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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/11/30/2139240/-Biden-Schumer-Pelosi-need-to-channel-Harry-Reid-right-now-and-fight-for-our-futureWhat would Harry Reid do right now? Threaten to cancel Christmas to save the country
Joan McCarter
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday November 30, 2022 · 3:16 PM EST
WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 08: Senate Minority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) (L) shares a moment with Vice President Joseph Biden (R) during Reid's leadership portrait unveiling ceremony December 8, 2016 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The leadership portrait unveiling ceremony was held to honor the outgoing Democratic leader. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Harry Reid had no problem about threatening to cancel Christmas.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer are staring down the double-barreled threat of multiple, critical deadlines and the knowledge that the House is going to be turned over to a raft of incompetent maniacs in a little more than one months time. The two leaders allowed their members to come back from the election on Nov. 8 and accomplish very little, then take the full Thanksgiving weekand the days book-ending itoff. That wasted time is now biting the whole nation in the ass, with the workload increasingalong with Republicans determination to thwart progress.
The number one thing Pelosi and Schumer needed to deal with started a few months ago, when House Republicans began announcing their hostage-taking intentions. The over-confident GOP announced that they would force cuts to Social Security and Medicare by refusing to raise the nations debt ceiling next year, now likely in June. Thats the promise the U.S. government makes to all its creditors and to the American people that the payments that have been promised to themfrom troops paychecks to monthly Social Security checks to global debt servicingwill be covered. Not extending those guarantees by raising the debt ceiling threatens the entire global economy.
The threat that they would use this tactic was reiterated and reinforced. Democratic leadership more or less ignored the threat, implying that sure, it would be nice to deal with that, but there is just so little time and so many other priorities. Well, heres a kick in the pants to that excuse of too little time, too much to do: Senate Republican leadership is now endorsing the House maniacs tactics, including the direct threat to Social Security and Medicare.
Sen. John Thune (R-SD), Mitch McConnells number two in leadership, told a Bloomberg panel of editors and reporters that Senate Republicans are right there with the House maniacs. They want to use the debt ceiling as a cudgel to force changes to Social Securityby changes they always mean cutsand other programs.
The one side who would feel that pressure is the Democratsmeaning President Joe Biden and Schumer. So what should they do? Channel former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and cancel Christmas.
The threat would probably be enough to bring some recalcitrant memberspossibly even some outgoing Senate Republicansinto line to get priorities taken care of. Like starting a budget reconciliation bill in the House right now that will include dealing with the debt ceiling, funding the government, and whatever other steps necessary for maniac-proofing the government. Yes, budget reconciliation bills take time, and can include all-night vote-a-ramas in the Senate. Do what Harry did, on multiple occasions: keep the Senate in session all night. Tell Senators they will have to be there all night.
Let them know that if they dont play nice, they may have to be there until Christmas Eve, just like Harry made them do to give the nation access to health care. The Affordable Care Act passed the Senate on Christmas Eve, 2009, while a blizzard engulfed Washington, D.C. Threaten to do that again, this time to save Social Security.
Make sure the whole nation knows thats what youre willing to do: forego your treasured time off, during the biggest holiday of the year, to make sure the programs that are so vital will continue, unharmed. Make House GOP leader Kevin McCarthys nightmare of a leadership fight even harder by focusing the nations ire on the House Republicans.
Let Speaker Pelosi step away from the gavel having realized one last, huge achievementsaving Social Security.
Be like Harry Reid. Fight.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)Phoenix61
(17,003 posts)I think it would be a wonderful way for Pelosi to end her brilliant leadership. Heck, for all we know this has been her plan all along.
ananda
(28,858 posts)!!!
yardwork
(61,599 posts)liberalla
(9,243 posts)Harry Reid was wonderful! Nice picture, too.
Fiendish Thingy
(15,587 posts)Sinema has done it at least once in the past,
No one is afraid of Schumers wrath.
dsc
(52,157 posts)and we can pass a whole boatload of stuff.
Fiendish Thingy
(15,587 posts)The Senate cant even convene unless 51 are present.
FoxNewsSucks
(10,429 posts)onecaliberal
(32,829 posts)childfreebychoice
(476 posts)So he will veer even further right, and sinema prob has lucrative job lined up as lobbyist, or CNN/fox commentator. There is old saying when rethugs win by one vote, they claim a mandate. When dems win by one vote, rethugs claim they cheated.
We are in for two yrs of rethug grandstanding, sucking up even more time on Sunday talking head shows...popcorn and Xanax, for all
MurrayDelph
(5,293 posts)Never forget that he slapped down Jeff Merkley's attempts to reform the filibuster, which included talking filibusters and voting to sustain instead of to break.
Instead, he decided to leave it as is and trust Mitch McConnell's promise to only use it for "extreme circumstances," not realizing (although everyone else did) that Mitch defined "extreme circumstances" as Democrats trying to get shit done.
Prairie_Seagull
(3,318 posts)Why then would we keep the filibuster. If they are going to act as crazy as some do in the house then they should have their wings clipped. IMO
PortTack
(32,757 posts)Tantrums. Shutting the government down worked SOOO well the last two times they did it!