December 22nd, 2009 • 4:18 pmMitch Chooses Civility Over Liberty
It’s a sad day when people like Mitch McConnell throw in the towel rather than fight for liberty:
The Senate will now hold the last of the procedural votes on health care, to cut off the last Republican filibuster of the bill, on Wednesday afternoon.
The vote on the debt limit will allow a temporary two-month increase, long enough to prevent the country from defaulting, but guaranteeing that there will be another angry debate over fiscal policy in the early part of next year.
The scheduling agreement, between the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, and the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, will allow the Republicans to say that they pushed the vote right up to Christmas Eve without having to ruin the holiday travel plans of senators and their aides, not to mention the staff in the Capitol that takes no sides in the various legislative fights but often takes a beating at times like this.
Mitch McConnell is part of the problem with the GOP. In fact, he’s typical of what’s wrong with DC Republicans. While TEA Party activists are calling for a peaceful revolution across the nation, Mitch McConnell is playing nicey nice with ruthless, power-hungry Democrats.
Anyone thinking that the Democrats’ health care legislation isn’t the biggest power grab in U.S. history is kidding themselves. That’s what it’s primarily about. The good news is that there are some Republicans who haven’t waved the white flag of defeat. Senators like Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham (yes, you read that right) are challenging the legislation’s constitutionality:
But the Nelson deal swiftly drew the ire of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who has asked his state’s attorney general to give the issue a legal review. He told Fox News on Tuesday that other states can probably bring a “constitutional challenge” over the issue. He said it’s unfair for one state to get special treatment while others pick up the tab.
“I don’t believe most senators believe this is OK,” Graham said. “I think it stinks. I think it’s sleazy.”
Graham said his state could file an equal rights suit under the Constitution. The Constitution calls for “equal protection” of all citizens.
Sen. DeMint is upset with a different aspect of the legislation:
Still another challenge is coming from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who on the Senate floor raised concerns about a section in the health care bill that appears to say that the Senate cannot make changes to it in the future.
“It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection,” the section says.
DeMint said he found that “particularly troubling.”
“We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law,” DeMint said. “I’m not even sure that it’s constitutional.”
Sen. Reid’s aide tried downplaying things this way:
Still another challenge is coming from Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., who on the Senate floor raised concerns about a section in the health care bill that appears to say that the Senate cannot make changes to it in the future.
“It shall not be in order in the Senate or the House of Representatives to consider any bill, resolution, amendment, or conference report that would repeal or otherwise change this subsection,” the section says.
DeMint said he found that “particularly troubling.” “We will be passing a new law and at the same time creating a Senate rule that makes it out of order to amend or even repeal the law,” DeMint said. “I’m not even sure that it’s constitutional.”
The overall section the senator referred to applied to the creation of an Independent Medicare Advisory Board.
But a senior Reid aide noted that the language restricting the repeal of the measure only applied to one subsection, a subsection dealing with the manner in which the proposal for the board is introduced and considered in Congress. The aide said the language DeMint found “troubling” did not apply to board or its duties as a whole.
Plus the aide noted that the language can be waived by a 60-vote majority in the Senate.
I’m not a constitutional scholar but I can’t imagine legislation that explicitly says that Congress can’t change the legislation is constitutional. That language essentially gives the provision more protection than the Constitution. At least the Constitution can be amended. Sen. Reid’s language, if taken literally, doesn’t provide for amending.
It’s time for old-fashioned politicians like Mitch McConnell to resign their leadership positions. They’ve put a higher priority on comity than on fighting for liberty. That’s unacceptable and it shouldn’t be tolerated.
Technorati: Surrender, Mitch McConnell, White Flag, Harry Reid, Constitution, Jim DeMint, Lindsey Graham, Republicans
Cross-posted at California Conservative
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Pingback by California Conservative » Blog Archive » Mitch Chooses Civility Over Liberty • 22Dec2009 @ 4:25 pm
Now Mitch McConnell is a RINO?
The term is not used.
The implication is there.
When will it stop?
Or am I reading too much into the intro, the point is to characterize Reid as what, ineffective, misguided, evil?
What about spawn of Mammon? Why not call him that? Or Nelson?
