Incredibly, Republicans in the US House of Representatives blocked a bill which would have provided billions in health care for first responders who are suffering from breathing toxins on 9/11, thus keeping intact their record of voting No! to frustrate any and every Obama-backed issue, even when they supported it in committee. Supposedly the Republican opposition was based on the pay-go way the health care was to be paid for: by closing some tax loopholes currently enjoyed by subsidiaries of foreign companies—- God forbid, closing the tax breaks might cause loss of jobs and hurt business profits, never mind the health of 9/11 responders.
However, for once their nihilism was brought dramatically to the attention of the American public by Representative Anthony Weiner (D-NY) who vigorously shamed the Republican Representative from NY, Peter King, shouting him down and refusing to be intimidated by the usual Republican screaming. It was such an effective public shaming that Fox News brought the two Representatives on the morning show, intent on redeeming the reputation of Republican Peter King, and painting Democrats as ineffective wimps by raising the question: “If Democrats are in the majority, why can’t you get anything done?” While Representative Weiner once again refused to be intimidated and managed to show up the Republicans, I regret to say he never really answered the question of Why Democrats, being a majority, could not get the bill passed. Guess we need another shouting match in public to explain the Republican maneuvering and the way the floor rules work. See below the fold for the two You Tube videos on Representative Weiner at work.
Hat tip to Salon.com for providing the videos.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
