Breaking: Reid Yanks Defense Authorization Bill To Force GOP's Hand

[babylonsister]

http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/jul/18/breaking_reid_yanks_defense_authorization_bill_to_force_gops_hand

Breaking: Reid Yanks Defense Authorization Bill To Force GOP's Hand
By Greg Sargent | bio

Ratcheting up the stakes in the wake of the GOP's successful blocking of a vote on Iraq withdrawal just moments ago, Harry Reid just announced on the Senate floor that he won't allow a vote on the entire Defense Authorization bill until the Senate GOP drops its filibustering of votes on Iraq.

The move is significant because it could hold up the funding of the Pentagon's fiscal 2008 priorities until the standoff is resolved.

It comes only moments after the Republican filibuster succeeded in preventing a vote on the Reed-Levin amendment, which would have mandated withdrawal by April 2008.

Reid said:

I have temporarily laid aside the Defense Authorization bill and have entered a motion to reconsider.

But let me be clear to my Republican colleagues – I emphasize the word "temporarily". We will do everything in our power to change course in Iraq. We will do everything in our power to complete consideration of a Defense Authorization bill. We must do both.

And just to remind my Republican colleagues – even if this bill had passed yesterday, its provisions would not take effect until October.

So we will come back to this bill as soon as it is clear we can make real progress. To that end, I have asked the Democratic Whip and Democratic Manager of the bill to sit down with their counterparts to work on a process to address all outstanding issues related to this bill so the Senate can return to it as soon as possible.

What this means is that Reid isn't allowing any votes on any other Iraq amendments -- not the toothless Warner-Lugar amendment, not the Ken Salazar amendment that would force adoption of the Baker-Hamilton plan, nothing.

Fellow TPM reporter Spencer Ackerman also says that Reid's move is very significant in another way:

Because the Pentagon's priorities won't become law until a Defense Authorization bill is passed, the Pentagon's fiscal 08 priorities won't get funded until this standoff is resolved -- and Reid is insisting that won't happen until the GOP allows a vote on the Iraq withdrawal measures. That's pretty significant.

More soon.

[BlooInBloo]

1. Shorter Reid: You hold our troops hostage, we hold your money hostage.

[babylonsister]

4. I was hoping he'd do something like this. nt

[VP505]

100. I was also

hoping he would do that but I wish he had included all the other bills they are holding up as well.If your going to take a stand like that might as well go for broke.

[frogcycle]

132. no need to overdo it and look petulant

those are in play, and their time will come

[Nimrod2005]

74. Maybe that's what taking back our country looks like....Way to go Sir!!!

[trashcanistanista]

2. Good!

This what they should have done last time per Feingold.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Go, Harry!

[saltpoint]

5. Thank you, babylonsister, for this headline on Reid and the Democrats.

By week's end, it's going to be real clear which party is blocking peace in the chambers of Congress.

You go, Harry.

[babylonsister]

7. I was DELIGHTED to post this!! nt

[TayTay]

50. I was delighted to read it.

This is wonderful stuff. It gets the point across that this is the main issue in America right now. I'm glad Sen. Reid is doing this.

Thanks for all you do babylonsister, you rock!

[madokie]

25. to us who can see, we see

to those who don't see, they won't look

re:puke:s = bastards

[The Count]

135. here's a nature photo to help with your answer:

[monmouth]

6. This is almost just as good IMO. Am I wrong here?? This will get noticed.

[mod mom]

8. Please stick to your guns on this, Sen Reid

[GreenPartyVoter]

120. I hope he does. What a great move!

[Greeby]

9. A Democratic leader actually not sucking up to the MIC, if only for a little while

Colour me shocked :wow:

[blondeatlast]

10. Democracy in action ain't pretty, but damn I love to watch. Give 'em hell, Harry! nt

[monktonman]

Can we say nice things about Harry now?

Is there a time limit on such things?

[mzmolly]

35. You've got 15 minutes

GO! ;)

[blondeatlast]

44. Those boxing skills came in handy. Truly a man of principle. I never lost faith in him.

I've met him, he's a wonderful person. Brilliant politician in the best sense of the word. He's playing the media brilliantly--

whew...

