Senate Democrats powered by the liberal caucus blocked a Republican bill that would have funded the government but defunded Planned Parenthood.
Two days ago, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) called the vote a waste of time, “On Thursday we’re going to be in a real difficult time squeeze. We’re going to have another ideological abortion-related vote on Planned Parenthood. And then we’re going to have to try to figure out a way to fund the government. This responsibility is on the Republicans. They control the House, they control the Senate. It’s not our responsibility. We’ve helped in any way we can. We’ve not held up anything procedurally. We want to move forward and get the government funded. But we’re at a crossroads here. I’m not sure that we can make it with the time set, because of all these unnecessary votes that have been scheduled by the Republican Leader these last couple of weeks.”
Mitch McConnell tried to blame Democrats for not funding the government, “I know Democrats have already blocked virtually every bill to fund the government this year, but I’m asking them to allow the Senate to fund the government now.”
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The truth is that the vote on defunding Planned Parenthood was another empty gesture by McConnell that was designed to exploit the address to Congress by Pope Francis to score cheap partisan political points. Sen. McConnell’s brief tenure as Majority Leader has been defined by a consistent refusal pass meaningful legislation while using the Senate to try to protect his position as Majority Leader.
The bill would have cost the taxpayers $130 million, but Senate Republicans have repeatedly demonstrated that they are willing to throw away their supposedly fiscally conservative values away if it means allowing big government to tell women what they can do with their bodies.
The legislation was dead on arrival because President Obama had already threatened to veto it before the Senate voted. None of this matters to Mitch McConnell. The Senate Majority Leader is piling up an impressive record of defeats, as Democrats will not be bullied into supporting his out of step agenda.
Republicans are now going to try to blame the government shutdown that they will have caused on Democrats. Republicans are setting themselves up for political disaster because they refuse to understand that Senate Democrats will stand with the majority of Americans against their unpopular agenda.
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
