Obstruction-Obsessed McConnell To Democrats: If You ‘Think It’s Bad Now, Wait Till Next Year’

[redirish28]

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/12/21/mcconnell-dems/


The 111th Congress witnessed a record amount of Republican obstruction. Wielding an unprecedented number of filibusters, the GOP waged war against the Democratic agenda to defeat Obama, apparently viewing unemployed workers, judicial nominees, service members, and even 9/11 rescue workers as collateral damage. As Congress entered the lame-duck session, Senate Republicans threw ‘operation obstruction’ into overdrive. In a rare moment of honesty, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) openly admitted that the GOP stalling tactics on publicly-supported legislation were nothing more than an attempt “to run out the clock.” And even as the lame duck lurches to a close, “angst-ridden” Democrats better gird their sanity for another round because, according to a chuckling Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), “if they think it’s bad now, wait till next year“:

“There’s much for them to be angst-ridden about,” McConnell said with a chuckle. “If they think it’s bad now, wait till next year.”

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And we have two years of these asses....:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[gratuitous]

1. The country can go fuck itself

The Republicans are playing a game, and by their lights, they're winning.

[rfranklin]

2. And that fact should be used against them...

or we could compromise....

[FiveGoodMen]

3. Democrats: Set up as many communication channels as possible

Twitter, use friendly news outlets, buy your own broadcast time, whatever you can do.

EVERY time they obstruct, make sure that the average citizen says, "What AGAIN!?"

Play the game like you want to win it.

For a change.

[villager]

10. "Play the game like you want to win it." What? The Democrats!?

n/t

[Hawkeye-X]

4. All the Dems has to do is remove the dual-track method before he filibusters

and it'll be easy to point out to the entire country who's really at fault.

[rgbecker]

5. Could you explain the dual-track method?

I'm not up on that. Thanks,

[Hawkeye-X]

14. Sure.. Ironically enough, it was introduced by the late Sen. Robert Byrd

The dual-track system is a practice allowed the majority leader — with the unanimous consent of the Senate or the approval of the minority leader — to set aside whatever was being debated on the Senate floor and move immediately to another item on the agenda.

By removing the dual-track system, the Senate business can be halted by one big dumbass who has the balls to filibuster or attempt to filibuster, then they would have to resolve that filibuster before moving on to the next item on the legislative agenda. All work is halted...

Because dual-tracking is a Senate practice, not a formal rule, the majority leader, Harry Reid, could end tracking at any time. By doing so, the Democrats would transform the filibuster and recover their opportunity to govern effectively.

The new-school filibuster would preserve minority rights in the Senate, while imposing significant costs on obstructionist members, changing the calculus that causes today’s logjam. Stuck on the Senate floor, filibustering senators couldn’t meet with lobbyists or attend campaign fund-raising events; they couldn’t do much of anything, really, until their filibuster ended.

After all, filibusters historically broke when public opinion went against the Senate minority. If the Democratic leadership eliminated the dual-track system, serial, single-issue filibusters would give us an opportunity to see where the country actually stands on issues like health care reform and financial regulation — and where the Senate should stand.

(I paraphrased it from the article found here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/opinion/10martin.html?_r=1 )

DU link to that... http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x51481

[jmowreader]

6. This goes without saying...

but SINCE we have Republicans on record as saying they're going to filibuster even more heavily than they already do, this might be a good time to do the nuclear option.

There are two risks here:
Risk 1 is that we're eventually going to get another Republican senate, and then we're all screwed.
Risk 2, which is worse, is that the Republicans are going to allow the United States to collapse into itself if we worry about Risk 1.

[Thor_MN]

7. I'm not a violent person,

But I'd sure enjoy seeing Chinless Bitch get slapped around in a cage match.

[notadmblnd]

8. What does it take to be charged with sedition?

[Monique1]

9. What the Dems should do

block everything the republics want to do. Just follow those republics!

[Hannah Bell]

12. attend a peta rally.

[alex cross]

11. Well of course that's what will happen. Did anyone expect them to

just acquiesce?

If a Democratic Senator had made the same announcement during the Bush administration we would be erecting statues to him or her in the town square.

Denigrate McConnell all you want, but someone should offer to buy a little of his spine for a transplant.

[Flubadubya]

18. Oh sure... All Hail The Mighty McConnell!

The Dems need to be "just like him"... NOT!! :puke:

[pacalo]

20. The Bush administration needed more than that: straight jackets & a padded room...

ceriainly NOT an oval office & a red phone.

Just look at how twisted the thinking of their defending "patriots" has become because they, like the gum-smacking Britney Spears said of him, "believe they should just, you know, um, have faith & believe in what the president says."

The new brand of "Republicism" is not about being "conservative" in any sense of the word. They've driven this country off the cliff with their radicalism. Fail, fail, fail.

[HughBeaumont]

24. Well, it's easy to "have a spine" . . . .

. . . when you're on the side of corporations and their media machine, which spray-paints any policy, politician or idea slightly to the left of Max Baucus as "BIG GUB'MINT!", "counter-productive" and/or "Old Soviet". Their propaganda went into hyperdrive once they knew they were losing 2008. And it worked, because half of America is stupid.

[whathehell]

13. Reid and others are planning

filibuster reform of some kind...He's been interviewed about it

in the context of the new congress and believes he can get the changes through with 51 votes.

I sure as hell hope so...It should have been done awhile ago, but one can still hope.:patriot:

[Arkana]

15. Frog-faced asshole.

Way to serve your constituents, Mitch.

[jemelanson]

16. Mitch and his gang of thugs answer to their Corporate Owners not

to the people. The are paid for corporate shills nothing more.

[pacalo]

17. The way I look at it, I'd be happy if the Democrats will obstruct any Republican legislation.

I'd rather legislation come to a complete halt for two years than to have any new destructive legislation.

And let these petty grade-school minds continue to crow about their intentions; the American public have had it up to here with their behavior.

[bluestate10]

22. Democrats must focus on winning the PR battle.

Democrats let republicans off the sound-bite hook and paid for that at midterms. Time to show independents that went republican the empty suits they voted for.

[pacalo]

23. I agree! Without the Democrats' hammering out the truth in a big way,

people not paying attention are left only hearing the Republicans' spin & lies for an explanation.

It's particularly important that Obama take the lead. Whatever he says or does is reported & discussed by the media. He could help a lot in dispelling the ridiculous spin.

[Angry Dragon]

19. The man should be tried for treason

he has stated that he has no intention to do his job
and that is to pass laws to better the situation of the American people
He has broken his oath to the people and the Constitution

[pacalo]

21. I'll go further than that: he & his entire radical party should be tried for treason.

There's no more appropriate term than "treason" to describe a radical cabal conspiring to bankrupt this country for the purpose of eliminating Democratic programs that have been in place & worked well (except for the government using it for its own rainy-day bank account, which is criminal, imo) for 72 years.

They're trying to privatize everything where they see private corporations could make some money for the CEOS at the expense of those on whose votes they depend. Big money talks, & that's all the Republicans want to protect.

[Unvanguard]

25. That's why they're NOT waiting until next year, silly. n/t