Stupid Thoughts: Obstruction in politics
I know this isn’t new info, but I’m currently reading The Obamas by Jodi Kantor and while I’ve read this passage in articles, reading in the book (especially during these conventions) angers me — as an American and as someone who, no matter who resides in the White House, respects the person who sits in the Oval Office.
Being the Democrat who could work with Republicans was part of his political identity, and it was true to his conciliatory nature and the way he had grown up, mediating and translating between disparate groups. He has won the Harvard Law Review presidency by signaling, shortly before the election, that he was no knee-jerk liberal — though he was black and supported affirmative action, he sympathized with conservative objections to it. In the Illinois state senate, he has been closer to some Republicans than Democrats; in the presidential campaign, he argued that Hillary Clinton was too partisan to unify a badly fractured country and succeeded in winning the votes of some prominent Republicans.
Not this time. The stimulus passed without a single Republican vote in the House and only three in the Senate, a worrying sign for the Obama promise of bipartisanship.
The Republican strategy was led by Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, a Kentuckian with large, calm eyes, and as natural a foil to the president as any novelist could have conjured up. Obama’s political career could be seen as a quest to be accepted; McConnell relished being vilified, hanging unflattering editorial cartoons on the walls of his Senate office. Where Obama was subtle and intellectual, McConnell was a tough, canny tactician who believed in brute repetition of anxiety-inducing messages about the mounting federal deficit, bailouts and terrorist attacks. Facing Democratic control of Capitol Hill and the White House, not to mention a party that seemed adrift, McConnell told Republicans that the key to remaining relevant was voting together to oppose Obama’s agenda. Together they could deny him the bipartisan label he craved and make his agenda look one-sided, even extreme.
Next time a Republican thumps his or her chest about patriotism, think of this. This is more than just political rancor and obstruction. It’s one thing to have different views than another party; it’s another to stifle any bipartisan discussion that can help the 300+ million people who live in the country.
“We worked very hard to keep our fingerprints off of these proposals, because we thought -- correctly, I think -- that the only way the American people would know that a great debate was going on was if the measures were not bipartisan.”
—Mitch McConnell, quoted by Norm Ornstein in his Foreign Policy piece “Worst. Congress. Ever.”
"Newtown families ask for meeting with Mitch McConnell" (Sargent 2013)
[Article excerpt]
The request – if granted — would allow the families to come face to face with the primary architect of the GOP’s strategy of blocking everything Dems propose to slow the tide of gun violence. If it is denied, it would be a big story, and could lend support to the argument that Republicans are callously rebuffing the families — and prioritizing the gun lobby over them – in the wake of a massacre that claimed the lives of 20 Newtown children.
“Talk about a manufactured issue - there is no issue. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Kelly Ayotte from New Hampshire and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe from Maine I think would be the first to say - and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska - we don’t see any evidence of this.”
—Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on the Republican ‘war on women.’ Mitch, you maybe should have checked with them first.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/mitch-mcconnell-ethics-complaint_n_3062215.html?utm_hp_ref=politics
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been hit with an ethics complaint after a leaked tape revealed he was discussing with aides how to take on potential opponent Ashley Judd.
The Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has asked the Senate ethics committee and the FBI to investigate whether McConnell was having a discussion about potential Judd weaknesses — including her mental health and religion — on government time.
“Using taxpayer-funded resources to pay staffers to dig up dirt on political opponents isn’t just an ethics violation, it’s a federal crime,” said CREW Executive Director Melanie Sloan. “As Sen. McConnell requested, the FBI is investigating the recording. A thorough and fair investigation necessitates the bureau also inquire into whether Sen. McConnell himself violated the law.”
Mother Jones first reported on the leaked tape, which was reportedly recorded at a Feb. 2 meeting. Shortly after the leak, the McConnell campaign said it was working with the FBI.
“Obviously a recording device of some kind was placed in Senator McConnell’s campaign office without consent,” McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton said in a statement.
Benton went on to slam the recordings as “Gestapo kind of scare tactics” during an interview on Mike Huckabee’s radio show.
“We’re not going to stand for it,” Benton said.
Judd announced on March 27 she would not challenge McConnell in 2014.
It’s common for Senate and House aides to do campaign work on their own time, and it’s legal to do so as long as no government resources are used.
This post has been updated to clarify that government staffers are allowed to volunteer in their spare time.
democratic consistency. Everyone does oppostion research
Not everyone uses tax payer money to do so.
LEMON SOCIALISM EVERYONE. Mitch McConnels Poll numbers sag so he uses kentucky tax payer money to fund oppostion research against ashley judd.
Then republicans try to reframe it to being about the potential illegality of the wire tap.
Bottom line: McConnel is potentially guilty of ethics violations. if we can prosecute or this information was obtained illegally is up in the air.
Republicans are trying to claim that “Everyone does opposition research” so this is hypocrtical. No. not everyone uses tax payer money for oppostion research! try again!