[mzmolly]

69. I love Harry Reid

but my position here is not always "popular" :) I'm so glad he's fighting the b*stards with everything we've got.

[BlooInBloo]

102. Oh, I'm sure NOBODY doubted him. NOBODY at all.... (whistles)

[rpannier]

146. You're so correct

Nobody here ever called him weak :eyes:

Nobody here ever called him ineffective :blush:

Nobody here ever called for him to replaced by Feingold or another Senator :yoiks:

Yep, Yep, Yep...Everyone has been solidly behind him 100% :spray: :rofl: :pals:

[saltpoint]

56. LOL!

[blondeatlast]

63. 5 minutes remaining--type, dammit! nt

[saltpoint]

68. I envision a Troll Clock, against which we must all hasten to

post pro-Democratic remarks.

O woe is us!

[mzmolly]

76. How bout this one?

The Ed Gein wall clock! Sure to be a collector. :P

[saltpoint]

80. O my god. The sound of footsteps you're hearing now is

from me as I flee in panic.

Wow. That is grisly.

[mzmolly]

82. Apparently you can order a calendar as well.

*gulp* http://www.serialkillercalendar.com/ Whoda thunk?

Ok, back to the less depressing subject of politics :hi:

[saltpoint]

83. "Uh... thanks for the link," Old Crusoe managed to shout as he

fled in terror.

LOL!

Yes. Back to politics. What a week Harry Reid has given us.

I love it.

[mzmolly]

84. Oh me too. He's doing a great job!

:toast: To Harry!

[saltpoint]

85. As one more thirsty Democrat, I second that toast, mzmolly.

:toast:

[Exiled in America]

94. No fucking way. Not until he actually FOLLOWS THROUGH on the big tough gesture.

This is no different than the rhetoric coming from Democratic Congressional leaders before the last war spending authorization - then when push came to shove they totally caved.

[Truth2Tell]

149. Bingo.

I'll applaud when I see the follow through. Meanwhile I will watch and see. I'm not getting out the ticker tape for Harry quite yet. Nor, I imagine, will the family members of those who have died in Iraq between the last Democratic cave in and now.

I hate to point this out during this love in - but they could've done this with the last appropriations bill as well, but did not. All "no 60 votes" bullshit notwithstanding.

[DancingBear]

162. My gosh -somebody gets it

Heck, I bet only another 400-500 kids have to die before 'ol tough talking Harry gets the Senate to consider thinking about withdrawing some troops by 2013.

SOME troops, mind you - even corporate Hillary has said troops are staying indefinitely for (ahem) "fighting terrorism."

But the sycophants still wet themselves and coo over Harry.

Some things never change.

Sadly.

[Le Taz Hot]

166. I hear you.

We'll see how far he takes this or if this is just another dog-and-pony show.

[crappyjazz]

11. Thank you for the explanation

I could understand what was happening

[eleny]

12. He surprised the heck ot of me

He speaks so quietly that I almost missed it!

[IChing]

19. Being a boxer he just did a rope a dope on them.

It will get testy today we will see who has the stamina to go all 15 rounds.

[rsmith6621]

13. Does this also require 60 votes?????

.....or a simple up or down

[BlooInBloo]

16. Scheduling is ALL the majority leader.

[rodeodance]

160. That is why Dems need to KEEP the magority!! (even if slim)

[Kolesar]

115. GOPs cannot force a war spending bill to a vote using any *filibuster* process

This is how Congress ended the War on Vietnam. They just did not fund it. Good luck, Senators!

[SoFlaJet]

14. this is what I was hoping he'd do

let them play games as long as they want-we just won't send the money down the pipe-it's a smart hardball play and I LIKE it!!! GIVE'EM HELL HARRY!!!!!

[Purveyor]

15. Way to go Harry. Finally it appears he has been provoked by his limits.

Thanks for posting this report babylonsister. Explains what is taking place quite nicely.

[Grateful for Hope]

17. Excellent

Way to go, Harry!

