McConnell: Where Art Thou?
McConnell: Where Art Thou?Washington – When it comes to spending bills in the Senate, Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is looking more and more like his counterpart across the aisle, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).
The Senate has voted on four appropriations bill so far, three of which President Bush has threatened to veto for exceeding spending limits, but Senator McConnell has voted for all of them without so much of a peep or whimper. He has also voted against every anti-pork amendment offered so far, including an amendment offered by Senator Coburn to eliminate funding for a Montana baseball field and North Dakota Peace Garden (Roll Call #335).
In contrast to the House, where Republican leadership has rallied the necessary votes to sustain a presidential veto on spending and is fighting for stronger earmark reform, the Republicans in the Senate, with a few exceptions like Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK), Jim DeMint (R-SC), and others, are marching in lockstep with the Democrats, rubber stamping one bloated spending bill after another.
“If Republicans want to convince taxpayers that they are fiscally responsible, they are going to have to start backing up their words with some votes,” said Club for Growth President Pat Toomey. “We urge President Bush to veto those bills that exceed his spending limits and encourage Republicans in both the House and the Senate to sustain the President’s vetoes. Finally, it would be nice to see Republican leadership acting like, well, like leaders.”
