Mitch McConnell’s War On America’s Future

The Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, is doing everything he can to damage America’s security, both military and economic. McConnell has made his personal agenda clear: “Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term.”

As they say, “all’s fair in love and war,” and Senator McConnell has declared war on those who practice both.

Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republicans collectively signed a letter stating “tax and spending cuts must take priority over anything on the Democrats’ wish list, including allowing gays to serve in the military, ratifying a nuclear treaty, and extending jobless benefits.” They stated they would not allow any legislation to pass until the Bush tax cuts are extended for all Americans.

And now that it appears McConnell has succeeded in bankrupting our nation’s economic future by winning his tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires war, did we at least win even the promise of an up-or-down vote on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the DREAM Act, or even the START treaty?

Not even close!

We need to tell Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell: No “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” vote, no Senate Christmas recess! Sign the petition!

Chris Geidner at MetroWeekly writes that the GOP’s “unified front raised significant questions about the opportunity to pass other lame-duck priorities for Democrats, including the New START treaty, the National Defense Authorization Act that includes DADT repeal language and the DREAM Act.”

“Senior administration officials discussed the tax-cut framework with reporters this evening. Asked by Metro Weekly whether these other lame-duck legislative proposals possibly being considered were raised in the course of the negotiations on the tax-cut measure, a senior administration official said, “This was a deal simply to resolve the tax issue.”

“As such, it remains unclear whether Democrats will be able to get the necessary support from Republicans to proceed to debate the NDAA in the lame-duck session.”

Great. Especially when stopping the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is more important for McConnell than funding the United States military or giving our members of the armed forces (a measly) 1.4% pay raise. Tax cuts for 2% of the American people are more important than tax cuts for 98% of the American people. Borrowing $700 billion to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires is more important than funding the military’s $725 billion budget. And allowing Russia to continue its nuclear program without verification (Didn’t the GOP’s god-on-earth, Ronald Reagan, say, “Trust but verify?”) is more important than allowing President Obama to appear in control of foreign policy.

Despite his over-usage of his favorite phrase, “The American people want,” Mitch McConnell has no interest in doing what the American people want.

We know that 78% of the American people want “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed. That also includes, the majority of Democrats, the majority of conservatives, the majority of Independents, and even the majority of weekly church-going Christians.

We know that 53% of the American people want the Bush tax cuts to expire for households above $250,000.

We know that 73% of the American people want the Senate to ratify the START treaty with Russia.

We also know that the majority of our men and women in the armed forces have said loud and clear they couldn’t care less if they served with an openly-gay service member.

When Mitch McConnell says, as he did over the weekend, “It’s pretty clear taxes are not going up on anyone in the middle of this recession,” we should also remind the GOP leader that we are no longer in a recession, nor have we been since June, 2009.

Now McConnell says, “I don’t see how we can possibly finish the defense authorization bill, a two-week bill, wholly aside from these controversial items that are in it … before the end of the year.” In other words, strip the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal bill from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and we’ll see if we will pass it.

McConnell, it seems, doesn’t know how long it takes to debate the NDAA. In September, McConnell said, “The Defense authorization bill requires 4 or 5 weeks to debate.” Then, on Sunday he claimed it took two weeks.

Brian Beutler at TPM writes, “a senior Democratic aide went back 20 years and found that spending two weeks on the defense authorization bill is a rarity.”

“Since 1990, the Senate has never spent anywhere close to four or five weeks debating that bill. Four times it’s taken longer than seven days – thus approaching or exceeding the two week threshold.

“The Senate has spent five days (or fewer) debating the defense authorization bill nine times. And, once, back in the friendly days when Bill Clinton presided over majorities in the House and Senate, it took one day.”

Mitch McConnell has proven he will say anything to get what he wants, and what he wants is not what “The American people” want, but what Mitch McConnell wants.