[TwilightGardener]

18. Hardball Harry. Proud of him.

[bunkerbuster1]

20. I knew I liked this guy.

Give 'em the truth, Harry, and they'll think it's hell!

[iconoclastic cat]

21. Uh, the Salazar amendment only *suggests*; no force whatsoever. nt

[Hawkeye-X]

58. That's why he's a DINO

I hope Colorado will put someone up to replace this schmuck.

Gang of 14? My ass.

If we wanted a Rethug, we'd have voted in Pete "Moose Piss" Coors in.

Hawkeye-X

[EFerrari]

22. Go, Harry!

[Sydnie]

23. If this is political theater

I want front row, run of show tickets!

Go Harry! It's about time!

[mzmolly]

39. Hell yes! ENCORE ENCORE!!!

:toast:

[MissMillie]

24. Now that we're showing a backbone, congressional approval ratings will go up

but we have to stick w/ it.

Americans put us in control of the congress to stop giving * a blank check when it comes to Iraq. We have to stick with it.

[robinlynne]

26. Good. Good. Good.

[Ganja Ninja]

27. Better luck next week, or the week after that, or the week after that,

or the week after that, or the week after that, or the week after that, or the week after that, or the week after that, or the week after that, ....

[tridim]

34. Each week of delay should be subtracted from the 120 days..

Next week the bill should be 113 days. Then 106, etc.

[mzmolly]

42. Oooh, I like that idea!

:hi:

[maddezmom]

28. Way to Go Harry Reid

:thumbsup:

[bear425]

29. This is an excellent move, though I'm sure it will be spun differently

by the "fair and balanced" noise.

[Nickster]

30. Holy Cow! I am surprised. Glad to hear we are showing some spine.

[ClassWarrior]

31. Sen. Feingold said we could count on Sen. Reid.

So did Randi. They were right, as usual.

NGU.

[trashcanistanista]

40. That's right, he sure did!

Thanks for reminding me. Fiengold was right (as always).

[ClassWarrior]

53. Well, as usual, at any rate.

I do disagree with Sen. Feingold on IMPEACHMENT. But that's the first disagreement that I've had with him in a lonnnnnggg time. And I've discovered that whenever I've disagreed with him, I've still deeply respected the thoughtful, compassionate, principled reasoning behind his position.

NGU.

[trashcanistanista]

59. Yes, he may be

right on impeachment in the logistical sense, but no, I disagree with him in the moral sense on that. I hope he comes around.

[blondeatlast]

45. Indeed he did and I'm glad for the reiminder. I never lost faith in him. nt

[ClassWarrior]

67. That's my Senator!

:hi: blonde...

He reiterated it in his speech to our State Convention last month.

NGU.

[Vincardog]

32. Make it clear that until the GOP allows a vote they are hurting the troops.

Political theater my a$$

[Patsy Stone]

33. Good going, Harry!

:thumbsup:

[Swamp Rat]

36. k&r

:kick:

[crappyjazz]

37. McCain already howling on MSNBC about it

saying the Dems would rather deprive our troops what they need, to continue a meaningless debate ... how, no, I mean really, HOW do these people sleep at night?

[Wednesdays]

46. Faux News headline will be:

"Dems Harming Troops, Helping Terrorists" :puke:

[tridim]

48. So what?

Faux is a GOP propaganda outlet.

[Wednesdays]

79. Exactly. And they consider nothing too low for them to stoop

[blondeatlast]

49. He's already on the tubes? Jaybus...

They're voting on an unrelated issue right now--but he's on the tube? :wtf: :mad:

[crappyjazz]

54. He moves fast when he wants to I guess

even tho' that bus of his has three flat tires and one bald one

[blondeatlast]

60. Oh, geez--he's my Senator. I needed that laugh. OMG...

Off to the DUzys for you, m'dear!

[Inuca]

55. Rep presser to be followed

soon by the dems. Or so they say.

[cui bono]

75. He couldn't help it. He was sleepwalking and ended up in the studio. n/t

[mzmolly]

52. Hey did we just use "the power of the purse?"

;)

[Inuca]

62. Looks like that to me, but

I am not sure I understand the implications correctly.