And, I surely would like to see that DeMint thing in context, and the language he is attacking, and, like, Gary, the underlying facts rather than the overlying opinions; without citation.
It sounds silly, weak, watery tea to me. Nothing strong to it, if it cannot stand fleshing out a context.
Seriously, Gary, in a comment would you post two links:
The DeMint commentary, in context.
The language he is commenting on, in context.
Otherwise, it truly is hard to follow or understand.
Is it a rule for procedure, or a part of the statute. Your post makes it sound like both.
What about correction of scrivening error? Are you saying a rule would prevent the chair noting a scrivening error, a misspelling, what?
And, sources —
Comment by eric z. • 22Dec2009 @ 5:36 pm
Okay, Gary, I did follow your one link. And it is not you posting some bit of bloviating out of context.
It is the item you linked to that’s doing it.
I don’t consider it worth my time to try to unwind that awful reporting, so I would not ask you to spend yours on finding what that reporter’s talking about.
So, I withdraw any hint of criticizing your effort in this.
But I simply, from that one source, cannot make a shred of sense out of whether DeMint is blowing pure smoke, or finding true fault.
Let’s chalk it up to inadequate reporting by the quoted source, and wish they gave underlying links.
Moving on —
Comment by eric z. • 22Dec2009 @ 5:42 pm
Eric, Jim DeMint doesn’t blow smoke. Jim’s a straight shooter.
As for the provision that he’s citing, it is its own context. Any legislation that essentially that it can’t be changed, which is what this language said, is ridiculous. It can’t be enforced from one Congress to another.
As for Harry Reid, I’m perfectly comfortable calling him evil, just as I’m perfectly comfortable calling Speaker Pelosi & President Obama evil.
They played important roles in stopping the DC Scholarship Program, which has a history of great results of lifting poor inner city minorities out of poverty. That’s my definition of evil.
Each of these tyrants ignored the American people with health care, the stimulus & the bailouts. To ignore them once is awful. To ignore them twice is unforgivable. To ignore them 3X on important, life & death issues, is evil & it’s arrogant.
Comment by Gary Gross • 22Dec2009 @ 8:07 pm
Gary, I think you’re being too hard on McConnell. He’s already said that he’s going to do all he can to halt this thing while simultaneously trying to avoid giving the Democrats the ability to call Republicans “obstructionist.” You know they will, given the barest pretext, or even without it. So long as Reid holds his 60 votes together, Pinkycare is going to pass the Senate sooner or later, and Reid is determined to pass it before allowing Senators to go home for Christmas break, so….
McConnell’s choice is to throw up more delays, force the Senate into session through the Holidays (making Republicans the grinches, by the quirks of MSM logic), or to lean back and insist upon strictly following Senate rules (and holding on to that precedent lest Reid make a habit of breaking them), but otherwise not fighting a battle that cannot be won, to fight another day.
Pinkycare cannot pass in the House, so Pelosi can have it defeated there (substituting for Pelosicare), or she can call a conference committee. We know Pelosicare cannot pass the Senate; that’s where Pinkycare started, and of course Obamacare is still pure fantasy. All McConnell is doing, it seems to me, is finding a good seat for the upcoming battle, in which the best role may be as innocent bystander, shouting encouragement to both sides. The longer this drags out, of its own internal illogic and inconsistency, the better the chance of its eventual failure, and the better the voters’ memories will be in November.
Comment by J. Ewing • 23Dec2009 @ 9:29 am
Jerry, I’ll respectfully disagree with you that Mitch is doing everything he can to stop the bill. What we need is someone to have a fit. We need someone to ask the Democrats why they’re voting to increase insurance premiums, raise taxes on the middle class & destroy the next generation’s prosperity, then asking why they’re ignoring the American people.
Instead, they’re making arguments about slowing the process down. Who flipping cares about that other than political junkies like us?
Instead of painting the Democrats into a tight corner on why they’re voting to limit the types of policies that are acceptable, Republicans are taking the gentlemanly approach.
Shame on them. We’re screaming for revolution & they’re worried about acting like gentlemen.
Comment by Gary Gross • 23Dec2009 @ 10:12 am