Senate GOP Pledge to Block Dems' Legislation
Twitter/Oatmeal
Updated 4:13 p.m. ET
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, according to a letter recently delivered to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledging to carry out that strategy, which was signed by all 42 Republican Senators.
"We write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers," reads the letter.
"With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities. While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike," the letter continues.
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.
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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made both measures a priority as Democrats attempt to enact legislation long sought by groups that supported them in the recent midterm elections.
The revelation came as a handful of Republican leaders met President Obama at the White House Tuesday, for what Mr. Obama described as a "productive" discussion about how to bridge gaps between the two parties on tax cuts and other policy matters.
Mr. Obama and the senior GOP members emerged from the White House with an agreement to begin negotiations on a compromise to "break through this logjam," as the president put it, on how to extend the Bush-era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year, but CBS Radio News White House correspondent Mark Knoller says, in reality, they found little common ground.
In a statement on Wednesday, Reid lambasted the GOP for employing what he described as a strategy of obstruction. "Republicans have simply put in writing the political strategy they have pursued over the last two years: obstruct and delay critical help for struggling Americans, and then blame others for the problems they refuse to solve," Reid said. "This strategy is very cynical but very obvious and transparent."
A nuclear arms treaty with Russia that President Obama wants ratified would not be affected by the GOP Senators' letter, since any debate would take place under different rules than those that apply to legislation. Even so, its passage is not assured as Republicans are seeking concessions from the White House.
Putin: Resistance to Nuclear START Treaty "Dumb"
Medvedev Warns of New Arms Race if Treaty Stalls
"The START treaty will be done by Christmas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said definitively, calling the international disarmament pact, "tremendously important for our security."
In a Wednesday press briefing, Gibbs added that he was "not hung up on their letter."
Senate Democrats need 60 votes to overcome any delaying tactics, and the commitment of all 42 Republican Senators will likely thwart their legislative efforts.
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.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 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, according to a letter recently delivered to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pledging to carry out that strategy, which was signed by all 42 Republican Senators.
"We write to inform you that we will not agree to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to any legislative item until the Senate has acted to fund the government and we have prevented the tax increase that is currently awaiting all American taxpayers," reads the letter.
"With little time left in this Congressional session, legislative scheduling should be focused on these critical priorities. While there are other items that might ultimately be worthy of the Senate's attention, we cannot agree to prioritize any matters above the critical issues of funding the government and preventing a job-killing tax hike," the letter continues.
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.
What's Next in "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Fight?
Pentagon: Repeal of Ban on Gays is Low Risk
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made both measures a priority as Democrats attempt to enact legislation long sought by groups that supported them in the recent midterm elections.
The revelation came as a handful of Republican leaders met President Obama at the White House Tuesday, for what Mr. Obama described as a "productive" discussion about how to bridge gaps between the two parties on tax cuts and other policy matters.
Mr. Obama and the senior GOP members emerged from the White House with an agreement to begin negotiations on a compromise to "break through this logjam," as the president put it, on how to extend the Bush-era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year, but CBS Radio News White House correspondent Mark Knoller says, in reality, they found little common ground.
In a statement on Wednesday, Reid lambasted the GOP for employing what he described as a strategy of obstruction. "Republicans have simply put in writing the political strategy they have pursued over the last two years: obstruct and delay critical help for struggling Americans, and then blame others for the problems they refuse to solve," Reid said. "This strategy is very cynical but very obvious and transparent."
A nuclear arms treaty with Russia that President Obama wants ratified would not be affected by the GOP Senators' letter, since any debate would take place under different rules than those that apply to legislation. Even so, its passage is not assured as Republicans are seeking concessions from the White House.
Putin: Resistance to Nuclear START Treaty "Dumb"
Medvedev Warns of New Arms Race if Treaty Stalls
"The START treaty will be done by Christmas," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said definitively, calling the international disarmament pact, "tremendously important for our security."
In a Wednesday press briefing, Gibbs added that he was "not hung up on their letter."
Senate Democrats need 60 votes to overcome any delaying tactics, and the commitment of all 42 Republican Senators will likely thwart their legislative efforts.
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.