[blondeatlast]

66. I think we did, I think we did. nt

[bluedog]

57. you mean the crying whiner "Maverick?"

hes washed up...all done....put him in foil and freeze his a**!

[mzmolly]

88. LOL. I consider pissing off McCain to he a success in and of itself. I bet he needs a hug?

[progressoid]

152. Ya, but who listens to McCain anymore. Even Repubes don't like him.

[rodeodance]

161. McCain truely is 'old news'

[flpoljunkie]

38. I love how Harry cut the whiny, spineless Specter off at the knees! Way to go, Harry!

[wryter2000]

41. Jaw hitting desk again

:wow:

[Az_lefty]

43. Good. Bringing this to a head is what is needed.

Otherwise the GOP goes on their merry way with all their phony posturing and rhetoric, while more of our soldiers die.

[emulatorloo]

47. Thank you for posting this 00 Thank you HARRY -- STAND TALL STAND FIRM eom

[goclark]

51. Finally! No guts no glory

That's what I'm talking about ~ :bounce:

Make the Republicans sweat.
Don't stand down, stand UP Democrats, Stand UP!

[roamer65]

61. Put it to 'em, Harry.

This is exactly how they would have done it, so tit for tat!

[InkAddict]

64. But what if the *Dufus declares, "I am the Appropriator"?

"Hey, Treas...just print 'em up($), brick 'em" and move 'em out." YeeHaw!

[ticapnews]

70. I'd love to see him try

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

65. Oh. My. God. THIS FUCKING ROCKS!!!!!!! Go Get Em Harry!!!!!!

:toast:

[Terri S]

71. OMG! I am impressed !

About time! What are they debating now?

[Grandrose]

72. Way to go Harry!

All those MSM smirking news readers calling this a circus...what now?:eyes: :kick:

[proud2BlibKansan]

73. Good for him

[buddhamama]

77. Excellent !

Nice move, Harry! :thumbsup:

[ulysses]

78. good!

[Lone_Star_Dem]

81. This is fantastic and a very smart move.

I'm impressed and thrilled.

[Old and In the Way]

86. Thanks for standing up to these clowns Mr. Majority Leader

It's not minority rule in the Senate...

[senseandsensibility]

87. He's going to need our support

I think DU should come together and think of a way to support him.

[havocmom]

90. LTTE, calls to TV & radio shows, flog the blogs, emails to media

let the nation know...

[senseandsensibility]

95. LOL

We're his peeps.

[havocmom]

96. And we need to kick the living shit outta media spinners who try to tar him for his stand!

Seriously! We have to take it to them every time they try the ol '#### doesn't support the troops!' meme. Take them down and kick them until they give up the tactic.

[rucognizant]

105. A theory........

I think Impeachment is about to come off the table now! I think they were waiting for us, US to arrive at some preset barometer level..... # of people wakened.....---- # of references to tar & feathers online.....degree of fury & outrage, # of e-mails, letters, & calls received......AS 15 Congress men have stepped up to support Kuchinich's; impeach Cheney bill, as Cheney himself has become more & more outrageous & scarey, as the SCOTUS has revealed the conservative tendancy they carefully hid at conformation,....
& on & on ec. subpeonas refused, food is poisen & prices are up. There is just TOO MUCH to ignore, no matter how enticing that sale at .............My Senators Snowe & Collins have both donned the white hats now. It only took 4 years of phone calls, requesting, demanding, screaming .Impeach!
I've also called theDLC, DNC, & DCCC, in theire DC offices to say " Stop sending me requests for funding. You won't gt m support until you do something to clean up this giant loose turd dropped by the Repugs ( well not exactly in those terms).
Hope I'm right!
R U Cognizant

[havocmom]

89. Wear them out with an all-nighter then hit them 'tween the eyes with a 2x4

:woohoo:

Let the spoiled brats get the message that THE GROWNUPS ARE IN CHARGE NOW!

[knowledgeispwr]

91. Good going Reid!

K & R!

