On MSNBC this morning, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer delivered a clear message to Republicans who seem committed to blocking any potential Democratic legislative victories: Get out of our way.
“The Senate is broken,” Hoyer said, adding that “I don’t think it’s Harry Reid’s fault.”
The Republican leadership has determined that failure and gridlock are to its political benefit. And as a result, we’ve had more requests for cloture or filibuster votes than at any time in history. That has brought, in effect, the Senate’s ability to do its business to a standstill at some times and a slow walk at others.
“Frankly, the Republican leadership is abusing a process which was used relatively infrequently” in the past, Hoyer said, adding that “the founding fathers didn’t have that in mind.”
