Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell proved himself to be the most fundamentally dishonest politician in the whole of Washington, D.C. this morning, in response to Sen. Harry Reid's
announcement that he would move to change Senate filibuster rules. That clip above is McConnell telling the floor that Republicans have been "very, very fair" to President Obama.
McConnell also called this a "fake fight" over judges, a fight that he failed to mention Republicans picked.
“It only reinforces the narrative of party willing to do or say just about anything to get its way,” said McConnell. “Once again, Democrats are threatening to break the rules of the Senate ... in order to change the rules of the Senate,” he said. “And over what? Over a court that doesn’t have enough work to do.”
He likened the whole proposition of changing the Senate rules with 51 votes (something he once
supported) to Obamacare: Democrats using tricks to shove an unfair law down America's throat: "He may as well said if you like the rules of the Senate, you can keep them!" he quipped, then was so pleased with himself that he got a laugh, he repeated it.
The dishonesty flowing from McConnell was truly a thing to behold. He essentially argued that Republican obstruction was all the Democrats fault, that they were responsible for the filibusters because they kept trying to do things, like allow the president to appoint people to vacant court seats. The breadth of his lies and the conviction with which he expressed them was a thing to behold. An extremely disturbing thing, but astonishing nonetheless.
8:48 AM PT: McConnell's motion to adjourn failed. They are revoting on Millett judicial nomination.
9:09 AM PT: And here we go. Reid just pulled the trigger. McConnell is raising multiple points of order, which Leahy is dispatching.
9:12 AM PT: This is the vote.
The #Senate is now voting on the Reid motion to appeal the ruling of the chair on majority vote for noms. #clerkwillcalltheroll
— @DSenFloor
9:14 AM PT: The "no" votes are the ones that count this time.
For those following: voting NO on sustaining the ruling of the chair is the vote that gets rid of the filibusters.
— @nielslesniewski
