Today, the House finally passed the US Export-Import Bank (ExIm) renewal.
In an unusual vote on Monday, 62 Republicans joined 184 Democrats to pass a rare “discharge petition” to take a bill out of the hands of the House financial services committee where the chairman, Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling, is an opponent of the bank and had been blocking the bill’s progress.
http://www.ft.com/...
This bill was supported by 186 of the 187 House Democrats voting against the bill. The single exception: Alan Grayson. (the full roll-call is at http://clerk.house.gov/... )
Why? Maybe it has something to do with the Club for Growth:
The fiscally conservative group Club for Growth is already meddling in the Florida Democratic Senate primary.
The group announced Tuesday it will release a 30-second ad to run on MSNBC and other outlets across Florida supporting liberal Rep. Alan Grayson’s (D-Fla.) opposition to the Export-Import Bank, while calling out Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) for supporting the institution.
http://thehill.com/...
There's more bad news from Alan Grayson. In a Tumblr post today, he threatens that he would stand with Rand Paul and Ted Cruz to filibuster the budget/debt ceiling agreement, an agreement the New York Times calls "a clear victory" for President Obama:
There’s a breaking news story from the New York Times reporting that the White House and Congressional Republicans are about to announce a deal that includes cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
I just heard the news — and I’m furious. How can the White House even think about capitulating to the Republicans, especially on vitally important programs like Social Security and Medicare? Veterans, the disabled, and our seniors rely on these programs to survive in an economy that is rigged against ordinary Americans. Things are already bad enough, and the last thing they can afford are brutal cuts at the hands of President Obama and the House Republicans.
This is why I need to be in the U.S. Senate — because I put people ahead of partisan politics, and the needs of the Wall Street cabal. If I were in the U.S. Senate, you can bet that I would filibuster this piece of trash.
http://alangraysonemails.tumblr.com/...
Alan Grayson says that he's "the most liberal" candidate in the Florida Senate race. But from my point of view, he's merely the most disagreeable. Defeating dead-end Republicans doesn't mean we have to elect dead-end Democrats to oppose them.