Saturday, October 8, 2016

Harry Reid tries to shame Republican colleagues; Obama shines despite GOP opposition

On the eve of Congress leaving on its eight-week election break, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid addressed the senate on the unprecedented obstructionism that has prevailed during the past eight years.
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"History will look back and note that the Republican Congress treated President Obama with unprecedented disrespect. . . .  A day or two after President Obama was elected the first time, Republicans met here in Washington . . . . [and agreed] that they would oppose everything President Obama tried to do. . . . 

"President Obama is the first president to be denied a hearing on his budget.  He is the first president to be denied a hearing on his Supreme Court nominee.   President Obama is the first president to be asked to show his birth certificate.  President Obama is the first president to face over 500 filibusters.

"The only thing Republicans have done this year was to prove that they are the party of Trump. . . . They would have us believe that Trump just fell out of the sky and somehow mysteriously became the nominee of the party.  But that's not the way it is.  Everything he has said, stood for, done, in this bizarre campaign . . . has filtered up from everything that has been done here in the Republican Senate.   Disagreeing with everything, anything that President Obama wanted  -- they filibustered even some things they agreed with, just to slow things down.   Trump is no anomaly.  He is the Frankenstein monster they have built.  They own him."


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Harry Reid is right, of course, and it must be frustrating for him to be ending his career as a senator on such a sour note.   On the other hand, President Obama is also ending his career as the president on a high note -- despite congressional opposition.    His latest approval rating is 55%, which may not sound great;   but it is when compared to other presidents' exit ratings and when you consider the odds against which he had to work , both at home and abroad.

Ralph

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