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Subscribe to RSSThe Washington Post: "The Republican senators who rode the tea party wave to victory in the fall are now weighing whether that label will help them on Capitol Hill or become a scarlet letter. Thursday offered the first clear illustration of their situation as the newly formed Senate Tea Party Caucus held its inaugural meeting without three of the senators who won election under the tea party banner." The three: Ron Johnson (WI), Marco Rubio (FL), and Pat Toomey (PA).
“Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), a founding member of the Senate's Tea Party Caucus, has pledged to filibuster legislation to increase the debt ceiling,” The Hill reports. “Lee said a filibuster could be averted only if Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and GOP leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) reach an agreement to pass a balanced-budget amendment through the Senate.”
The Senate passed two new rules yesterday that could affect the speed of legislation: “The two resolutions eliminate “secret” holds on nominations and waive the reading of amendments that have been publicly available for at least 72 hours. They easily surpassed the 60-vote threshold required for adoption,” Roll Call writes. “Three other resolutions to change the rules regarding filibusters, or procedures that have been used to block or slow down the legislative process, were rejected Thursday. Those measures would have reduced the vote threshold for ending a filibuster after further debate, ended the use of filibusters to block legislation from coming to the Senate floor, and required Senators to hold the floor in order to continue a filibuster. They needed the support of two-thirds of Senators present and voting in order to pass.”
Meghan McCain called Michelle Bachmann “a poor man’s Sarah Palin.”
Gallup for the first time since 2005 has the GOP viewed as a net-positive – 47%-43%. That’s different, however, from the latest NBC/WSJ poll, which showed Republicans a net-negative – 34%-40%.
Jason Chaffetz took back his criticism of Michelle Bachmann’s response to the State of the Union: He said, “My primary concern with Congresswoman Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) speech was the timing of it relative to Chairman Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) official response to the President’s State of the Union address. I felt at the time the proximity of her speech was too near Chairman Ryan’s official response. I have since learned that the timing of Congresswoman Bachmann’s address was not simultaneous to Chairman Ryan’s official response.”
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The Tea Party favorites may be seeing the light. Being lock step with the other Tea Party nuts will do nothing for their careers.
no body wants to be seen or associated with the village idiots
The fillibuster is not the answer to solving this country's problems. Congress needs to work and play well together.
Wayne, I don't believe that Congress has to work and play together. What we need are leaders who can articulate the needs of the people, formulate meaningful legislation and see that it gets passed. During the previous two years we had legislators who met behind closed doors, didn't listen to the will of the people and believed they were more knowledgeable about what was important for the country.
Time to not be PC and just get the legislation out to help job creation, reduce the size of government, reduce the budget, and make the economy grow.
"...didn't listen to the will of the people..."
Anybody else getting tired of this well-worn talking point? Anybody else aware that more people want HCR to remain, vs. be repealed?? I'd agree about the need to get the legislation out that addresses job creation, reduce the budget and shrink government, but have to wonder why, then, abortion is at the top of the Repubs list of concerns again...
So you're saying the 8 years prior to that this wasn't so? Legislators didn't meet behind closed doors? And the 'will of the people' was for the economy to tank?
It is better to have passed a bloated health care law and chip away the nonsense than it would have been to pass a peerfect, watered-down bill. In fact, it would NEVER have passed if it wasn't done in exactly this manner. The fact is, most Americans want HCR and are happy with the result, but many do not see it benefitting them, whcih is also part of the problem. It doen not have to benefit YOU in order to work for the grater good, lowering health care cost, covering children, and no denials for pre-exisitng conditions.
Republicans are just mad they lost....and lost big. Now they try to throw everything they can pull out of air to see if it will stick, when it reality, it almost exactly like the GOP plan set forth in Mass. by Romney.
Yes, thank you, the "will of the people" is much overused. Who are "the people" they talk about? What about "the people" who feel their will has been done? I wish they'd be more specific and just say it, "didn't listen to the will of the Republican people...." There. I said it.
Hello drive-by
Gosh, I know what you mean. Anytime a tea person is asked a question, the answer is always, "...didn't listen to the will of the people..." Boy, I'm sure tired of that talking point.
My number one question, is where were they when W. Bush was President?
Job1 -
Can I take your question one step further? Where were they even on Election Day 2008? Obviously not in the voting booth, or the other night we'd have been watching Vice-President Palin sitting behind President McCain as he delivered his State of the Union address.
I guess their "will" that day was more like a "can't be bothered". Funny how all this "will" only surfaced AFTER Barack Obama won the election.....
Thank you, JoAnne. Great Point.
I respectfully disagree with you
There is a lot of fluff and crap in that bill that really didn't need to be in there. What was twisted around in the whole debate was that the GOP didn't want to pass any sort of reform. That is hogwash. They could have easily done this by creating individual bills and passed those. Write up a bill that takes care of pre-existing conditions, pass it, move on to the next thing. No one argues that the key points of the bill such as pre-existing conditions and covering children, and lowering costs was needed. Ironically, my health insurance just took a huge cost increase so i'm having my own difficult time seeing where i benefitted and believe you me... i'm no high earner. I don't disagree that the previous 8 years was severely flawed, but i don't think that we should just give the fed a free pass and use the previous 8 years as an excuse to do whatever it wants. I got into a conversation about gun control to about the most militant liberal you can imagine. He thinks there should be a COMPLETE and TOTAL ban on guns in the U.S. Touchy subject right now i know but to me, its scary to think that a fellow American can just be OK with handing over that much power to their government. Where does it stop? I'm all for Obama's idea of "investing" in the future and making this country as great as it is and can be. I just hope i'm wrong when feel that "investment" likely means more spend and tax policies.
safecracker ...your right.. but if one party will say nothing but NO no what the legislation is .. why hold open meetings
drive by... every tea party candidate that was elected chose to sign up for the taxpayer paid government insurance like the one Congress woman Giffords has..... and guess what it also provides under certain circumstances an abortion ... if you check you will probably find that all republican congressmen have this insurance
God, Gays and Guns that's what plays to the GOP base. I guess they have to cool it on the gun part for a few months. After that all bets are off.
