McConnell Effectively Scuttles Omnibus Plan

[Joanne98]

The Senate minority leader's opposition to an omnibus package likely means a continuing resolution to keep the government operating.
By Dan Friedman

Thursday, November 18, 2010 | 12:23 p.m.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has effectively killed any hopes of passing an omnibus appropriations bill in the lame duck, announcing today that he is opposed to such a measure. Congress will be forced to keep the government operating through a continuing resolution.

“If this election showed us anything, it’s that Americans don’t want Congress passing massive trillion-dollar bills that have been thrown together behind closed doors,” McConnell said in a floor speech today. “They want us to do business differently. So I won’t be supporting an omnibus spending bill."

Senate Appropriations Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said Wednesday that he expected a decision today on whether Democrats would try to pass a complete omnibus for the rest of the fiscal year, or what is likely to be a shorter-term continuing resolution that freezes federal funding at fiscal 2010 levels. But McConnell’s announcement signals a lack of GOP support for that course in the Senate, meaning Democrats will likely have to settle on a continuing resolution. Language for such a bill is being drafted by House and Senate appropriators, aides have said.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/senate-moves-toward-continuing-resolution-as-omnibus-plan-evaporates-20101118

[Hawkeye-X]

1. This needs to be pounded to the media - that the Republicans are obstructing

the day to day government run.

As a result, they should cut off every perks that the Rs get until they agree to the omnibus bill and make the tax cuts permanent for the middle class.

They should also agree, as a final concession, to stop filibustering important legislation and stop thinking with their asses.

If they can't, then the media and the people will turn against the R's.

The Media needs to get off their lazy asses and report real news.

Hawkeye-X

[FBaggins]

3. Right! Because the american people will insist that they act like they lost...

...even though we got shellacked.

Lame-duck sessions are politically dangerous tools. If the measure you want passed was something you thought the public agreed with, you would have passed it before the election. It's awfully hard to paint the other side in a negative light for failing to let you continue to control what the voters just took away.

IOW... you can "pound to the media" if you like, but they're going to laugh.

Note: I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the proposed legislation... just the strategy.

[FrenchieCat]

6. "This needs to be pounded to the media"?

By whom?

And good luck with that.

[FBaggins]

2. Hardly a surprise there.

They just won an election... they're unlikely to let the other party draw the budget lines for the coming year.

That's the risk we took by not trying to pass something before the election.

[damntexdem]

4. What happened to reconciliation for budget bills?

Couldn't Dems ram an omnibus bill through with 51 votes via reconciliation?

[pscot]

5. Bold action by Harry Reid

and senate Democrats. Right! :rofl:

[FrenchieCat]

7. Does the "One Senator Objects rule" have anything to do with

the 51 reconciliation budgetary rule?

and by that I'm asking, if one Senator objects, which appears to be the case here,
are we saying that this objection can be bypassed?

[pscot]

8. It's my understanding that the hold rule

is only good for a week, but that's probably hedged with all sorts of qualifiers.