Mitch McConnell is claiming that Harry Reid is intimidating him by threatening filibuster reform if Republicans don’t cease their endless campaign of obstruction.
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McConnell said, “Recently, we’ve seen troubling signs that there are some in the Executive Branch who would use the power of the federal government to intimidate political opponents. For instance, reports that the IRS targeted conservative citizens’ groups for harassing and discriminatory treatment simply because they sought to exercise their First Amendment rights of association and speech. Or during the debate on Obamacare, when the Department of Health and Human Services issued a gag order on insurance plans in an attempt to prevent them from telling their customers about problems with the bill. Now, there are published reports that the same Department is trying to shake down some of those same companies for money so it can try to convince Americans to finally like Obamacare. And over at the FCC, the President’s allies are trying to shut down or make it difficult for people who want to buy advertising to exercise their First Amendment rights to criticize the Administration.”
He continued, “It all points to a culture of political intimidation. But, unfortunately, it doesn’t seem that the culture of intimidation is simply confined to the Executive Branch. The Administration’s allies in the Senate are trying to intimidate their political opponents as well. What I’m talking about, is the persistent threat by the Majority to break the rules of the Senate in order to change the Rules of the Senate—in other words, to use the nuclear option—if they don’t get their way.
Oh no, big bad Harry Reid is threatening the Republicans by suggesting that something be done to stop their obstruction. In the same speech on the Senate floor, McConnell tried to claim that the talk of Republican obstruction was all part of a Democratic power grab, “Let’s be clear. These threats to use the nuclear option because of obstruction are just pretexts for a power grab. The Senate has confirmed 19 of the President’s judicial nominees so far this year. By this point in his second term, President Bush had a grand total of four judicial confirmations.”
What Sen. McConnell didn’t say was that Obama’s judicial nominees have waited an average of 227 days for confirmation compared to 175 days for George W. Bush’s nominees. Chuck Hagel was the first defense secretary nominee ever to be filibustered. Obama’s EPA nominee is being filibuster by Sen. Roy Blunt. In fact, McConnell didn’t bother to mention that Republicans used the filibuster 252 times during Obama’s first term. Senate Republicans are averaging nearly three filibusters a month in so far in 2013.
Harry Reid is “intimidating” Mitch McConnell by suggesting that the rules be changed so that Republicans will be forced to stop gumming up the works of the legislative process. What Mitch McConnell called a culture of intimidation is what the rest of us refer to as a functioning government.
There has been no word yet on McConnell’s other claims that Harry Reid took his lunch money, and knocked his books out of his hands on the way to 6th period study hall, but we should put nothing past noted master of intimidation Harry Reid.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