[opihimoimoi]

92. It appears the Dems not only have SPINES but also BRAINS..Harry got BOTH

[me b zola]

93. k&r

:kick:

[Melissa G]

97. Excellent! n/t

[Vidar]

98. Way to go, Harry!

[yardwork]

99. Good! Give em hell, Harry!

[johnnyrocket]

101. Now, is the RW going to say: "The Dems are defunding the troops!"

They did it last time a few months ago. The RW seems to have a massive and coordinated bullhorn, and their bullshit spin on things always dominates.

They'll do it again.

[babylonsister]

103. McCain has already said that; took him about 10 seconds. See post#37. nt

[nolabels]

109. Blackmail or bluff it won't matter, it has to come to end

The Republicans do not have control of congress so using aggression on a majority will eventually backfire especially if the majority has nothing to lose :shrug:


Really it's just simple mathematics

[NYC Liberal]

140. "especially if the majority has nothing to lose"

And also especially if 70 PERCENT of the AMERICAN PEOPLE are on *our* side. ;)

[hisownpetard]

104. Why, Harry - I do declare! -

you look so handsome, standing up straight
like that!!!!!!!!!!!!

[mdelaguna2000]

106. Way to represent the people!

[rateyes]

107. To the gentleman from Nevada, I must say....

stick to it. Go on the circuit and start explaining to the American people why you are doing this, and don't.budge.one.inch.

[madrchsod]

108. it`s boxing match..

my money is on reid

[JCMach1]

110. KICK... now, will he stick to his Guns so to speak?

[Miss Chybil]

111. Amen! Let's get it on!!!!! nt

[rainy]

112. check-mate!

[RoccoR5955]

113. Give 'Em Hell Harry!

They need to sit and stew in their own juices.
Maybe this war can be ended, and the money spent on this farce, can go to things that actually benefit people!

[Laurab]

114. K and a BIG R! n/t

[ooglymoogly]

116. just goes to show two can play this game of thuggery by the pugs...nt rec

[va4wilderness]

117. It's like a giant game of chicken....

and Reid is trying to see if any of those Republicans will jump off of Shrubbery's wagon

[deepthought42]

118. Yes, YES! MORE!!!!

I mean....um... yea? :blush:

:yourock:

[mmonk]

119. This is definitely showing some leadership skills.

Though I prefer no defense appropriations bills be sent to the Senate anymore, this is the next best thing.

[Jersey Devil]

121. Does this cut off the money? No, not exactly

See this at TPM Cafe:
http://electioncentral.tpmcafe.com/blog/electioncentral/2007/jul/18/breaking_reid_yanks_defense_authorization_bill_to_force_gops_hand

It should be noted that the Defense authorization bill doesn't have to pass in order for the Defense appropriations bill to become law. While the authorization bill set priorities for things like weapons systems in the defense budget, only the appropriations bill actually funds those priorities -- and, unlike what we said earlier it's not strictly necessary to pass the authorization first, though it is customary.

In short, from the perspective of Pentagon operations, the lack of an authorization bill "isn't a problem, period, as long as an appropriations bill is passed," says Steve Koziack of the Center on Strategic and Budgetary Priorities.

[TwilightGardener]

126. That won't stop McCain from making up lies. Why did we ever want that fucker

in our party? Now even the Repubs are kicking him to the curb.

[Joe Chi Minh]

122. How about all those people who impugned Reid's integrity and courage, then!

Not that he had to prove it again. They were already on the record as outstanding, to all but the blindest naysayers.

[redqueen]

123. Excellent move.

I'm so glad to see this!

[some guy]

124. Very good news.

[AntiFascist]

125. Great news, but I can't believe that dog-fighting is more important!!

:mad:

[stevietheman]

127. This indicates something important...

Reid must have gained some sort of security that Lieberman will not decide to caucus with the Republicans.

