Irony
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday offered an amendment to force a vote on President Obama’s deficit-reduction plan, but Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was having none of it.
Reid called it a political stunt, but McConnell made his point, not even Democrats take obama's proposal seriously and none want to be responsible for voting for it because it would be political suicide and Reid knows it.
The majority leader's objection removes the amendment from consideration.
McConnell said he wasn’t surprised Democrats didn’t want to vote on Obama’s plan, which he said raises taxes on small businesses.
“Not a single Senate Democrat has stepped forward to support it, and if you look at it you can see why,” McConnell said. “It increases taxes.”
Obama’s plan, released last week, calls for $1.6 trillion in tax increases and $400 billion in cuts to entitlement programs, plus a new $50 billion stimulus plan. Democrats want to raise taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year. The plan would also allow the president to raise the debt ceiling without action from Congress, something lawmakers heavily oppose.
McConnell added that he'd be happy to have a stand-alone vote on the president's plan rather than attaching it to legislation as an amendment.
Remember back in May 2012, Obama's budget proposal did receive a vote and not one Democrat in the Senate or the House of Representatives voted for it.
Failed in the Senate 99-0
Failed in the House 414-0
By refusing to allow Obama's fiscal cliff proposal to even come up for a vote on the Senate floor, Reid is attempting to save Obama the extreme humiliation he suffered back in May.
What does it say when a plan is so unserious that your own party leaders refuse to even allow a vote on it?
Kudos to McConnell.
