Mitch McConnell Vows to Stall Health Care Bill With a Lot of Amendments Over a Lot of Weeks
Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday asks Sen. Mitch McConnell if the Republicans can prevent the health care bill from coming to the Senate floor. McConnell could not say whether they had the votes to block it from going to the floor for debate, but vowed to stall the bill with "a lot of amendments over a lot of weeks".
Oh boy. I wonder if we'll get to see any Republican Senators using babies as props or similar nonsense as they drag this thing out?
WALLACE: Let's turn to health care reform. Senate Democrats are expected to bring a bill to the floor this week. Do you have the 41 votes in the Senate to prevent them from even bringing it to the floor?
MCCONNELL: Well, what we do know for sure, Chris, is this is a bill that cuts Medicare, raises taxes and raises insurance premiums.
We know it's been in Harry Reid's office for six weeks and the other 99 senators have not seen it. I think we ought to at least have as much time for the other 99 senators and all of the American people to take a look at this bill as Majority Leader Reid has had.
The only way to guarantee that for sure would be to delay the process to allow everyone to fully understand what's in the bill.
And then if there are 60 senators who want to go to this bill, even though the administration's own actuary, somebody who works in the administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, has said that it will drive the cost of health care up and that it will hurt seniors -- if they still want to go to it, then we'll have the debate.
And when we get on the -- on the bill, if we do, there will be a lot of amendments over a lot of weeks. I mean, the Senate is not the House. You saw in the House three votes and it was over in one day.
Look, we spent four weeks on a farm bill in the last Congress, eight weeks on an energy bill earlier this decade. This will be on the floor for quite a long time. I think it ought to be on the floor at least as long as it's been in Harry Reid's office.
WALLACE: So what are you talking about, because that has been an issue? Do you think that health care reform, even if they have the votes, can and will get through the Senate before the end of this year?
MCCONNELL: The American people are overwhelmingly telling us, "Don't pass it." It will be up to whether the Democratic majority wants to listen to the American people or whether they want to pass this anyway just to basically ignore the opinion of the American population and go ahead with this bill.
I think it is yet to be determined, you know, whether there are 60 senators who are going to ignore public opinion and pass a bill that cuts Medicare, raises taxes and raises insurance premiums.
WALLACE: Let's talk about some of the key issues that are going to come up. And one of them is the Stupak amendment which was passed by the House, which basically will bar the use of federal funds in any way to provide health insurance that would cover abortions.
Do you believe that you will have 41 votes to block that in the Senate?
MCCONNELL: Well, what we do know is that the American people, regardless of how they feel about the abortion issue, don't think that taxpayer money ought to be used to pay for abortions. And so I think that issue will be hashed out on the Senate floor.
I think it would be very difficult to pass a bill that, in effect, either directly or indirectly provided tax money to pay for abortions.
WALLACE: So let me rephrase, because I kind of messed it up. Are you saying that you believe you have the votes to get the Stupak amendment added, which would further restrict the use of federal funds?
MCCONNELL: Well, we don't know what will be in the bill that Senator Reid produces. And I'm not going to predict the outcome of this.
What I am going to say once again is that we know where the American public is. They're overwhelmingly opposed to using tax funds, either directly or indirectly, to pay for abortions. Whether the Senate will reflect American public opinion on that or not, we'll have to see.
WALLACE: Just as a final wrap-up question on this, you obviously are constantly counting votes. As you look at the various key issues out there, whether it's tightening abortion restrictions, or fighting the public option, or increasing limits on illegal immigrants being able to have any access to the system, or the funding for it, where do you think is the Republicans' best chance of derailing, or at least changing, the health care reform bill the Democrats are going to put up?
MCCONNELL: Well, all of those are hot-button issues -- abortion, immigration, whether or not the government's going to get in the insurance business. All of those are very contentious issues.
But of course, the core of the bill is very contentious as well -- massive cuts in Medicare, huge tax increases on individuals and on businesses, and raising insurance premiums for 85 percent of the Americans who already have health insurance. All of these are at their core very controversial.
Let me tell you what we ought to do, Chris. We ought not to pass a 2,000-page bill. We ought to go step by step, regain the confidence of the American public, deal with the cost issue, and target the problems in our health care system, not scrap it, not have the government take over one- sixth of our economy.
How many people are uninsured in Kentucky?
That the people of Ky would vote to put this sorry excuse for a person into our government!
republicanism/conservatism is a mental illness that is killing America!
LIAR. McConnell is nothing but a feeble obstructionist.
When Mitch McConnell is talking, you can barely notice Humana moving its lips.
subsidies for Medicare Advantage Plans which are paid to private insurance companies by the government thanks to Bush Co. Services from Medicare to seniors are otherwise NOT being cut at all in the bill.
