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February 12, 2010
Reid Puts His Re-election Bid Before Bipartisanship
Posted by The MaryHunter at February 12, 2010 6:01 AM
Did someone say "a bipartisan jobs bill, with President Obama's blessing"? Whether or not said bill was worth the paper it was printed on, Harry Reid used clever parlimentarian tricks to do a bait and switch, scrapping the bipartisan bill for his own.
A bipartisan group of senators forged agreement on a jobs bill that drew the White House's blessing Thursday - but hours later Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid scuttled the deal and replaced it with his own Democrat-written measure.
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, tried to offer the Baucus-Grassley jobs proposal on the Senate floor Thursday night but Mr. Reid blocked him.
Instead, Mr. Reid set the table for a partisan fight on his version, which would forgive Social Security payroll taxes for new hires who had been unemployed at least 60 days, fund highway and infrastructure projects and extend tax benefits to small businesses.
Wait, how could the Reid bill sound even slightly more conservative than a bipartisan bill?
Minutes after he blocked the bipartisan proposal and introduced his own bill, Mr. Reid, who is in a difficult re-election race, took credit for the move in an e-mail to constituents back home. He said his version "will help put Nevadans back to work, cut taxes for business, and invest in job-creating transportation projects in our state."
In order to shoot adrenaline into his flacid re-election bid, Reid has gone against Senate colleagues and Dear Leader in one blow. Come to think of it: anything that Chairman Zero has signed off on can't be good, so maybe Harry Reid is actually doing the right thing for America here.
Only kidding, folks.
Image hat tip: Support Your Local Gunfighter.
