"How many times are they going to yank the football away from themselves before Republican voters kick them to the curb?" ~ Erick EricksonThis is practically an update to a previous post on why we need to get rid of these leaderless quislings within the Republican Party...
Here's a tip, Republican voters...when leftist rags champion McConnell and Cornyn for 'saving America' by effectively voting to raise the debt ceiling, it's time for their constituents to choose actual leaders. And two options come to mind this election cycle...NYTimes: Senate Republican leaders on Wednesday rescued a measure to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, overcoming a threatened filibuster from members of their own party and averting a potential shock to the economy.
A vote to cut off debate on the debt ceiling measure passed 67 to 31, after a dramatic scene on the floor when Republicans managed to muster 12 votes in support, clearing the way for final approval.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, and Senator John Cornyn of Texas, the Republican whip, waited nearly a half-hour as their Republican colleagues refused to vote to end debate on the bill. When it was clear that the debt ceiling increase would fail, they stepped forward in tandem to deliver the deciding votes. Other Republicans followed by changing their votes.
The Senate then quickly voted to raise the nation’s borrowing limit, without any conditions, until March 2015, sending the legislation to President Obama to be signed. The passage ended the possibility of a calamitous debt default, as lawmakers scrambled to get out of town before a snowstorm rolled in.
Related links: McConnell, Cornyn Walk Plank on Debt Limit to Ire of Conservatives
McConnell, Cornyn help advance debt ceiling increase in Senate
McConnell, Cornyn Vote To Advance Clean Debt Limit Hike
UPDATE: It was revealed that Senate clerks didn’t announce names during the debt-ceiling vote so that Republicans could secretly switch. A buffoonish attempt by McConnell and Cornyn to snow We The People before the real blizzard bore down on DC...
HotAir: If you’ve ever watched a Senate floor vote on C-SPAN, you know how it goes. The senator’s name is called by the clerk, the senator votes, and then the clerk publicly announces how he or she voted. Basic legislative accountability. But not this time.
Because of the midterms, we’re all going to be in unity mode soon. Here’s a little reminder that that unity is an illusion, papered over periodically as necessary for the greater good of keeping liberals out of power. There are two parties within the GOP and some members of one are represented in Congress by members of the other. And on the toughest votes, legislators will go to unusual lengths to try to obscure that fact. Although not always successfully.
Why did McConnell need other Republicans to switch their vote to yes if he, Cornyn, Collins, Murkowski, and Corker were willing to provide the five votes Reid needed to get to 60? Simple: He didn’t need them. He wanted them to switch so that no one could be accused of having provided the decisive 60th vote for cloture. The bigger the Republican crowd voting yes was, in theory the easier it would be for each of them to hide in it. In practice, Politico not only picked up on the clerks’ conspicuous silence, they found out the names of the Republicans who switched under pressure. Now, instead of being guilty of voting for a measure that’s unpopular with the base, they’re guilty and they look sneaky.
