Senate 'is in crisis,' says Orrin Hatch in farewell remarks

[UpInArms]

Source: Marketwatch

Sen. Orrin Hatch offered a dire assessment of the upper chamber of Congress, as the retiring Utah Republican made his farewell remarks Wednesday.

The 84-year-old lawmaker, who will be replaced by Mitt Romney, delivered the following zinger on the Senate floor:

‘All the evidence points to an unsettling truth: The Senate as an institution is in crisis — or at least may be in crisis. The committee process lies in shambles, regular order is a relic of the past, and compromise — once the guiding credo of this great institution — is now synonymous with surrender.’
Sen. Orrin Hatch

...snip...

“Since I first came to the Senate in 1978 — 1977, rather — the culture of this place has shifted fundamentally, and not for the better, in my opinion,” Hatch added on Wednesday.

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/senate-is-in-crisis-says-orrin-hatch-in-farewell-remarks-2018-12-12

---

From one of the lowest snakes ... never afraid of crawling into the sewer ...

I hope he rots

[George II]

1. He played a HUGE part in that "shift", he was complicit in everything he's complaining about here.

[still_one]

18. He sure did

[Eliot Rosewater]

26. But now that the "crisis" he helped create might work AGAINST his party or his

personal gain, then it is a problem and ONLY then.

[Baitball Blogger]

34. +1

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Look in the mirror, you old ghoul.

[a kennedy]

40. Exactly.......love how now he's leaving and can say all this shit, but why wasn't he doing something

in the last say 6 years!!!!!! Good riddance.

[onit2day]

41. That's how we got Mitt Romney who has no business in government

Romney is a proven liar. totally self centered caring only for power and money. Anyone who would tie their dog to the roof of their car for long distance travel is lacking in empathy and judgment. Benen even felt the need to run a piece called Mitt's Mendacity for all the lies...and now he's appointed to the senate. Somebody got bribed.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. Orin look in the mirror.

[knightmaar]

4. This is like Yoda in the Phantom Menace.

Sitting there on the Jedi Council, lamenting how all the Jedi turned into assholes.

Yeah, Orin, listen.
You've been there since 1978?
You watched this happen?
You let it happen?

Dumbass.

I like how he distances himself: "the culture of this place has shifted" instead of "we shifted the culture of this place".

The buck stops nowhere when you use the passive voice.

[KPN]

5. If only he'd left in 84, instead of fueling partisanship for the 33 years since.

[karynnj]

48. It was good that he was there in 1997, when he and Kennedy got children's health care through

Kennedy and Hatch were friendly and Kennedy knew that Hatch detested tobacco. So, in 1997, when Kennedy sought a Republican to help him get SCHIP, which was based on a Massachusetts program that used tobacco fines to pay for kid's health care. Kennedy had worked with Kerry in 1996 to create a national program that would have done this, but it could never have passed without a strong Republican push to get the small number of additional votes needed.

Hatch was able to get those votes -- and he made substanitive changes to the program to allow each state to design their own program or to even not participate. (Even with money coming to the state for this, several states including Texas opted not to participate.)

I agree that at least by 2009, when he was included in the Finance committee's attempt to make the ACA bipartisan, he was absolutely unwilling to compromise .. or even buy into things he would once have had sponsored. Though the Republicans have lied for years that the Republicans were shut out - Baucus spent about 4 months working with a bipartisan sub group of the Finance committee. (He was a cosponsor of the bill that John Chaffee proposed in 1993, that is often referred to as "Bob Dole's" bill and compared to ACA - though ACA is far broader. Heart bill - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_Equity_and_Access_Reform_Today_Act_of_1993 (If you click on S 1770 in the first line, the 20 cosponsors can be found and include Hatch.)

His outrageous praise of Trump will forever color what was a long term career where he often did compromise.

[Va Lefty]

6. It's people like you who ushered in this "crisis"

Sactomonous jackass

[PeeJ52]

7. Says the devout Mormon who just the other day said

he doesn't care if the President paid hush money to his mistresses while his wife was having his child.

[sinkingfeeling]

8. And he sure helped to shift it to total partisan.

[hlthe2b]

9. Bemoaning all the destructive polcies/practices/changes HE helped to institue...

May he rot...

