“It just wasn’t right,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch

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by Smitty

What a stinking crock of ObamaCare (emphasis mine):

McConnell and top lieutenant Sen. John Cornyn (Texas) reluctantly backed ending debate after it became clear that no one in their conference wanted to cast the deciding 60th vote.

Sixty votes were needed to overcome a filibuster by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who complained that Congress was raising the debt ceiling without demanding any curbs on Washington’s spending.

With the upper chamber’s Democrats and Independents all voting yes, Senate Republicans needed to muster five votes to overcome Cruz.

Yet during an hour of tense floor conversations, it appeared they might fail.

The vote started late, as Senate Republicans huddled behind closed doors. After meeting for roughly an hour in private, the conference still did not know whether it could conjure up the needed votes.

On the floor, the procedural vote ran on for another hour, with Republicans slow to offer support.

Cornyn and McConnell, who is the most vulnerable Senate Republican up for reelection in 2014, then voted to end the debate, making it clear the procedural motion would be approved.

After their dramatic votes, another group of Republicans met in a room off the Senate floor. They returned, and several switched their votes from no to yes.

Some members said they switched their votes to give cover to McConnell and Cornyn.

“I didn’t want this to come down to just be a criticized vote for just a few of our people. It just wasn’t right,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), who fought off a primary challenger in 2012 and is serving his last term.

What’s actually wrong here is that voters have tolerated such an egregious evasion of responsibility for so long. Our representatives, one might have been tempted to think, are elected to do mature, adult work on tough issues like budgets. And here we see a ‘clever’ system whereby the cloture vote is the one that matters, and the simple majority vote on the legislation is an afterthought, so that Senators can do their foul deeds while piously claiming to vote against them.

This pattern is not dissimilar from one a couple thousand years ago involving the Sanhedrin and the Romans.

Why is this November’s election not a sure thing for the GOP? Because it’s entirely unclear that, given majority power again, the GOP would be any less wretched than Reid, Pelosi and crew.

You are correct, Senator Hatch: this wasn’t right, it hasn’t been right for a very long time, and it’s high time we had some no-kidding reform. Would there was a party that could be relied upon to deliver it.

51 comments

  3. That the vote was even an issue for these Senators shows what an impact the TEA parties and the other grassroots efforts are having.

    Corker needs to be made to eat this one.

  4. Gee. It’s almost as if the Founders were right, leaving the election of Senators to state legislators and not popular vote. Who would’ve thought a bunch of old white guys could’ve foreseen crap like this.

  5. Here is the problem: We need to win back the Senate. It is that simple. With the media against us, it is a very difficult balancing act. Ted Cruz was right, but ultimately we need to get to November and win 6+ seats.

    That does not mean I agree with McConnell, or Hatch, or other Establishment Republicans…but I know we have to kick Harry Reid and the Democrats out of the majority to do anything.

  9. I agree. The 3 I listed are just examples. Without them gone, we will not have taken the senate back even if all 100 were GOP.

  10. I agree, but probably not all of them this cycle (unless you have someone who can beat them at the primary and then win the general). If the choice is winning the majority with a few useless tools in the case, I will take that over remaining the minority party.

  11. I do not want to go back to a Karl Rove W majority (that is a big reason why we are in the weeds now) but step one is get Harry Reid and the Dems out as majority leader. If you can replace a few RINO’s on the way, by all means do it but make sure the candidates win their races against the Democrats.

  12. Bloggerlady has it right – need to win back the Senate. Why target the “RINOs” and take a chance on turning over the Senate and House to more Democrats? Need a two step process here – First get as many Republicans (including the “RINOs”) as possible in the House & Senate.. Once that is accomplished, then proceed with “cleaning house” – you might even find that the “RINOs” will be motivated to cleave to the more conservative side at that point.

  13. So they saw that they were “winning” on the cloture motion and couldn’t have that and thus preemptively surrendered and gave Obama what he wanted?

    They all need to go!!!

  21. Devil’s Advocate: the pattern has been for the GOP to fight a finance battle, e.g. debt ceiling, while a major Obama scandal dies from lack of attention. Examples of this: Fast & Furious, Benghazi, DOJ refusing to enforce laws, and aspects of Obama’s behavior with regard to Obamacare.
    Custer may have cost us the 7th Cavalry for a few months, but Sitting Bull died on a reservation. The debt limit is an artificial construct, much like a person who reprograms his alarm clock. The real fight is the collapse of law – that is the vehicle to bring the TEA Party to the polls over the resistance of the IRS, FBI and other federal agencies.

  24. We won’t get all of them this cycle. But, we can get enough to place the rest on notice that we are gunning for them and are quite serious.

  25. I think we have some good ones coming up. Still, even with the incumbents, there is no guarantee of re-election and holding the seat. McConnell is a good example of that. I doubt the GOP will hold the seat if he wins the primary.

  35. Exactly! Our majority in the House has done exactly what for us under the current RINO leadership? We MUST have REAL conservatives or we’re not going to change a damned thing.

  36. That is what we call them in ‘polite company’ along with the phrase ‘please pardon my blunt language’. In private the air turns blue with invective when discussing these individuals …

  41. Agreed. We also need people to work with the candidates so they won’t trip themselves like Mourdock did. Akin, however, did it to himself. MO needs a better system for the primary.

  44. You’ve repeatedly marked yourself as an ignorant man, but even you can’t possibly be so stupid and ignorant as that.

  47. That is why it is imperative to vote Tea Party (the viable 3rd alternative to both the GOPe and the Dems) to a majority in both the House and the Senate.

  49. You call ME ignorant? That’s rich.

    What do you think happened in the Panic of 1907? The entire banking system and economy were on the verge of collapse due to a liquidity crisis proportionately much worse than anything in our lifetimes.

    J.P. Morgan saved the nation by pledging his own personal fortune and banking assets, and convincing the other major bankers and wealthy industrialists to do the same.

    From then until his death in 1913, Morgan personally directed the currency – because he was the only one who could be trusted to do it without stealing, including the Congress.

    If all you have is name-calling, you should spare yourself further embarrassment.

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