Stop Your Sobbing
by digby
Harry Reid takes the Republicans to school on the Senate history of using reconciliation:
And I’m still waiting for Chris Matthews to apologize to Alan Grayson for this disgraceful interview:
Grayson: Why do you think they can’t use reconciliation?
Matthews: Because you talk to any one of these Senators. Have you talked to any of them lately? And what do you think they’ll tell you?
Grayson: What do you think, I’m their confessor?
Matthews: Have you ever called up a Democratic Senator and said why don’t you do this by reconciliation?
Grayson: What makes you think they’re not going to do it? What do you know that I don’t know?
Matthews: Because they refuse to do it because they cannot get past the filibuster rule. The United States Senate is different from the House.You’re allowed to talk as long as you want in the Senate. Unless you get cloture.
Grayson: Reconciliation is 51 votes not 60 votes.
Matthews: You can’t create a program through reconciliation! Congressman just name me the program that’s ever been created through reconciliation!
Grayson: Tax cuts for the rich!
Matthews: That’s not a program. Under reconciliation you’re allowed to do two things. Change fiscal numbers, raise taxes or cut spending.
Grayson: You’re saying that. You don’t know that. Nobody else thinks that.
Matthews: I just spent three years in the Senate budget committee when I was a kid and you can’t do it. By the way, have you asked any Senator this question? This plan you have?
Grayson: I’m in the other place, I’m in the House.
Matthews: I know, that’s why you’re not in the senate
Grayson: Oh that’s why I’m not in the Senate…
Matthews: This is netroots talk. This is outsider talk and you’re an elected official and you know you can’t do it. You are pandering to the netroots right now. I know what you’re doing.
Grayson: You are wrong. This is something we talk about with our leadership in our caucus meetings every week! …
Matthews: …I know what I’m talking about and you ask anybody in the Senate right now. Go call the Senate legislative counsel’s office and ask him if you can do this. Go ask the parliamentarian is you can do this. You haven’t bothered to do that.
That was only a month ago. Now that it’s clear that the Democrats are going the reconciliation route, Matthews is pretending that he never made an ass of himself for months claiming that reconciliation was some kind of netroots wet dream. He should be called on this.
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