I, for one, am tired of politicians putting politics ahead of the good of the country. Congress had an opportunity to extend unemployment benefits, and yet cynically chose not to do it.
This time, however, I’m not talking about Republicans. I’m talking about Democrats, who chose to use this as an opportunity to set the narrative, rather than doing what they ostensibly believe in.
While grandstanding at the podium in favor of the legislation, House Democratic leaders pushed the legislation through the fast track. Why? Because it requires two-thirds approval, and they knew they didn’t have the votes to get 275 yeas.
I don’t care what party is doing this. It’s cynical, and it’s wrong. It’s lying to the American public, because this sleight of hand created the headline narrative that Republicans blocked the extension of unemployment benefits. Technically, it’s true, but it’s as misleading as claiming Nancy Pelosi was hiding the PPACA legislation from the public.
Republicans and Democrats usually are playing different games on the field. Yesterday, the House Democrats played the Republican game. Is this what you want?
Related Articles
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- House Votes Against Jobless Benefits Extension (blogs.abcnews.com)
- House GOP blocks bill to extend jobless benefits (msnbc.msn.com)
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Michael, the only reason I vote for Democrats is that they are a less stinky body than the Republicans. They are a hair shy of being the same Corporatist MFers as the Repubes.
I always chuckle when someone calls Obama a socialist. They obviously don’t have a clue what the word means.
Michael:
I don’t care what party is doing this. It’s cynical, and it’s wrong. It’s lying to the American public, because this sleight of hand created the headline narrative that Republicans blocked the extension of unemployment benefits. Technically, it’s true, but it’s as misleading as claiming Nancy Pelosi was hiding the PPACA legislation from the public.
Actually, both statements are completely true .
If a majority of GOP were not voting against extension, it would have passed. We need to start a serious discussion about whether it is time to finally put a limit back in what is supposed to be time limited unemployment insurance.
The Dem leadership did indeed draft Obamacare in secret, hiding it from the rest of Congress, the media and the people until a couple days before a midnight vote. None of the Dems apart from the leadership read the bill they voted to enact.
Before I can make a determination on this, I have to know if there would actually have been time, in the face of concerted opposition by the GOP, to get the bill through the process without going “fast track”. After all, we’re talking about expiration in a little over a week.
The Republicans might be able to push a bill through in the available time, but it’s not a case of someone in a persistent vegetative state being taken off life support — this would affect the quality of life of real people, so they don’t care.
So, unless you can swear, Michael, that the bill could have been shepherded through the House while the GOP sniped and tried to get it amended to extinction, I’m going to have to call this one uncertain.
shortchain, this congress could go to a Grange supper, have seconds on the baked beans and sauerkraut and still be unable to pass gas. There will be nothing passed in the lame duck and damned near nothing for the next two years. We could be ruthlessly attacked by Iceland and they would be unable to declare war or stop finger pointing long enough to treat the victims………you want to hope and pray we do not suffer some major disaster or we will all see what we have created.
The Dem leadership did indeed draft Obamacare in secret, hiding it from the rest of Congress, the media and the people until a couple days before a midnight vote.
It’s time for another right-wing myth to die. Just in case you are not aware of how the government works, Bart, here’s a quick primer.
1) All bills are written by one or two people in the Senate and/or the House and their staff. There was nothing in the least unusual about the drafting of the PPACA bill.
2) The Republicans shut the Democrats out of the government completely for the first six years of the Bush Administration. For a Republican now to complain about being on the outside looking in is the absolute height of disingenuous BS.
3) Republicans were included in the negotiations and shaping of the PPACA bill at every step of the way. Over a hundred Republican provisions were included in the final bill. For a Republican now to complain about being on the outside looking in is the absolute height of disingenuous BS.
4) The Republicans made it plain they were going to vote against the final bill no matter what was in it. As I said, they had made well over a hundred suggestions that were included in the final bill and they voted against their own suggestions every time they came up for a vote. For a Republican now to complain about being on the outside looking in is the absolute height of disingenuous BS.
5) The provisions in the final bill had been debated openly for a year or more. There was nothing in the final bill that had not been public for months. There were no final secret deals. All Senators and Congresspeople have enormous staffs who read the bills and mark up any passages of interest. There was more than sufficient time, and there was more time allowed than for most bills. For a Republican now to complain about being on the outside looking in is the absolute height of disingenuous BS.
Bart, you are simply spreading yet another piece of empty Republican propaganda. You lost. Deal with it.
Oh, but you can’t deal with it. Because you know better. As you said on another thread, “I know what is good for you rabble”. Your sneering anti-liberty, authoritarian, elitist, totalitarian agitprop has no place in a modern democracy.
Not only did Bart say, “I know what is good for you rabble” on another thread, but he was grinning maniacally as he typed it.
Shrinkers:
Bills of Obamacare’s size usually go through a half dozen committees, where there are hearings and extensive amendment. If there is any desire for bipartisanship, the opposition leadership is also involved in writing the bill.
The idea that the GOP Congress shut out the Dems is laughable. They needed Dem votes to enact anything. The tax cuts, NCLB, Medicare Part D, the Patriot Act and the authorizations for both wars all went through the process above with bipartisan writing.
The GOP did not write a single line of Obamacare. It is true though that the Dems based Obamacare on Romneycare and took some socialist suggestions by a couple GOP congress critters from back during the Hillarycare debates. However, that does not change the indisputable fact that the enacted Obamacare bill was written in secret without any contribution from the GOP or even the Dem backbenchers who voted on it without reading it. Never before in congressional history has that happened with a bill of this size.
@Bart:
You got one sentence into your post that is supported by the evidence. Either I should congratulate you, or point out the slip-up.
Bart, I notice that you frequently use the word “socialist” 1) as if it’s a bad thing, and 2) as if you know what the word means. My question to you is: Why?