Senate not convening to October 19 due to GOP COVID illnesses in the Senate. Delay of announcing recess reeks of cowardice. Profiles in courage, NOT
We have spineless cowards in the GOP who never pass up a moment to genuflect to the Kremlin, Putin, and D.J. Trump. Let us contrast this cowardice to what President Kennedy wrote of in "Profiles in Courage"
In the 1970s I remember reading the book. While it had a self serving element to it, the book STILL makes a Great Point. Ahem, Senate GOP, do you wish to comment ? While not going back to vote for would be a minimum concession to reality, it is still a STUNNER that Mich McConnell only did this , ahem concession to reality AFTER D.J. Trump is becoming so sick that his return to the White House is in question.
I do not have patience with this level of cowardice. Only when Trump is arguably in line for a funeral, did McConnell act.
Ahem, really great priorities. When in doubt, McConnell and Senate GOP, Tremble in the face of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Embassy in DC, your real masters.
Chicken
Profiles in courage, the movie. continued. NOT.
Remember this ? I do.
https://www.rollcall.com/2020/10/03/after-republican-covid-19-positives-senate-to-remain-out-until-oct-19/?utm_source=morningheadlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_content=10/05/2020
quote
After Republican COVID-19 positives, Senate to remain out until Oct. 19
McConnell previously said he expected senators to come back to Washington on Monday
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says the chamber will remain out for two weeks, instead of resuming work Monday. (Caroline Brehman/CQ Roll Call)
By Chris Cioffi
Posted October 3, 2020 at 1:13pm
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Saturday that he will seek permission for the Senate to remain out for two weeks instead of resuming work Monday, but hearings on Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will continue as scheduled.
“On Monday, I intend to obtain a consent agreement for the Senate to meet in pro forma sessions for the next two weeks. Previously-scheduled floor activity will be rescheduled until after October 19th,” the Kentucky Republican said in a statement.
McConnell said Friday in Kentucky he expected senators to come back to Washington Oct. 5, despite uncertainty surrounding their exposure to COVID-19 in the wake of the positive diagnoses of President Donald Trump and Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee. Since then, two more GOP senators, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson, revealed positive tests for the virus.
Johnson had been quarantining after an earlier interaction with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 and had returned to Washington on Tuesday. After learning of a new exposure this week, Johnson was tested again Friday. The result of that test came back positive, Johnson spokesman Ben Voelkel said Saturday.
Oklahoma GOP Sen. James Lankford, who said he was in contact with Lee, announced Saturday he would following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and “will continue to quarantine,” despite a negative test.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, a Judiciary Committee member, tested negative Friday but would work remotely from his home until Oct. 12 because of "close interaction with multiple infected individuals," a spokesman said.
Under the rules, a majority of members must be present for the Senate to conduct business. Senators routinely waive the quorum requirement by unanimous consent. Without consent, at least 51 senators would need to be physically present in the Capitol.
If all Democrats were to not show up Monday, the chamber would not have been able to conduct business.
The Senate was scheduled to be in session Monday afternoon to begin consideration of five U.S. District Court nominations in Ohio, Florida and Kansas teed up by McConnell earlier this week.
During McConnell’s closing remarks Thursday, he asked the chamber for unanimous consent to proceed to consideration of one of the judges, Michael Jay Newman, tapped to be U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Ohio.
Some Senate watchers believed he also set up a 5:30 p.m. vote on another nominee teed up last week, Aileen Mercedes Cannon, a nominee for the district court bench in the Southern District of Florida, but that was not the case.
Barrett hearing
McConnell and his fellow GOP senators have a tight timeline if they want to get their Supreme Court nominee confirmed before Election Day.
Senate Judiciary proceedings are scheduled to begin Oct. 12 and McConnell told reporters Friday he hopes to take up Barrett’s nomination after it is reported out of the committee on or around Oct 22.
McConnell has not committed to a final vote before the election, but he reiterated Saturday there would be no change to her nomination schedule.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer called McConnell’s decision to proceed with the Barrett hearings “reckless and dangerous.”
“If it’s too dangerous to have the Senate in session it is also too dangerous for committee hearings to continue,” the New York Democrat said in a statement after his GOP counterpart revised the Senate calendar.
Lee and Tillis, who serve on Judiciary, both said they would quarantine for 10 days, allowing them to return just in time for the Barrett hearings.
McConnell’s Saturday statement included a reminder that the Judiciary Committee has allowed senators to appear at hearings virtually, and that will continue if other members cannot show up in person.
“The Committee has utilized this format successfully for many months while protecting the health and safety of all involved,” he said. “Certainly all Republican members of the committee will participate in these important hearings.”
Niels Lesniewski contributed to this report.
End of quote
We have spineless cowards in the GOP who never pass up a moment to genuflect to the Kremlin, Putin, and D.J. Trump
FTR
In the 1970s I remember reading the book. While it had a self serving element to it, the book STILL makes a Great Point. Ahem, Senate GOP, do you wish to comment ? While not going back to vote for would be a minimum concession to reality, it is still a STUNNER that Mich McConnell only did this , ahem concession to reality AFTER D.J. Trump is becoming so sick that his return to the White House is in question.
I do not have patience with this level of cowardice. Only when Trump is arguably in line for a funeral, did McConnell act.
Ahem, really great priorities. When in doubt, McConnell and Senate GOP, Tremble in the face of Vladimir Putin and the Russian Embassy in DC, your real masters.
Chicken
Profiles in courage, the movie. continued. NOT.
While this is going on, YOUR demented MASTER , D.J. Trump is on a real tear
Great priorities, Senate GOP. Got to keep on Genuflecting. Right ? This is what you are genuflecting to. Trump signing his name to a black piece of paper
While you , Senate GOP Genuflect to Trump, let me remind you what the world is saying: YOU, Senate GOP are aiding in the gaslighting of America
Absolutely smashing priorities.
Andrew Beckwith, PhD