[BadGimp]

10. An Arsonist talking about a Fire he helped start and fans the flames to this day,

Pretty disgusting imo.

[47of74]

11. Go fornicate yourself Orrin.

You did this so you can fornicating well live with this you piece of crap.

[Taraman]

12. Time for him to get sent to head an LDS Mission somewhere, and be "rehabilitated"

He's one cold piece of work. Secret handshakes won't be enough for him when he dies.

[usaf-vet]

73. I hear there is a remote jungle tribe in the South American jungle that loves missionaries.

Last edited Thu Dec 13, 2018, 08:10 AM - Edit history (1)

It a job to end all job. The last two missionaries were so impressed they didn't come home.
In fact they haven't been heard from since day one. Perfect spot for Orin. Please take the posting see how they like your BS. Let us know how it went OR not!

[Haggis for Breakfast]

85. Let's send him to the Island of the Sentinelese.

They were so happy to see the last christian missionary zealot who approached their island.

[bronxiteforever]

13. "'I think he has changed a lot of his life

‘once he was elected. I think Trump is a much better person today than he was then. I think most people in this country realize that Donald Trump comes from a different world. He comes from New York City, he comes from a slam-bang, difficult world. It is amazing he is as good as he is.’

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/orrin-hatch-thinks-its-amazing-donald-trump-is-as-virtuous-as-he-is-because-new-york-2018-08-26

Oh and how about giving Merrick Garland a vote before you go Orrin!

[Just a Weirdo]

14. His Elder status has been revoked

and Kolob has exploded. Orrin will have a miserable retirement.

[ProfessorGAC]

57. Pssst! Don't Tell Orrin. . .

. . .or the other Mormons, but Kolob got hit by a gamma ray burst and was incinerated 25,000 years ago.

They just don't know it yet.

[RockRaven]

15. The crisis in the Senate is that GOP Senators "don't care" that POTUS commits felonies, when he's

a GOP POTUS. That's the f--king crisis the Senate is in, you piece of human garbage. F--k off!

[Taraman]

16. I hope Mitt Romney takes Hatch's example of how-not-to-be.

[Mr.Bill]

63. Romney is slime.

He will be just as bad as the rest of them if not worse.

[RAB910]

17. What he left out was that he and his party are the ones that broke it

[Mr. Sparkle]

19. Mitchell McConnell both in the minority and majority ruined the senate with his poisonous actions.

He did to the senate what Newt Gingrich did to the house.

[Maven]

20. And you were a big part of breaking the Senate, Orrin. Just fuck off. nt

[Racerdog1]

21. Urine Hatch

Not sure how you made it to 84. Hope you don't see 85 asshole'

[mountain grammy]

22. Blow it out your ass, Hypocrite.

And getthefuckouttahere...

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

23. Oh fuck off you creepy ass ventriloquist doll. nt

[ChubbyStar]

39. Love it

He is CREEPY to the core.

[Achilleaze]

24. Look in the mirror, Hatch

You and your KGOP republican cronies pissed all over America's Senate. You are are responsible.

[Perseus]

25. He is banking on people remembering only the last things he said

He hopes for people to think about this speech when they think of him and to forget that until a week ago he was part of the problem, and may continue to be part of the problem if the Senate has any work left in the next two weeks.

What a farce this man is, what a hack, and he will go to his grave thinking that he was of great service to the country, republicans have this quality of not recognizing the piece of crap they are, of selective memory and forgetting all the damage they have caused.

[Major Nikon]

27. Hatch is a 1st degree asshole, but he is correct

It used to be the House was more partisan and compromises were engineered in the Senate. Thanks to years of GOP control the Senate is now a partisan cesspool just like the House under GOP control. The silver lining is once the GOP loses control of the Senate, they aren't ever likely to get it back without significant changes to their ideology. Someday soon the worm is going to turn and the GOP is going to find themselves on the outside looking in with no way to have any influence whatsoever thanks to the many rule changes they initiated.

[Marthe48]

28. go to hell hatch

comfort your flaccid old body with lascivious thoughts of lewinsky and palin

[muntrv]

29. Thanks to Orrin "I don't care if Trump committed crimes" Hatch.

[SergeStorms]

86. But Bill Clinton lied about a blow-job...

and the almighty Orrin said this country couldn't abide that. The hypocritical Hatch was shouting "impeach" from the roof-tops. Now we have a "president" who stole his way into office by conspiring with a foreign enemy, who's thumbed his nose at the emoluments clause every second of every day, whose committed campaign finance felonies, and obstructed justice so many times we've lost count...... And the almighty Orrin "just doesn't care". Well fuck you, Orrin. I hope you die a slow, painful death, and that you're awake and aware of every searing second of it. Oh, and did I mention, FUCK YOU, ORRIN!

[Bengus81]

30. One last time....Hey Orrin,SHUT your hatch!

[SWBTATTReg]

31. Don't let the door hit you in the behind and just leave. No one is listening to you any longer. nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

32. Orrin Hatch is a shit who said he doesn't care if Trump broke the law. Make him wear it forever. .nt

[GWC58]

33. To the outgoing Senator Orrin Hatch I say

🖕🏻 and rotate on it!

[Dorn]

35. I'm shocked there is gambling going on here!

[MurrayDelph]

36. Another hypocrite who pushes boulders off the ledge

and them complains about slow roads.

I reminded of the Emo Philips line:

My sister married a German. Which I admit is not the most efficient way to get back at them. I'm at a deli with her husband. He says, "Emo, I can't get a good bagel back in Germany!" I said, "well, whose fault is that?"

[Ponietz]

37. His Party's RICO/Treason/Propaganda platform isn't working out

Cry me a river, you demented asshole.

[Javaman]

38. no shit sherlock and you were one of the architects...

hatch tries to go with a mic drop but instead comes off as a confused idiot not knowing who to hand the mic to next.

[marble falls]

42. Curly Bill Brocius perhaps said it best ...

[ZeroSomeBrains]

43. Don't let the door hit you on your way out

Everything you bemoan you have helped create. I'll do the same thing you did to the rape victums at the elevator.

[Corgigal]

44. Go on, take the Russian money

and run. Woohoohoo...

[ROB-ROX]

45. This EVIL rotten TURD was the reason the senate is SCREWED UP

Everything the GOP touches becomes ROTTEN. The person may have always been rotten but it was hard to see among so many evil republicans. These people are touched by nixon, reagan, bush I & II who promoted lying, cheating, and stealing.......

[SCVDem]

46. Off to Kolob you prick!

I never want to see you again!

[lunatica]

47. Now he wants to fix this shit he helped create?!

I’m sure god is fooled!

Or whoever the Mormon creator is.

[geardaddy]

49. Don't let the door hit you on your reich-wing ass

Asshole.

[LiberalFighter]

50. Says the asshole that made it happen.

[Pepsidog]

51. Up yours you cowardly syncophant right-wing prick

[FakeNoose]

52. Time for you to STFU Orrin

[Honeycombe8]

53. Orrin "I believe Trump over Cohen" Hatch is partly to blame. Disagreeable, uncompromising, Trumper.

How unreflective of him to accuse others of what he is, himself. These egotistical politicians have no insight into themselves.

[hibbing]

54. Chutzpah n/t

[pecosbob]

55. He simply pines for the days when he and his fellow Lords

could rule the world without all the drama and legal exposure...he's going back to Utah where he can act like a true despot and people will bow and scrape before him.

[DallasNE]

56. This Is A Direct Rebuke Of McConnell

But it will fall on deaf ears. Too much dirty money on his hands for disinfectant to cleanse.

[bdamomma]

58. thanks to you Orin

you and your ilk are the biggest hypocrites I thought he said he didn't care about the crimes that were/are and still being committed by this filthy regime.

Jerk.

[Initech]

59. Because we keep electing ultra partisan republicans.

[beachbum bob]

60. Hatch trying to rewrite history to save his legacy will not work any

better than newt Gingrich attempts...they both destroyed the process.

[Sneederbunk]

61. Had an opportunity to be a statesman but went political hack route.

[PJMcK]

62. Hey, everybody! Look at me! I'm one of the old-time good guys!

Fuck you, you cretin.

