Today was not a pretty day on Capitol Hill, ladies and gentlemen, and we really, really need a pretty day.
There is a pandemic racing around the globe called COVID-19, and the only weapon that we have against it is social distancing. We must starve the virus – no other tactic will work – and we must united in our fight to do so.
Of course, this means that some will be making sacrifices. Schoolchildren will remain at home, and many, many workers will be working from their abodes. Some will be out of work entirely, and the federal government has been working on a plan for that that will include direct cash payments to Americans. In fact, Congress has been trying to pass just such a bill for the last two days.
The only thing standing in the way is the Democratic Party. Today’s redundant failure was enough to send Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell into a fit of rage.
Tensions flared on the Senate floor Monday as lawmakers viscerally clashed on camera over phase three of a coronavirus response package, with Democrats blocking Republican efforts to advance the massive stimulus bill for the second day in a row.
Leaving the legislation in limbo once more, the Senate stalled over the package Monday afternoon on a 49-46 vote. It needed 60 votes to advance.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., then stormed to the floor to accuse Democrats of “mindless obstruction” that could drag out any action for days. He said Democrats’ list of demands keeps getting “longer and longer.”
It is unlikely that the American electorate will have much patience for this partisan bickering, especially given the great disparity in wealth between the average US citizen and the ruling class/public servants employed on Capitol Hill.
