, probably because David Broder hasn't written a column yet telling America that the jobs in this jobs bill are so much more awesome than the jobs that came before them because they are "bipartisan." Some of Brown's fans are giving him some support, but the lion's share of comments read like "LYING LOW LIFE SCUM HYPOCRITE!" and "What a bummer dude. We didn't need another Olympia Snowe," and "BROWN, YOU JUST REMEMBER YOU DOUCHEBAG...WE ARE WATCHING YOU!!!!!!!!!!!! AND YOU FAILED AT THE FIRST CHANCE...YOU SCUM SUCKING ASS!!! GUESS MY 10-15 HOUR WORK DAYS WILL HELP PAY FOR THIS TOTAL BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!"
Isn't that a friggin shame? We have a tiny group of republicans voting on a bill to help the people get back to work and they get massacred! Can you imagine what will be said if any decide to vote yes on HC?? The right wants the status quo for the next 3 years I guess...