Here's a question for you folks. How do you feel about taxpayer money going to election campaign's and conventions?
how did your rep vote?
Isn't it fun to watch? At least it would be if this group had any understanding of the problems that we face. But, "teabaggers" we told you what would happen. These folks vomited back the lines you taught them and at first opportunity, ran the opposite direction because they don't want to associate with people that are crazy! Good on you! Now, let's see you have ANOTHER tantrum at the town halls of all the folks that so clearly want to disown any attachment to you. Or, do you just do that at Democratic Town Halls? But, the coming split in the Republican Party will be entertaining.
Those measures would have reduced the vote threshold for ending a filibuster after further debate, ended the use of filibusters to block legislation from coming to the Senate floor, and required Senators to hold the floor in order to continue a filibuster
So much for the plan to change the rules on filibusters. Even though the threshold would have needed 67 votes. It wasn't even close. The proposal to lower the number of votes to enact a filibuster was defeated 84 to 12. Clearly these senators Democrat and Republican have no desire to solve the big problems.
Not only will there be gridlock, the senators apparently couldn't care as the country crashes.
Yellowdog: One would argue that in a grid-lock the government is being its most moral.
That's a lot of assumptions. Isn't it fun to hate? sarc. The fact of the matter is that Tea Partiers, Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Anarchists, Libertarians, Constitutionalists, Socialists, and even Communists all want whats best for the country. They just have different ideas as to the course of action (some have been proven effective historically, and others have been shown to be disasters, though). Saying someone is crazy for having a different world view is a very divisive and myopic view. Those people have rationalized their views in the same manner you have. They are no more or less crazy than you or I. Any other view is a logical fallacy, and a leap of ego.
Nope, sorry Andy that won't wash. There are no excuses to be made for this group of illiterates, who among other claims to fame, say that the President isn't a citizen, believe somehow that Jefferson said "nullification" was a part of law, and makes threats to secede. In fact, this group of nuts is very close to treason. The difference between the Democratic party and the Republican party is that the Democrats do not make their far left the speaking wing of the party. The Republicans enshrine them and worship at the altar of the ignorance of the "teabaggers". Good try, no sale.
the republicans needed the tea party to get elected but now that they're in Congress the only master they have is "big business" !!! so, the question I have for tea-baggers is this-how does it feel to GET USED ???
I am looking forward for the REPUBLICANS to debate President Obama for 2012. The reason is that Mr. Obama has a list of accomplishments he has done for the people of this country. Some of them are not so good, but no one is perfect. What will the REPUBLICANS have to combat his accomplishments? All the REPUBLICANS will have is the same old scare tactics and the wealthy corporations to help them win. The Republicans have not done anything to help out the situation and have no plan to help the AMERICAN people. They are not listening to the will of the people. bunch of sorry A----. I know all of you that voted them in are very sorry now, because they are not evening listening to you. If you call repealing something that they cannot do and wasting our time with this crap,is something you want, then good for you. WHERE ARE THE JOBS THEY PROMISED YOU THEY WOULD CREATE? SUCKERED AGAIN!!!!
How soon we forget: The economy began to fall during the Bush administration as GW issued multiple stimulus packages including February 2008 to buy time before the inevitable. GW also issued the first round of bailouts before he passed a free falling economy on to Obama like a baton. It took America almost 10 years to recover from the depression as unemployment topped off at 25%. Here we are barely 2 years into the Obama Presidency and the free fall has stopped, the economy's growing, wall street is making profits, many companies have paid and are paying the government back (at a profit I might add), and the unemployment rate is dropping (slowly but surely). All polls and arrows are pointed in the right direction and these Rethuglicans who sat quietly while Bush drove us off a cliff, continue to hate and complain. These people caused this mess and seem to only have a problem with bailouts and stimulus as long as they are the ones issuing it. Republicans/ Tea baggers only have a problem with deficit spending with no way to pay for it unless it benefit as them in the form of tax cuts for the rich. The hypocrisy is deafening and most Americans are on to them.
Republicans/Tea baggers think that Novembers election results was a call for more of the same policies that have all but eliminated the middle class. Those of us with a brain know it was the American people saying "we're tired of both parties and the partisan politics and we are going to force you to work together, or else". The President has heard the call, responded appropriately and his favorability numbers show America's approval. The Rethuglicans have some tough choices to make (after they sort out their current identity crisis): 1. Choose to keep angering the American people with more hate mongering rhetoric, divisiveness, meaningless house votes and no will to work with the President and the Dems; or, 2. Compromise and get things done which will help the President while pushing more far righter's to the Tea Baggers. Either way, Obama wins in 2012! God speed, Mr. President...