California Conservative

(H/T: Captain Ed)

According to this article in the Hill, Senate Republicans have issued an ultimatum to Harry Reid. Here’s what the Hill is reporting:

Senate Republicans have threatened to block nearly all other bills pending before the August recess if Democrats refuse to vote with them on expanding offshore drilling.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said bills that do not pertain to energy can wait until after the August recess, with gas prices now surpassing $4 per gallon. McConnell and top Republicans indicated Wednesday they would oppose any procedural votes to take up other legislation, which require 60 votes to succeed.

“We think there is nothing more important that we can do right now than to deal with the Number One issue of the country,” McConnell said. “This is the biggest issue since terrorism right after 9/11. People are pounding on their desks, saying, Why don’t these people get together and do something about this problem?”

Bravo!!! Sen. McConnell and the GOP are putting unwanted pressure on Harry Reid. Reid didn’t anticipate McConnell attempting this strategy. This puts Reid’s plans on hold. Here’s what was on Reid’s list:

Following swift Senate action on the narrow energy bill, Reid wanted the Senate to approve a massive defense authorization bill, an overhaul of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, legislation to protect reporters’ sources, an extension of expiring energy tax incentives, and a major package of 33 bills held up by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.).

Let’s see Harry defend his list of bills vs. McConnell’s agenda of bringing down the price of gas. How many people put a higher priority on overhauling “the Consumer Product Safety Commission” and pass a reporters shield law than on passing legislation that will open up drilling on the OCS. McConnell might let the defense authorization bill through but the other bills are wastes of time compared with the GOP’s drilling bill.

This paragraph is a great telltale sign:

The hardball tactics reflect Republican confidence that they can pull off a major election-year victory with gas prices at record highs, after they have been battered at the polls and have lost on several recent high-profile legislative battles.

I’d be surprised if Republicans don’t have polls showing them clobbering Democrats on this issue. I suspect that the Democrats have similar polling. The main concern I had was that Republicans would push this issue for awhile, then leave it just when they were making headway.

If this push continues, rest assured that Democrats will wake up on the first Wednesday in November stunned and broken-hearted. I don’t deny that this had the makings of a bad year for the GOP. That was before gas started jumping in price. The dynamics have totally changed because Democrats’ stumbles on the energy issue are as bad as Hillary stumbled with the drivers license question at the Drexel debate.

The pundits that predicted that Democrats would have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate and a supermajority in the House will be dining at the crow buffet this November.

Here’s the official Reid reaction:

Rodell Mollineau, a Reid spokesman, shot back at the Republican threat.

“Why would Sen. McConnell’s statement be any different than his posture on most every other bill to come through the Senate?” Mollineau said. “Bush-McCain Republicans have conducted 83 filibusters so far this year and have blocked six attempts this summer to address the energy crisis. Their feigned outrage would be laughable if it wasn’t at the expense of millions Americans suffering at the pump.”

Mr. Mollineau, the energy crisis was caused by the Democrats’ filibustering of drilling in ANWR. Let’s not pretend that the Democrats’ writing into law each year the OCS drilling ban didn’t have a big impact on this crisis, too. Like Sen. McCain said last night, the American people get it. When he brings up drilling on the OCS at his townhall meetings, people stand and cheer. People know where to affix the blame, Mr. Mollineau, and it isn’t with Republicans. Mr. Mollineau can spin all he wants but this issue is a loser for Democrats.

Technorati Tags: Harry Reid, Senate, Mitch McConnell, Gas Crisis, Drilling, Procedural Votes, John McCain, Election 2008

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 12:19 pm and is filed under Election 2008, Domestic Policies, Author: Gary Gross, McCain, Energy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.