[babylonsister]

137. It might also indicate he listened to us; we can hope. nt

[Truth2Tell]

150. More likely that he has a repug to switch than anything from Lie-man, IMO. n/t

[Knightly_Knews]

128. Although this is good news...

It doesn't guarantee our troops will be coming home... I wouldn't be too happy yet.. Mr. Imperialist Bushy has more tricks up his sleeve I am sure... And I am not sure I want to know what the next move is... Remember he said to prepare for a catastrophic attack on the US Government? Well, here we go...................................... :crazy:

[babylonsister]

143. Until the rethugs get out of the way, there are no guarantees. nt

[19jet54]

129. I am so very proud of MY...

... Senator Harry Reid - Go Nevada!

[Alexander]

130. Will 90% of DU continue to bash Senator Reid?

I must admit, even I had my doubts.

[sellitman]

131. Very encouraging.

Now.....can we Impeach too?

[polmaven]

133. I understand what he has done with the spending bill.

But why did he vote NO on the Iraq withdrawel bill after all he went through with the "sllep over", etc?

[blondeatlast]

139. A very smart procedural move--if he didn't, no one would have been

able to reintroduce Levin/Reed.

READ THE GREATEST PAGE.

[Cant trust em]

134. "We will do everything in our power to change course in Iraq"

Harry Reid's rhetoric doesn't match his actions. He's certainly not considering pulling funding or talking about impeachment. There's two things within his power to change course in Iraq.

[blondeatlast]

138. Gad--would it hurt that much to read the Greatest page?

What he did was table any discussion of funding the war until Levin?Reed passes--and the Senate, for the 1,047, 645th time, doesn't impeach.

:banghead:

[babylonsister]

142. Oops! Just read your post; great minds... nt

[Cant trust em]

154. Is he not part of the Democratic leadership?

You don't think that he and Nancy talk about these things together?

[babylonsister]

141. The House starts impeachment proceedings so that's out of Reid's

purview. And he's blocked the appropriations bill which is basically pulling the funding. What exactly aren't you getting here?

[Lasher]

136. Woah, what a great move!

Mrs. Lasher made me run some errands today, so I had no idea Reid had done this until I checked back in at DU just now. Gutsy and smart on the part of Senator Reid. I have never been ashamed to be a Democrat but right now I'm starting to feel even better about it.

Many of us have no idea how significant the narrow 2006 Congressional victory really was.

[tiptoe]

144. Simultaneously, re-open investigations into 9/11 and pre-war intelligence. nt

[babylonsister]

153. Good luck with that, but I agree. nt

[rpannier]

145. He used the word 'filibuster'

It's about time someone did

[Cameron27]

147. Nice work Harry,

I'm proud of you!

[rucky]

148. Taking a page out of the Kucinich playbook!

nice work, Senate!

[Odin2005]

151. Give 'em hell, Harry!!!

:yourock:

[datadiva]

155. Wow, very, very, cool! eom

[lapfog_1]

156. I'm guessing that Harry finally got a commitment

I don't think he would do this if he didn't take into account that the traitor Joe Lieberman might actually switch from independent to repuke... and Harry got someone from the repuke side (Olympia? other?) to promise to switch to Dem should that happen to preserve the will of the people ( a Dem majority in the Senate).

I'm sure he is thinking it through.

Senate MAJORITY leader McConnell would just suck big time.

[FiftysLost]

157. Attack

Hope I'm wrong but, I believe there WILL be a attack on this country, most likely by Cheney, and I believe that Bush will impose martial law. Simply put Bush will NOT let this war end.

[deacon]

158. It's the GOP's leadership and Bush's war-it was reaffirmed. n/t

[rodeodance]

159. I can hear the RW mantra now-Dems don't support the troops!--But am glad

Harry did this.

[disndat]

163. I have to take a second

look at Sen. Reid. Heretofore, he has only been a grey shadow in the background of the political stage, bland and ineffectual Now, it may turn out that Reid is an iron fist with kid glove and a brilliant strategist.

[ShortnFiery]

164. I'll believe it when our policy actually changes. Now, nothing has changed.

BTW is Harry Reid's wife still an active lobbyist? If so, why is he allowed to be our Majority Leader? :shrug:

[Deep13]

165. What's that spherical object Reid is playing with?

Oh, it's a hard ball.

:woohoo:

[Endangered Specie]

167. Finally, someone passed out the backbones.