Those who read this blog know I am much more receptive to the insurgents (my term, which I find is far more descriptive than “Tea Party”, “grassroots”, or whatever complicated label Shaun Kenney is using for them today) within the Republican Party – save on the bizarre infatuation that some of them have with would-be-tax-hiker Donald Trump. This week, however, many of them took guilt-by-association and went waaaaay around the bend.
It all began a week ago when Mitch McConnell brought up a long-term transportation authorization bill with only two amendments, one of them being a revival of the expired Export-Import Bank. Ted Cruz, who thought he was promised votes on his proposed amendments, went ballistic (Washington Examiner). When the Ex-Im amendment passed on Monday (while a similarly non-germane amendment on defunding Planned Parenthood was squelched without a vote), and the anger spread to the House. The next day, there was a motion to strip Speaker John Boehner of his job.
Except that while Boehner was hearing it from the insurgents over McConnell’s highway bill antics, his second-in-command (Kevin McCarthy) was telling anyone who would listen that the House wouldn’t even consider the Senate bill (WasEx).
“We are set to depart on Thursday,” McCarthy said. “We are not sending the Senate a thousand-page bill on Wednesday, for them to take up.”
McCarthy added that the House passed a short-term highway funding bill weeks ago, in plenty of time for the Senate to take it up. “We’ve been very clear,” McCarthy said.
Ex-Im opponents celebrated McCarthy’s reiteration that the House won’t consider the Senate highway funding bill.
By Thursday, the House got what it wanted (New York Times), and the Ex-Im Bank is still dead.
So, to recap, the House – where Boehner is actually Speaker – shut down the Senate’s attempt to bring back Ex-Im, but Boehner is at fault for the Senate’s action because…
…yeah, I’m not seeing that either.
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