Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) may have been the one filibustering, but on Fox News today he suggested that it was actually Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s fault that there was a delay in extending unemployment benefits, because Reid “wouldn’t use normal procedure, he wouldn’t file cloture” to stop Bunning’s filibuster.
On Fox News, Bunning responded to criticisms of his filibuster, which ground the Senate to a halt and delayed the extension of unemployment benefits for several days: “It wasn’t about unemployment benefits, it was about paying for what we spend.”
“They showed me what the projections were on the deficit,” he said, “and the Obama budget would add $1.5 trillion to that deficit.”
Bunning went on to criticize Reid, saying that he “had an agreement” with the senator “to have an up-or-down vote on my amendment to pay for these things.”
“And do you know what? They reneged,” Bunning said.
Neil Cavuto then asked if he thought Reid was just using Bunning’s move to make the Republicans look bad and generate political capital.
“Sure,” Bunning responded. “He wanted the issue rather than solving the problem.”
He, just as much as anyone else, was responsible for cutting off those benefits because he wouldn’t use normal procedure. He wouldn’t file cloture, he wouldn’t stay in over the weekend.
Bunning was also asked whether he was fazed by his portrayal in the media. “Electronic media? Of course not,” he said.