Here's another fact: Mitch McConnell is a paid whore for health insurance companies, and nothing he says should be given any credence at all.
I think the bill should be tanked because of the mandate for coverage to be bought from private insurance companies, which mandate will be enforced by the government. Why not just put all of the money paid for coverage into, at least, Medicare for all? The current bill is a sham. What right do private insurance companies have to take 30% of all money paid to them when they do NOTHING to earn it? They do not have a right to this.
"I think we ought to at least have as much time for the other 99 senators and all of the American people to take a look at this bill as Majority Leader Reid has had."
R-r-right...you jackass,because you know,it's really a big bill and Republicans have had to expend so much energy attending tea parties and rallies etc..plus all this obstruction on every conceivable front wears people out.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
"I think we ought to at least have as much time for the other
99 senatorshundreds of Lobbiests' and all of theAmericansFox FartHards to lie about it..."As if the Repukes were given more time they would bother to read it and give it the consideration it deserves. They sicken me.
speed records when passing bills advocating the destruction of life (war) and the constitution (FISA, Patriot Act, etc).
But when it comes to rebuild (Stimulus) and help ordinary citizens (health care)... then they really love to stall things.
Again, why are the Dems so innefective at neutralizing a collective so hellbent in destroying the interests of 95% of the population of this country?
..is the vocal minority listening to the BS on faux thinking we're being led down the road to some socialistic, fascist, communist new world order.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
there have to be better excuses for this complete and utter lack of control of a message which benefits most Americans.
Here's a good explanation of the problem:
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/415/video.html
(The piece is about taxation, but really explains the lack of awareness of the issues by the average citizen).
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
..not yelling loudly enough or responding with enough verve to get enough people to listen. Its the bias some Americans have against Democrats because the gop told them so. Its the squeaky wheel syndrome. Its a corporate controlled media looking for the "if it bleeds, it leads" headline. Its a lot of things including the right gives tax breaks (but only to the rich, shh, that's a secret but they give tax breaks) but the left raises taxes (but, but, Obama cut taxes on 98% of working families, huh,) Its like Alice in Wonderland (or me at my job) Up is Down, Left is Right (in an orientational sense not a political one)!
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
there is only right and sorta-right. No left at all.
issued to their reelection campaigns.
..where would you like all the caskets delivered for all of the people dying daily from lack of health care? Do you want them in your office in DC or should we just deliver them to the steps of the Capitol Building? If we do, will you take them from there? I don't want you to get hurt moving them though, there's quite a few. Over 100 today and at least 800 per week. That's an awful lot of caskets you're gonna' need for all the people you and those pathetics pieces of excrement in your party are going to see die because you are denying them health care!
One more thing, senator mcconnell, some of those people dying are probably republican'ts like you. I know you hate America by the way you act but why do you hate the right wing so much you would let them die without health care?
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
You know those pieces called pawns? Yeah, well, that would be the average citizen. Mr. McConnell would be the Bishop, Aetna would be the King and Wall Street the Queen.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
Ya sure that McConnell is not the Queen?
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
..can capture any piece on the board and checkmate the King.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
... that the peons can only move in one direction: forward, have the most limited range, and must then count on being pitted against the most utterly incompetent chess player to be in the position of check mating.
That is why I loathe chess playing analogies.
Obama is the time-clock sitting on the sidelines.
Thanks for the good laugh.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
Wow, how shocking considering the definition of conservative is, "tending to oppose change" I guess this is to be expected.
It's about as shocking as some Bible-babbler getting caught in a sex scandal again.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
"I'm glad I'm me and not the deceived people in the world."
Heh...is he channeling Rupert Murdoch?
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
If you want a good laugh, go on over to FreeRepublic and read the comments on this article. It's a good mix of Catholic bashing (they do it more, so they're worse), claiming he wasn't a true Christian and just changing the subject. If you have the stomach for that place it makes for some good chuckles.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
If the President wanted to give water to a dying woman the republicans would try to stop him saying he was wasting water since she was going to die anyway.
Say what you mean. Mean what you say. But don't say it mean.
That woman was in a persistent vegetative state and they could score cheap political points by getting involved in personal issues.
I think Terri Shiavo is the only woman in American history that conservatives have ever "cared" about in regards to her health.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
Study the symptoms not the virus...
she was Terri Schiavo.
Oops, didi't see you post, Git.
..WALLACE: "Let's talk about some of the key issues that are going to come up. And one of them is the Stupak amendment which was passed by the House, which basically will bar the use of federal funds in any way to provide health insurance that would cover abortions.
Do you believe that you will have 41 votes to block that in the Senate?"
Isn't it 49 votes to block that amendment in the Senate or as part of the larger bill?
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
It's a race against time...and gravity.
Can Mitch McConnell stop health care reform before his face melts off!?
