House Republican
loudmouths have been demanding for several weeks that the Senate majority leader deploy the nuclear option—get rid of the filibuster on legislation. Now one of their "leaders" (as if House Republicans are being led) has joined them. Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy
told Chuck Todd on
Meet the Press that it's time for McConnell to do something to help the House not look so horrible every time leadership fails.
When asked whether the Senate should "go nuclear" when it comes to a bill that would stop the White House from carrying out its 2014 executive actions on immigration, McCarthy said in an exclusive interview that the Senate rules are flawed.
"That's not nuclear, when 57 percent of the American representation says [the bill is] wrong. That's not in the Constitution. I think they should change the rules," McCarthy said, referring to the 57 senators who voted to proceed on the bill. The measure failed because it did not achieve the required 60 votes. […]
McCarthy said Senate Democrats are to blame for taking a potential Department of Homeland Security shutdown to the brink Friday night.
"Five weeks ago, because we do not believe in cliffs, we took this issue up. It was the Senate Democrats who not only voted against the bill; [they] denied the Senate Republicans from even bringing it up when seven Senate Democrats would be opposed to it," the House Majority Leader said. "So they created the cliff [and] moved a bill at the last moment. And what was the House action? Let's go to conference."
It's all about blame switching. Right now they blame Senate Democrats for being the obstacle, instead of the problem children in the House Republican conference who refuse to go along with anything the Senate Republicans agree to. If McConnell does decide to give in and do away with filibuster rules for legislation, and House Republicans get their way on their extremist legislation, President Obama will veto it. So then the House would be able to blame Obama for being the obstacle. And never again get the blame for taking the nation to the brink of some disaster or other, which they are going to do at every available opportunity in the coming two years.
Filibuster reform. When the Democrats did it, it was Harry Reid's most tyrannical move ever. Now it's the most important thing Senate Republicans could do. Of course, that's only to take accountability away from House Republicans. But whatever.