Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) has chutzpah. Now that he and his party have been relegated
to minority status, he wants republicans to afford them what was denied during
his tenure as majority leader:
“I
would hope we could have an open amendment process and ample debate on that
legislation,” Reid said on the floor.
Reid’s comments are close to a complete reversal compared to the
way he has run the Senate, one that appears to be driven by the minority-party
status that Democrats will hold next year. Reid has routinely blocked GOP
senators from offering amendments on dozens of bills over the last few years,
using a maneuver that blocks Democratic amendments as well.
That practice has essentially shut down the Senate as a
legislative body, and turned it into a chamber that mostly rejects or ignores
House-passed bills, except for must-pass spending bills or other critical
measures.
Reid has stopped consideration of amendments through a process
called “filling the tree.” In that procedure, Reid fills up all the designated
amendment slots with his own token amendments that make tiny changes to the
bill, which prevents others from having their own ideas considered when the bill
comes up.
That maneuver has often prompted Republicans to vote against
even considering legislation, since there’s no hope they can make any changes
to it.
What a POS!
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