OPINION:
Sen. Harry Reid, who repeatedly bemoaned threats by Republicans to shut down the government when he was Majority Leader, is now delivering his own warning: “We’re headed for another shutdown.”
Republicans now control the Senate, meaning that the GOP can move forward with its own agenda. But Democrats are vowing to filibuster spending bills, holding up funding for various federal agencies.
But Reid, who can only see out of one eye after an “exercise-related” accident, accuses Republicans of wanting to shut down the government.
“They did it once, they’re going to do it again,” Reid said on Wednesday. “They want to wait until the fiscal year ends and then close up government.”
Top Democrats, including Reid, so far oppose the early workings of the defense spending bill, which they claim sacrifices domestic spending for military needs.
Speaker of the House John Boehner on Wednesday noted the irony of the Democrats’ threat.
“Democrats are not-so-cordially asking you to mark your calendars: for their Filibuster Summer, followed by their Shutdown Fall. All of this shows more clearly than ever the chaos Americans are getting from Washington Democrats right now,” he said.
Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, said the Democrats’ move is “all part of a cynical political strategy to keep the Senate from working and to deny funding to our armed services while bulking up federal agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the IRS.
“This is shameless and it’s hypocritical and the American people will not be fooled by it. I’d like to remind our colleagues across the aisle that stifling debate and blocking votes is a pretty lousy political strategy as well. It’s what lost them control of this chamber last November. It’s a losing strategy, it’s bad policy, and it’s cynical politics. And the American people understand it. And it’s simply shameful that they’re trying to use our troops who protect this great nation as some sort of leverage in some sort of political game,” Cornyn said.
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