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
No wonder he's a tea bagger idol.
His face looks like a soggy tea bag.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
Wallace the Lesser: Do you have 41 Senators willing to prevent the Senate from getting to vote on this issue in the first place?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: This bill raises your taxes, cuts your benefits, kills your spouse, forces you to smoke crack and dumps a pile of manure on everybody's lawn. I know this for sure, even though the only Senator who has seen the bill is Harry Reid. Not a single other Senator has even seen the bill, because Harry is hording it in his office for six weeks. So, I used my magic powers of remote viewing to read it. I think everyone else in the world should get to read it too. Give everyone a chance to read the whole thing, line by line and word by word. It's the only way to stall long enough to kill it. But, I suppose if 60 Senators still want to have a debate on it, even though the Obama Administration has come out totally against it, I guess we'll debate it. But, I tell you what. We're not the House of Representatives, where they just passed this health care thing in five minutes without a single committee hearing, a single amendment or a single debate on anything. We'll be amending this bill as much as possible. Hell, we take at least two months to draft obvious legislation. Stuff everyone needs and wants. We delay that too.
Wallace the Lesser: What are you talking about? Is the bill coming to the floor or not? Is it passing by the end of this year or not?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: You know those polls that say health care reform is supported by 70% of the American people? Clearly the American people are overwhelmingly against it. The Democrats can either listen to that overwhelming majority, do the right thing and not vote on this at all, or just give them the finger by giving them health care. So, the real question is this: Are there really 60 Senators who hate America so much that they'll pass something that will force you to smoke crack and kill your wife?
Wallace the Lesser: Ooooo-kay. Let's just move on to some of the particular issues. How about the Stupak amendment barring abortion funding of any kind? Will there be the needed 41 votes to block the vote on the basis of that amendment?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: No American believes in funding abortion. They might like abortion, but they don't want to fund it with tax dollars. So, it'll be impossible to pass a bill that funds abortions.
Wallace the Lesser: Okay, maybe I'm fucking up my questions, here. I'm going to try again. Do you have the votes to keep the Stupak amendment in there?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: I do not have enough magic powers to predict what Senator Reid will produce. But we know where good Americans stand.
Wallace the Lesser: Oh, for crying out loud. Look, there are all sorts of controversial issues here. Can you at least tell me the Republicans' best hope of derailing the process?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: Everything about this bill is contentious. It'll make you smoke crack and kill your wife. And it's 2000 pages long. You know what we shouldn't do? Pass a 2000-page bill.
Wallace the Lesser: Jesus fucking Christ! Do you have the votes to kill this thing or not?
Non-Answering Lying Twit: I tell you what: Snarf birds across the land are yammering to hose the thing down.
Everyone is equally entitled to the pursuit of happiness. Wasn't that once self evident?
..is 51% (according to a recent Gallup Poll).
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
eveyone is pro-life, well almost everyone... except for the >1% of certifiable sociopaths in our population.
..everyone is pro-life but some don't care once the child gets born.
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
Pro-life is a misleading and dishonest term used to describe people who want to deny women the right to choose.
It is also weird that people who call themselves pro-life are often associated with endorsing capital punishment and encouraging aggressive military adventures.
..they're not really pro-life.
Can we call this more hypocrisy from the right?
Mickey: "It was an epiphany. Do you know what an epipany is?"
Keoni: "NOT NOW MICKEY!"
What we have here is an example of right-wing "political correctness".See,they don't think of themselves as "PC" but if you are a conservative,you must use the term "pro-life" otherwise you simply wouldn't fit in and you wouldn't be..drum roll.......politically correct.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
Everyone is anti-abortion until their daughter gets knocked up.
Unless you're a right wing failed Alaskan governor running for President.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
The proper method for dealing with unwanted pregnancy is to never speak of it,hide the shame and raise the baby as a younger sibling who has gone to live with the Grand Parents.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
So this freaky-looking bastard is fine with having the blood of tens of thousands of uninsured and underinsured Americans on his hands in order to fight for the health-insurance companies?
call McConnell a freaky-looking bastard?
He has been worked on by one of the very best taxidermists in Mexico.
that's good.
When I look at Mitch I see some kind of Alien Lizard disguised as some putz in a suit.
"To me, truth is not some vague, foggy notion. Truth is real. And,
at the same time, unreal. Fiction and fact and everything in between,
plus some things I can't remember, all rolled into one big "thing."
This is truth, to me. "
-Jack Handy
That's closeted, sling bottom Alien Lizard. Fixed it for you!
Cue the Kabuki....
howwabout tar and feathers.....?
Cue the Kabuki....
but at this point I could care less about this so-called healthcare bill.
Big Pharma loves it.
It has a very weak public option that will only be available to about 10% of us.
The Stupak amendment is so obnoxious and discriminatory I can hardly believe it is part of this boondoggle.