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Bullsh!#.
oldbasicgal, you are the queen of assumption. You are also a petty, angry harridan who does not even have the basic open minded attitude needed to understand what other people say. You constantly turn other people's comments into things they did NOT post.
slappy_mcghee is correct about the Democrat and Republican thing. But I guess you know people better than they know themselves...huh? How arrogant and how wrong! Some here may tolerate your juvenile and absolutely biased to the far right of conservative ideology along with your very petty mannerisms.... but isn't it obvious, there aren't many that think your points are valid or your presentation is remotely fair minded, adult debate.
Wah wahwah.... people "attacked" you. Bull and double bull. You have been the one on the attack for the last three or four pages. (proof right on the page!) You are defensive and the worst part of it is that you defend crap that has no bearing on what other people have presented in their comments. We can read. We can see for ourselves who has been calm and reasonable, trying to either inform or explain their opinions, etc.... (pahgre comes to mind -- and to a lesser extent the others you accuse, above) and we can see who has used every juvenile trick in the book, trying to "win" an argument that nobody else is even having.
I do not respect you. I think you know that. You STILL haven't answered my question about the "business" you own. If you were a person who cares for facts and telling the truth you would have answered immediately several days ago.
Saying that, I also say you have every right to be exactly who you are and say what you want. It is a public forum in a free country. We just don't have to accept most of your crap for anything but the far right wing blather that it is.
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Talking about yourself, aren't you, OLD MAN.
Plague earned his name by being abusive and ugly long before now.
I've answered every question you have asked me, just not with the answer you want.
I think from the posts one can make up their own minds. They don't need you to inform me as to what "everybody" thinks.
I've already told you that if you don't respond to my posts, I won't respond to yours, but you just keep hammering away at the keys. I never give an answer to YOUR posts, except the ones in response to MY posts.
I have found all Democrats to be pushy, pushy, pushy. And wrong, wrong, wrong. Since there are SOME Republican issues that I can't deal with, like spending our tax monies on needless conflicts and for foreign aid, I just remain Independent. But if I HAD to choose, I'd have to go Republican.
I don't "know" you, so I don't disrespect you. I do pity you though, that you don't know how to fight fair and square. Let's see who is the next one to make derogatory remarks about the other one's character. I bet you go first!
Corporate Socialists.
The party of the rich, for the rich and by the rich.
But when it comes to the country as a whole they are Fiscal Fundalmentalists.
You've got two years, you bunch of Jackwagons!
The Time Has Indeed Come!
Governors of 35 states have already filed suit against the Federal Government for imposing unlawful burdens upon them. It only takes 38 (of the 50) States to convene a Constitutional Convention.
This will take less than thirty seconds to read. If you agree, please pass it on.
An idea whose time has come!
For too long we have been too complacent about the workings of Congress. Many citizens had no idea that members of Congress could retire with the same pay after only one term, that they specifically exempted themselves from many of the laws they have passed (such as being exempt from any fear of prosecution for sexual harassment) while ordinary citizens must live under those laws. The latest was to exempt themselves from the Healthcare Reform ... in all of its forms. Somehow, that doesn't seem logical. We do not have an elite that is above the law.
I truly don't care if they are Democrat, Republican, Independent or whatever. The self-serving must stop.
A Constitutional Convention - this is a good way to do that. It is an idea whose time has come. And, with the advent of modern communication, the process can be moved along with incredible speed. There is talk out there that the "government" doesn't care what the people think. That is irrelevant. It is incumbent on the population to address elected officials to the wrongs afflicted against the populace...you and me. Think about this...
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote for 18 year-olds) took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, before e-mail, before cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
I'm asking each addressee to forward this Email to a minimum of twenty people on their Address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one proposal that really should be passed around.
Proposed 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution:
"Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators and/or Representatives; and, Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators and/or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."
"I'm sick and tired of supporting BIG MOUTH republicans on welfare!"
Plague, I'm trying to be patient, but it is getting to be a drag now.
Republicans ARE NOT the ones on welfare. You've gotten your parties mixed up, bud.
Or do you support jobs, less Federal Government involvement, less Federal Government control, MORE Federal Government "Red" issues?
If you are an entitlement "lifer", then I'm sure you want more of those Government tax dollars coming to your state in order for your state to give more of them to you. Is that who you are? If so, I understand your resentment, but I don't agree with it. Shame on you! You're no better than the "filthy" rich.
