Senate GOP letter calls for blocking most bills

[babylonsister]

Cripes, can they be more blatant??? And Americans are A-OK with this?? :grr:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/30/AR2010113007532.html

Senate GOP letter calls for blocking most bills

By DAVID ESPO
The Associated Press
Tuesday, November 30, 2010; 10:25 PM


WASHINGTON -- Senate Republicans intend to block action on virtually all Democratic-backed legislation unrelated to tax cuts and government spending in the current postelection session of Congress, officials said Tuesday, adding that the leadership has quietly collected signatures on a letter pledging to carry out the strategy.

If carried out, it would doom Democratic-backed attempts to end the Pentagon's practice of discharging openly gay members of the military service and give legal status to young illegal immigrants who join the military or attend college.

snip//

Democrats' chances of passing politically charged legislation will dim when the new Congress convenes in January, since Republicans will take control of the House and gain more Senate seats.

The letter comes after comments by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and others in his party that the voters made it clear in the elections they want lawmakers to focus on economic issues.

"Despite what some Democrats in Congress have suggested, voters did not signal they wanted more cooperation on the Democrats' big-government policies that most Americans oppose," McConnell and incoming House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, wrote in an op-ed article published in the Washington Post.

[TayTay]

1. Republicans to Unemployed Americans: Drop Dead

and sooner, rather than later

[babylonsister]

2. Hey!

Ms. TayTay, how are YOU? Long time, no see! And you're right, the gop doesn't give a whit about us little people. It's so sad that average Americans are being so brainwashed or are just so apathetic they don't care.

[TayTay]

7. Doing ok

Still wrestlng with unemployment. But, hanging in there. How about you?

[babylonsister]

12. I'm doing okay;

I have a dinky p/t job, and I'm grateful for it. Lots of changes in the past year I'm dealing with, but I'm not unhappy, so that's a good thing. :hug:

[OHdem10]

3. Is anyone surprised??

[Pryderi]

4. Hey, I thought that meeting with President Obama was leading to cooperation? Oh pooey.

[Parker CA]

5. Well here's the pitch right down the middle for the Dems to swing at and knock out of the park.

Will they do it though? This needs an extremely direct and forceful response. No more tiptoeing around and negotiating with these fu@kers.

[progressoid]

9. Well then the Democrats had better step up to the plate.

Right now, all I see is a lot of spitting and scratching in the dugout.

[Mz Pip]

6. Assholes

Is this the change the people voted for in 2010? I kind of doubt it.

I really wish the Democrats could get a coherant message together and kick these idiots to the curb.

[babylonsister]

8. What blows my mind is that they are crowing about this letter all

over cable. They are actually proud of it. :nuke:

[ProSense]

10. Reid On McConnell's Final Coup De Grâce

Via TPM: Reid On McConnell's Final Coup De Grâce

"My Republican colleagues...know that the true effect of this letter is to prevent the Senate from acting on many important issues that have bipartisan support. With this letter, they have simply put in writing the political strategy that the Republicans pursued this entire Congress: Namely, obstruct, delay action on critical matters, and then blame the Democrats for not addressing the needs of American people. Very cynical, but very obvious. Very transparent.

[babylonsister]

11. I just hope they have something up their sleeves to combat

the recalcitrant gop, but I'm not hopeful.

[Parker CA]

13. So what's our next move? The words only mean something if they're backed up with forceful action. nt

[Andy823]

14. What needs to be done

Is to keep congress in session with no break for Christmas. Make the damned republicans stay there, on the floor and force them to show their true loyalty to the rich and the big corporations. This is getting to the point where if democrats don't stand up to these assholes we will lose both houses and the WH in 2012! I have supported the president since he was elected, but now it's time for him to step up and take charge of things and not let the republicans push him around! Call their bluff and if they want to be assholes, I say make damned sure the public knows who it is that is screwing things up, and that means any of the blue dog democrats who vote with republicans!

