Reid calls for "arm-twisting"
Trent Lott throws a tantrum, and Harry Reid has two priceless pieces picked up by a stunned Allah over at Hot Air. The first one comes from NBC:
Even after it failed this morning, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid says there will be an identical procedural vote later today on the immigration reform bill. That vote, which requires 60 for passage, would limit debate and amendments and put the bill on the path to a final vote. It failed earlier 33-63, with all the Republicans and about a third of Democrats voting against Reid.
Moments ago in a off-camera briefing, Reid said if the vote failed again he'd pull the bill from the floor indefinitely saying, "the bill's over with. The bill's gone." He never said it was dead, but indicated he clearly had other priorities to put before the Senate in the coming weeks.
That would be good news, but I'll believe it when I see it. The second story comes from Bloomberg, and it's sickening that it's come down to this:
The Senate's proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration law failed a critical test vote as Democrats urged President George W. Bush to rally Republicans to rescue the legislation.
The 33 votes to limit debate were 27 short of the 60 needed to move toward a final vote on legislation granting legal status to 12 million undocumented aliens. Democrats scheduled another vote for 7:30 p.m. Washington time. Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that if a second vote fails, ``the bill's gone.'' He added, ``What else can I do?''
Reid appealed to Bush to twist the arms of 47 Republicans who voted against limiting debate, saying the legislation's demise would produce headlines that ``the president fails again.''
``It's his bill, it's not our bill,'' Reid told reporters after the vote. ``It can't pass unless we get significant Republican support.''
Good. We appeal to all GOP Senators to hold the line, and kill this today. End it. It is the only sensible move to make. We can start over again from scratch later, but this bill, as it stands, is a disaster and we can't be forced to bear the burden it's demanding. I don't know why everyone is so damned hot-to-trot to approve a faulty bill. This is simply one of the worst pieces of legislation being examined during the Bush years. (The Medicare one wasn't exactly brilliant, and neither was the prescription drug bill.)
The GOP leadership in the Senate has to wake up. If they don't stand together and make sure this bill goes nowhere, 2008 is going to look like a narc getting his @$$ kicked at a biker rally, and we're going to get a Democrat president. That's unacceptable at this stage in our history. We're still at war, and we know what'll happen if an Edwards, a Hillary, or an Obama gets int he Oval Office. We'll be going back to the 10 September mindset that hurt us in the first place.
Publius II
Even after it failed this morning, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid says there will be an identical procedural vote later today on the immigration reform bill. That vote, which requires 60 for passage, would limit debate and amendments and put the bill on the path to a final vote. It failed earlier 33-63, with all the Republicans and about a third of Democrats voting against Reid.
Moments ago in a off-camera briefing, Reid said if the vote failed again he'd pull the bill from the floor indefinitely saying, "the bill's over with. The bill's gone." He never said it was dead, but indicated he clearly had other priorities to put before the Senate in the coming weeks.
That would be good news, but I'll believe it when I see it. The second story comes from Bloomberg, and it's sickening that it's come down to this:
The Senate's proposed overhaul of U.S. immigration law failed a critical test vote as Democrats urged President George W. Bush to rally Republicans to rescue the legislation.
The 33 votes to limit debate were 27 short of the 60 needed to move toward a final vote on legislation granting legal status to 12 million undocumented aliens. Democrats scheduled another vote for 7:30 p.m. Washington time. Democratic Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said that if a second vote fails, ``the bill's gone.'' He added, ``What else can I do?''
Reid appealed to Bush to twist the arms of 47 Republicans who voted against limiting debate, saying the legislation's demise would produce headlines that ``the president fails again.''
``It's his bill, it's not our bill,'' Reid told reporters after the vote. ``It can't pass unless we get significant Republican support.''
Good. We appeal to all GOP Senators to hold the line, and kill this today. End it. It is the only sensible move to make. We can start over again from scratch later, but this bill, as it stands, is a disaster and we can't be forced to bear the burden it's demanding. I don't know why everyone is so damned hot-to-trot to approve a faulty bill. This is simply one of the worst pieces of legislation being examined during the Bush years. (The Medicare one wasn't exactly brilliant, and neither was the prescription drug bill.)
The GOP leadership in the Senate has to wake up. If they don't stand together and make sure this bill goes nowhere, 2008 is going to look like a narc getting his @$$ kicked at a biker rally, and we're going to get a Democrat president. That's unacceptable at this stage in our history. We're still at war, and we know what'll happen if an Edwards, a Hillary, or an Obama gets int he Oval Office. We'll be going back to the 10 September mindset that hurt us in the first place.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 6:47 PM
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