If you are a middle class American, you want less Federal Government control, less Federal Government entitlements, more job creation, for the LONG RUN. You also want the unemployed to eat and to stay warm, and children fed and given medical care, but, now listen up, Democrats, by complaining about how many Government dollars go to "red" states, you are agreeing with us that there are enough Federal Entitlement Programs to do that in place NOW. We don't need any more of them. And plague just agreed with me with his linear proposition for the blue/red states.
"Blue states are voting for candidates who are likely to continue the policies of red state subsidization while red states are voting for candidates who profess a desire to reduce federal spending (and presumably red state subsidization)."
In case some of you Democrats can't understand this language, I'll paraphrase:
Blue states are voting for political candidates who will continue to give welfare and entitlements instead of promoting jobs, and Red states are voting for those political candidates most likely to produce legislation to reduce Federal Government spending and perhaps lower the entitlements costs of the nation.
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"Absolute PROOF that the redneck southern states are receiving more than their fair share of federal handouts, so in other words the Blue Dem states must send their tax dollars to irresponsible RED republican states, that hypocritically want LESS GOVERNMENT and delusionally 'think' that everyone should be responsible for themselves.
Seems as if "hotrod's" government dependents are in the RED republican states that have their hands out for more and more federal welfare!"
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It doesn't take rocket science to figure out the bigotry in plague's statement above, and the bigotry he showed in his "distribution" of the wealth of America by telling us that the blues would take this and the reds could have that. Complete bigotry!
I am and always have been fully aware of the fact that the total of some states revenue to the Federal Government is less than the total received from the Federal Government which goes to people who receive Federal entitlements.
What you are saying, all of you that have commented on the posts agreeing with the known Democrats (or Republican haters) and on my posts, is that your blue state is taking care of its "own", and "our" red states are not.
This is an idiot outlook on the situation. It has less to do with the individuals in the state, and more to do with the geographic location and the geographic features of the state than with individuals in the state. We "red staters" spend many, many tax dollars in your "blue" state in various ways - vacations, buying products made there, etc.
My red state has three or four blue counties in the new map of how voters voted - Republican or Democrat. Those three or four blue, Democrat-voted counties are where many, many of the welfare recepients live, where voter fraud is rampant, and unemployment percentage is over 10%. Red areas in the state are where the most affluent live, the business are, the cities are, the most population is.
Yes, there are more Federals coming in to my state rather than going out, I've never denied that. But what is your point in pointing it out? The answer is because you are bigots. And you are Democrat bigots, and that doesn't make any sense, since the areas you want to "keep" (blue areas) are poor, poor, poor.
Don't you know that the reason people have been coming over to the Republican side in droves is because Democrats are now known as "the welfare party"?
I am neither Republican nor Democrat, but if you commenters who attack me think that any of you are Independent, think again. Your mouth might say "independent", but your keyboard says Democrat.
When you criticize "red" states now, you are criticising MOST of the nation.
oldbasicgal, you are the queen of assumption. You are also a petty, angry harridan who does not even have the basic open minded attitude needed to understand what other people say. You constantly turn other people's comments into things they did NOT post.
slappy_mcghee is correct about the Democrat and Republican thing. But I guess you know people better than they know themselves...huh? How arrogant and how wrong! Some here may tolerate your juvenile and absolutely biased to the far right of conservative ideology along with your very petty mannerisms.... but isn't it obvious, there aren't many that think your points are valid or your presentation is remotely fair minded, adult debate.
Wah wahwah.... people "attacked" you. Bull and double bull. You have been the one on the attack for the last three or four pages. (proof right on the page!) You are defensive and the worst part of it is that you defend crap that has no bearing on what other people have presented in their comments. We can read. We can see for ourselves who has been calm and reasonable, trying to either inform or explain their opinions, etc.... (pahgre comes to mind -- and to a lesser extent the others you accuse, above) and we can see who has used every juvenile trick in the book, trying to "win" an argument that nobody else is even having.
I do not respect you. I think you know that. You STILL haven't answered my question about the "business" you own. If you were a person who cares for facts and telling the truth you would have answered immediately several days ago.
Saying that, I also say you have every right to be exactly who you are and say what you want. It is a public forum in a free country. We just don't have to accept most of your crap for anything but the far right wing blather that it is.
They continue to "feed" the rich and become Fiscal Fundamentalists for the rest of us.