Obama didn't have the courage to stand for single-payer - so we're being offered this garbage that Kucinich was forced to vote against.
that we Dems are in the majority?! See how much "change" we're getting? NO? Oh, right -- the corporatocracy lives on, unfazed.
I don't agree with you that the bills in Congress should be scrapped. They can be passed and then amended later.
I do agree with you that Obama chickened out on really pushing for single-payer or a strong public option. He needs to grow some balls and realize the neocons are not in government to improve our country, but to enrich themselves and their campaign donors.
I would like to be optimistic as well, but so far I see no reason to be. When you look at the money that drug companies and health insurance companies contribute to congresspeople and the fact that Obama had closed doors meetings with them I don't see "change" coming any time soon. Or probably ever, as long as our government is owned by corporations.
And it will get worse as they "compromise" to try and get it passed, all the while giving more ammo to the enemy.
Nothing will change until the wheels fall off.
I love crashes. Will it be televised?
"The deal has to be negotiated in the real world, not on some idealized Aristotelian plane. We understand that. A 100-percent deal may be impossible."
Famous "Reality Based" Commentator
But most Americans are so selfish and self centered, the idea of anyone OTHER than themselves getting health care offends them.
We should have a system like what they have in the UK, but never will.....
these guys are clearly not into reading and writing enough to put up a lot of amendments. Remember it only took the House a day or two to get through their 580+ amendments because they were so lame. Unless, of course, there's some smart lobbyist out there they can take off "speech detail" and chain to a desk writing amendments . . .
like the moneyed interests have already moved on to immigration and cap & trade, leaving the Repub senators to finish the job as best they can . . . and they've got nothing.
That's because the "moneyed interests" have already won the health care debate. See TeaEyeIs post above.
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
Let them block it and make it fail to pass...it's a crappy bill anyway. Then as the Rethugs cheer, make sure you blast the general public with the knowledge that the RW does not want people to have decent healthcare. Hammer that point over and over and then run roughshod over them when you fix the bill correctly, i.e. single payer, next year. Point out that Rethugs are against everything decent Americans stand for, and least them in the dust where they belong.
I know, wishful thinking on my part, but what the heck?
I know Obama like writing his own scripts, but I think you could do it better. :)
Hopefully humanity will one day learn to be humane.
Why is the United States Senate necessary?
"The deal has to be negotiated in the real world, not on some idealized Aristotelian plane. We understand that. A 100-percent deal may be impossible."
Famous "Reality Based" Commentator
Cause they make the House Of Representatives look sane?
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
I think they're both useless. Hell corporatists run this country anyway, just skip the middle man and save some money.
Like in China.
Has anyone "EVER" seen McConnell's discharge certificate from the Army?
Red Dawg
refutes the notion he has ever discharged.
"The deal has to be negotiated in the real world, not on some idealized Aristotelian plane. We understand that. A 100-percent deal may be impossible."
Famous "Reality Based" Commentator
Nay nay, Ricky.
Mr. McConnell's face is perfectly suited for storing the discharge of his benefactors.
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
I just can't see this dufus worm beating anyone in a debate. He puts me to sleep just looking at those droopy eyes and that imbicilic drawl.
Gowd....where does this worthless sack of lying shit hail from? What a turd.
Kentucky by cracky!
"Anyone that makes less than $150K in this country, has no business voting Republican."
"Bitch" McCornhole. This coming from another TOQ, without the waddle mind you (nor la closeta, for that matter). Poor "Bitch" will never get laid by another boy!
Stupid Saltine! And what happened to his lips? He looks like a lizzard! Creepy!
if the Dems said fuck you to Lieberman and the RepubliSlime and actually passed a REAL health care bill? A true single-payer system? Or a bill with a public option? What if they passed HR 676?
Besides the health insurance parasites and moronic teabaggers, who the hell would complain???
NOBODY 2012
One of the RAPE_UBLICANS WHO'S ALREADY GETTING SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE FROM A GOVERNMENT-RUN PROGRAM has a problem with others getting it also.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6_1Pw1xm9U
I believe the Republicans can relax now, knowing they have made their position on health care perfectly, completely clear.
It's time they simmer down and let people decide what the people's position is on Republicans.
Remember Republicans, whining, weeping, panicking, hateful tantrums, and displays of ignorance will count against you...
"Government by organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob"
-= Franklin Delano Roosevelt =-
and call the liar out. They need to forcefully refute over and over the lies about cutting Medicare. Many older Americans listen to Basset Hound man w/o thinking what a tool he is. Dems need to call out in Congress he lies when these liars make these claims on the floor. On the stupid televisions shows they need to forcefully repudiate the BS. I'm tired of all the blatant dishonesty. When did straight out lying become normal ?
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