Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID) on Monday said Democrats have no evidence that a no-strings-attached spending bill would pass the House.
CNN’s Anderson Cooper pressed Labrador to explain why a so-called “clean” continuing resolution to fund the government shouldn’t immediately be brought to a vote.
“You know, we could bring it to a vote and it would lose,” Labrador said on “AC360.” “And this is a beautiful talking point that the Democrats have, because it is something they have no evidence that there is anybody willing to vote for this bill.”
“Well why not bring it up and see?” Cooper asked.
“Why should we?” Labrador responded.
“Because that is how things work. Your job is to vote on things,” Cooper said.
Labrador then argued the media never asked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to pass Republican policy reforms when she was speaker of the House, accusing Cooper of pushing against the Republican effort to defund the Democratic-backed Affordable Care Act.
“This is the way it works in journalism,” Cooper said. “When you’re not on Fox News, you get contentious interviews. When you’re not on MSNBC and a liberal, you get contentious interviews. My job is to ask you questions different than you think.”
Cooper then suggested bringing the clean resolution to a vote would bolster Labrador’s argument if the bill ultimately failed.
“It’s not necessary,” Labrador concluded. “When you have a discharge petition, which under the rules of the House would force a vote on the House, not a single Republican has signed that discharge petition. So their talking points are null and void.”
[h/t Huffington Post]
