Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has turned the Senate into a do-nothing body, as he seeks to provide political cover for his Democratic colleagues, says
Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel.
“What may be the most overlooked story of the past two years is how Harry Reid has subverted the democratic process, successfully allowing him to both protect his party and keep the focus on Republicans,” she writes. Strassel advises the GOP to fight him.
“In Mr. Reid's Washington, the House works its will, the Senate does crossword puzzles,” she writes. “Its committees do not produce bills, its senators do not debate or amend, the body does not vote.” For example, the Senate hasn’t approved a budget in three years.
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“Mr. Reid's primary motive is to shield his vulnerable members from tough votes and to hide the huge divisions in his party,” Strassel says. “He does not want a debate on gun control, as it would force Democratic senators to choose between President Obama and their own pro-Second Amendment constituents.”
Reid’s do-nothing strategy puts the focus on Republicans in the House, allowing the White House and Democrats in Congress to blame all their problems on the GOP, she argues.
“Republicans are getting very wise to all this,” indicating they will pressure the majority leader to do his job, Strassel says. “The Democrats' great victory in recent months has been in making the public forget that they own the majority of power in Washington, and laying everything on the GOP. Republicans need to remind the country of who, in fact, is at the wheel.”
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