After one-on-one with Obama, McConnell vows to slow White House agenda

[madmom]

Source: Washington Post

Thursday, August 5, 2010; 3:57 PM

Fresh off his first one-on-one meeting with President Obama, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) gave a spirited defense Thursday of the importance of the filibuster and -- amid expectations of swelling GOP ranks -- vowed to be a more forceful brake on Obama's agenda after November elections.

Speaking at a breakfast hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, McConnell defended the Senate as an institution and rejected calls from junior Democrats to overhaul the chamber's rules. He said Republicans were able to try to essentially grind the Senate to a halt to block the Democratic legislative agenda.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080505097.html?hpid=topnews

[derby378]

1. What, like he hasn't already?

Honestly, much of the legislation coming out of Capitol Hill looks like something the Republicans would approve of.

[tridim]

2. He's not blocking the Democratic agenda..

He's blocking the majority agenda and the will of the people.

Not surprising that he doesn't get it.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

3. 'Brake'? He'd be a wheel chock. Just 2 of his chins could stop a semi from rolling downhill.

[Evasporque]

26. not a chock a "boot"....

to get it off you have to pay a huge fine in the form of tax cuts for the rich

[county worker]

4. I don't give a damn about being bipartisan with the evil mo fos on the right.

All that gets us is watered down bills with no real change in them.

[cliffordu]

5. Hmm.... I smell lame duck carnage.

Could be the last hurrah for the Dems in this century. Maybe they'll stand up if they are voted out.

Once the corporations start dumping a trillion into elections nationwide we are completely screwn.

[awnobles]

12. I love that smell.

[Bette Noir]

6. So, he admits that he wants the Senate to be completely nonfunctional?

Such honesty is unexpected in a Republican.

They usually try to hide their contempt for democracy.

[Andy823]

11. Or course that's what he wants!

They have to start trying to make "EVERYTHING" fail, so president Obama will fail, so they an try and regain the WH in 2012! They don't care about the country failing, more jobs lost, more people on unemployment, more of Wall Street, big banks and big oil getting away with all our taxpayer dollars, all they care about is getting their "power" back so they can help the rich and screw the poor! And the ironic thing is that so many who will vote republican are NOT rich, and will be hurt in the long run by the republican agenda of helping the rich and the corporations while shafting the rest of the people in this country!

[opihimoimoi]

7. Ya can't make this shit up....WTF is the dude sayin??? Incredible he reached this far in our gov't

The man would not even make it in tribal matters but... on this National level....he is truly inept.

[Vinca]

8. If Republicans slow down any more they'll be pulseless -

like their fearless leader Cheney.

[freebrew]

9. If the position were reversed...

the repugs would have offed him by now.


I still remember the dems that were 'gotten rid of' because they stood in the way of the neo-con agenda.

I guess it's too bad that the left has a sense of decency.

[Doctor_J]

19. Amen

I am hoping to be still around when we actually do something about it.

[JuniperLea]

10. Proving once more and again that it's not about the issues...

But about the man in the White House.

Idiots.

[blueworld]

13. His stupidity is so monumental; he doesn't even understand his own job

If the GOP wants to "block" a WH agenda (heckuva goal, too), they should modify legislation in a bi-partisan fashion.

Simply acting like a large pile of derby horse manure in the middle of a highway is not statesmanship, but it seems to be his idea of civic duty.

Apparently he thinks the venerable halls of the US Congress are a large game of "Red Rover".

What if the GOP reviewed legislation, decided what they didn't like, discussed it with the Dems & came to a compromise? Sorry, my meds are wearing off.

[depakid]

21. He's such an idiot that he's been exponentially more effective at his job than Reid was

Of course, that wouldn't have been difficult.

[blueworld]

22. Well, I get your point, but that isn't his job - & that's MY point

They're supposed to be working for us, not simply & solely against each other. But again, I'm preaching to the choir here.

[FrenchieCat]

23. Actually, he hasn't been more successful than Reid has.......

except to those who wanted Obama to rule as a dictator.

[depakid]

28. He certainly has -based on the record

As minority leader, Reid caved, caved and caved. Even crossed over and voted for egregious right wing policies like the bankruptcy legislation (that's come back to bite citizens AND institutions that promoted it in the ass).

Look at the federal judges- Republicans with almost no minority are blocking them, whereas Democrats with a much larger minority placed some of the most extreme right wing judges (and even demonstrably unethical) in the history of the nation onto the federal bench for life.

Heck of a job, eh?

[No Elephants]

30. Yet, the Democrats elected Reid majority leader If Reid were not

doing what a majority of Democratic Senators wanted him to do, he would not have been able to keep his title as their leader for a month, much less for years.

[judesedit]

14. Get rid of those racist, fascists mcConnell and Boehner

They are nothing but trouble for this country. These slugs are the heads of the republican "DO NOTHING" Congress. Just as corporations can give to the GOP's greedy agendas, so too, can many more give to the democrats. I think the dems will get 3 times more funding.

[RayStar]

15. One man

The repugs just want to hurt one man so badly they care less about the millions of people they are actually hurting.

[unionize]

16. Obama meets McConnell one on one to avoid a confrontation

President Obama seems more dedicated to his pathological
fixation on bipartisanship politics as he courts and woos the
conservatives by publicly apologizing for angering their party
and/or publicly forgiving conservatives who attack him
personally and politically. Meanwhile he has no issues at all
interfering with progressive democrats efforts to legislate
the needs of his promise of "a new era of
responsibility."  Obama has ceded to the conservatives
public demands that weakened health care reform and true
financial regulatory reform. How then is it possible for Obama
to  "restore the vital trust between people and their
government" as he promised?

[Stumbler]

17. And in the spirit of bipartisanship, Obama said he fully supports McConnell's position

*sigh*

[TomCADem]

20. LOL - Now The Republicans Are Liberals Fighting The President's RW Agenda?

DU has jumped the shark.

[tavalon]

18. And this is different from now, how?

[classysassy]

24. The southern citizens keep sending

people of his ilk to Washington,don't those old relics know they are destroying this great nation,just because they can't get over the fact there is a black man in the white house?

[RBInMaine]

25. Mcconnell is pure fucking SCUM.

[Zorra]

27. Dems should bust out the nuclear option and crush useless ignorant twerps like McConnell

into submission.

It's time.

[MadMaddie]

29. I hope Harry Reid gets elected again

however; I think he must be replaced as the Senate Majority leader. I will double down and say that when January comes and they vote for the next 2 year rules Harry won't change the filibuster rule.

There are over 300 bills stalled in Congress because of the Republicans....enough is enough.