WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a bill to aid small businesses with expanded loan programs and tax breaks, a procedural blockade that underscored how fiercely determined the party’s leaders are to deny Democrats any further legislative accomplishments before November’s midterm elections.
You want to know how ridiculous this is? It’s this ridiculous.
The small business measure, championed by Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, had the backing of some of the Republican party’s most reliable allies in the business world, including the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. Several Republican lawmakers also helped write it.
No, wait, it’s even more ridiculous.
Senator George LeMieux, Republican of Florida, who helped draft the bill, said Democrats had taken a bipartisan measure and created a partisan firefight over it.
“This small business bill should pass and it should pass with relevant amendments,” Mr. LeMieux said. “Before I am a Republican, I am a Floridian and an American, and this bill is good for our country.”
Mr. LeMieux pointed out that with the House set to adjourn for its summer recess at the end of this week, the Senate is running out of time if it wants to channel aid to small businesses before Congress returns to Washington in mid-September.
With tensions running high, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, immediately jumped in to ask Mr. LeMieux to yield for a question and noted that “if just one” Republican had voted with the Democrats — a pointed reference to Mr. LeMieux himself — the bill would be moving forward.
Mr. LeMieux shot back, “Half the truth is no truth at all.”
We have not yet scaled the peak of ridiculousness.
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has promised endangered Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D) of Arkansas that the administration will help farmers in her state stay in business.
Emanuel called Lincoln on Thursday morning to tell her the administration would find $1.5 billion within its budget to help farmers in Arkansas and around the country who are coping with natural disasters.
Emanuel promised to provide the assistance administratively to get her to agree to delete $1.5 billion in disaster relief assistance for farmers from small-business legislation….
…A GOP senator told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Thursday that Republicans might drop a filibuster of the bill if he dropped the agriculture disaster assistance…
…The late maneuvering, however, was not enough to save the small-business bill from delay. Republicans voted in unison Thursday to block it.
Also today, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL), the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, objected repeatedly to Sen. Mark Udall’s (D-CO) attempts to bring up district judges for a confirmation vote.
Any Democrat who isn’t ready to chuck the filibuster is either an idiot or actually likes things the way they are.
