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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Mitch McConnell Votes to Fund Obamacare

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  March 21st, 2013 at 03:35 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

Hey, remember that awesome CPAC speech by Mitch McConnell?

The one where Mitch McConnell said — and I quote — “Obamacare should be repealed root and branch. And we’re not backing down from this fight.”

And the same speech where Mitch McConnell also said, “This law is a disaster, and anybody who thinks we’ve moved beyond it is dead wrong.”

Well, as I told you, