The GOP — Grand Obstructionist Party

[babylonsister]

The GOP — Grand Obstructionist Party
Posted September 19th, 2007 at 4:35 pm


Looking over today’s posts thus far, a trend emerges — Republican blocked a habeas corpus bill from coming to a vote. They also blocked a bill to give DC residents a voice in Congress from coming to a vote. Jim Webb’s amendment to give troops equal time off for the time they spend in combat will be blocked from coming to a vote. The Senate Democratic leadership is working on a funding bill for Iraq that includes a withdrawal timeline, which Republicans will block from coming to a vote.

And that’s just from news items today. Kevin Drum highlights the problem we’ve been watching all year.

Republicans aren’t just obstructing legislation at normal rates. They’re obstructing legislation at three times the usual rate. They’re absolutely desperate to keep this stuff off the president’s desk, where the only choice is to either sign it or else take the blame for a high-profile veto.

As things stand, though, Republicans will largely avoid blame for their tactics. After all, the first story linked above says only that the DC bill “came up short in the Senate” and the second one that the habeas bill “fell short in the Senate.” You have to read with a gimlet eye to figure out how the vote actually broke down, and casual readers will come away thinking that the bills failed because of some kind of generic Washington gridlock, not GOP obstructionism. <…>

Would it really be so hard for reporters to make it clear exactly who’s responsible for blocking these bills?

This isn’t a new problem, but it is an unprecedented (and undemocratic) one. Indeed, senators have been taking advantage of filibusters for generations, but we’ve never had a Senate minority that is as reckless and obstructionist as Senate Republicans in 2007.

more...

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/12938.html

[librechik]

1. Greedy Old Perverts

STILL in charge! If they can't play the authoritarian dictator, they play the victimized minority. They get what they want on either side because they are willing--no EAGER--to cheat.

Oh, and btw--ignore their penchant for illicit sex and extortive tactics. It's all good when Christ is on your side.

[Homer12]

2. Fundi- Christian Zealots don't care...

....They are as extreme as Bin Laden and the Talaben. Republicans are murderers, perverts, and warmongers. They all deserve to go to the hell they fear so much.

[Johonny]

3. The media once again takes the blame for this

They certainly aren't making it clear that the Republicans in the Senate are the overwhelming factor in these things not passing. Instead you hear Congress or senate, but little explanation of how partisan the vote ended.

[L. Coyote]

4. K & R = God-awful Omnipotence Practitioners