I say let the all the tax cuts expire and force the republicans to explain themselves to the public! Make anyone who voted no on the unemployment extensions stand up and say why it's OK for tax cuts for the rich, and no way to pay for them, but not OK to help those who really need it! It's not time to back down, it's time to stand up and knock the crap out of the republicans before it's to late!

[Proud Liberal Dem]

15. I'm seeming to remember

that Boehner was pretty adamant about warning Democrats not to do anything during this lame duck session of Congress sometime before the election. However, of course, he and the rest of Republicans signing on to this *petition* have a LOT of chutzpah (not to mention unmitigated GALL) suggesting that members of Congress should show up to work as scheduled but simply refuse to do work- and then expect to get PAID for NOT doing their jobs (and throwing more people off of the unemployment rolls in the process), especially when so many Americans are out of work and struggling to get by and would GLADLY be working a job (if they could find one). However, since Boehner seems confused about what the "message" from "The American People" actually was during this last election, I'll be more than happy to clarify it for him:

Republicans did NOT receive a mandate to push for a permanent extension of the upper class Bush Tax Cuts! The wealthy don't need them, the wealthy aren't going to do anything different with them now that they DIDN'T do with them during the past 6-7 years (namely, they aren't going to use those cuts to expand their businesses and hire more people), and, most importantly, they're NOT paid for, which is something that Republicans always seem to care about it so much when it comes to Democratic proposals, so the onus should be all on them to explain why they want these so badly even though they're going to add further to the "deficit" that they also seem to care about so much. Republicans, hypocrisy is thy name.

Republicans did NOT receive a mandate to block the new START Treaty! And no, Senator Murkowski, you don't NEED George W. Bush (nor his father) to come out in favor of it. If you need George W. Bush's "endorsement" of anything to decide how you're going to vote on something (instead of simply listening to your constituents), then you have an ass-backwards view of what your job is all about and you should seriously be considering retirement! Otherwise, just come right out and say that you're going to vote against it and quit the damned charade already! :eyes:

Republicans did NOT receive a mandate to stop DADT repeal! A majority of the public and the military have no problems with openly gay and lesbian soldiers serving. I'm mostly speaking to you, John. Listen to your wife and daughter on this one.

In fact, they did NOT receive a MANDATE at all from "the American People" in this last election suffice it to say that they most people DO want Congress to work together more in terms of helping with the economic recovery and, more importantly, helping create new jobs for people to work in (though the government itself has some limitations in this regard). At any rate, there's been nothing "spoken" by the American people that suggested that the public thinks that Congress should just go home or not do anything now that the midterms are over.

Anybody willing to bet good money that if the Republicans were losing the House, they'd be burning the midnight oil trying to get as much of their "last minute items" signed into law as possible? I rest my case.
:mad: :nuke:

[Andy823]

16. Good points.

It seems that no matte what the public "REALLY" wants, the republicans in congress make up their own "mandates" and then simply say it's what the people want! They are trying to make the democrats back down and cater to their every wish, and that's just plain stupid if the democrats let them get away with this! If the democrats don't stand up to these idiots, it will be the same thing for the next two years, and that will allow republicans to take over both houses, and maybe even the WH come 2012!

I say let them shut down the government, let tax cuts expire for everyone, and let the republicans try and explain it to the public! Democrats need to get out on all the TV talks shows and hammer the republicans for what they are doing. If I were Reid I would keep them in session right through the holidays, make them stand up and tell the people why they are doing this and force them to show just how much they are bought and paid for by the rich and big corporations!

[avebury]

17. Load up Tax Cut Extension bill

The Dems should write a bill to extend the tax cut bills for the wealthy for one year and load it up with everything that the Rethugs and Tea Baggers hate like repeal of DADT and tell the Repubs and Tea Baggers it is all or none. If the Rethugs and Tea Baggers rebel then I would fight tooth and nail on any kind of tax break for the wealthy.