[Power 2 the People]

64. So true UpInArms

All the evidence points to an unsettling truth: The Senate as an institution is in crisis — or at least may be in crisis. The committee process lies in shambles, regular order is a relic of the past, and compromise — once the guiding credo of this great institution — is now synonymous with surrender. - Can you say "Fox News" you crooked son of a bitch!

He was more than willing to partake in the rape and pillaging of our nation for over 40 years and now he wags his finger.

Orrin Hatch I hope you rot in hell.

[zentrum]

65. Sewer Rat.

[Texin]

66. Why would anyone care what Hatch says after he said he really didn't care that tRump broke the law?

Seriously. He flat out stated he really didn't care that Cheetolini is a traitor to the country in addition to breaking the law by paying off his former mistresses to keep their mouths shut, while simultaneously taking illegal campaign money. It's this look-the-other-way approach to everything that's been happening over the past six years that broke the goddamned senate to begin with! If the senate is in "crisis" it exactly because of the actions/inactions of McConnell and others just like Hatch and Graham. Damn them all!

[Mira]

67. I've always wondered

where his effin' neck is.
(in the tradition of the Rocky Horror Picture Show)

Many in the Senate are loathsome, he is up there with them, all but leading the pack

[Azathoth]

68. Mr. "I don't care if the President committed felonies" is concerned about the climate of the Senate?

Wow.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

69. Well bye

Don't let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.

[usaf-vet]

70. Don't let the door knob catch you on the a$$ on the way out.

Boy what a nerve as one of the, once an adult, in the room he could have made a difference and kept the senate as a collegial body. But oh NO he had to become a Trump a$$ kisser.

He can begone quick enough as far as I'm concerned.

A$$!

[dlk]

71. Hatch Did His Part to Create the Crisis with His Enormous Hypocrisy and Situational Ethics

Only someone with an oversized blind spot and even larger ego would make comments such as his. Good riddance!

[NewJeffCT]

72. When Bill Clinton tried to take out Osama bin Laden

back in the 1990s, Orrin Hatch derided Clinton and called terrorism a "phony threat"

[BlueIdaho]

74. Don't let the door hit you on the ass Orin.

You have become a complete and total disgrace to our nation.

[turbinetree]

75. This asshole, this gigantic fucking asshole will get a taxpayer funded retirement

he will also get health care.....................and to top it all off................you have now confirmed two fucking judges that are sitting on the bench that attacked woman, and the best one of all, you fucker was putting a judge on the bench, and violating the Constitution and the RULE of LAW to advise and consent a nominee to the court.............................but you, fucker, marched lock step with the fucking a libertarian Koch backed Federalist Society to place non -qualified assholes on the bench......................

JUST FUCK YOU..................and that FUCKING Horse you ride..........you asshole caused this shit along with your other fucking traitors called the republican party ....................ever since Watergate......................


I feel so much better....................

[UpInArms]

79. Nicely said, turbinetree

👍🏼👍🏼

[turbinetree]

80. Wado------------Thank you

[Hassler]

76. Unless Orrin Hack offered an apology for his "stinking career" contributing to the dysfunction,

Then he can STFU.

[Eyeball_Kid]

77. The hit man blames the driver of the getaway car...

[Ztolkins]

78. Didn't this asshole just say...

he didn't care that Trump broke the law?

Fuck him.

[StevieM]

81. It amazes me that people like Orrin Hatch and Ken Starr are being allowed to reinvent themselves

as elder statesmen.

I am sure that Anita Hill and Christine Blasé Ford would also be inclined to ask "how low can you go?"

[CentralMass]

82. Orin HatchetMan.

[SergeStorms]

83. Fuck you, Orrin!

You helped create that change, and you stood quietly by while the Tea Baggers took over your party and weaponized your majority in the Senate. You have a very short memory, Orrin.

I hope you get extremely ill, very soon. I also hope that every minute remaining in your immoral, judgmental, miserable existence is filled with almighty pain, and that you're awake and aware for every second of it. Fuck you, Orrin.

[Scruffy1]

84. I decided to look at the same news on the Salt Lake Tribune.

the comments are nearly unanimous and it could be DU. Utah is just another state with a strong rural urban divide.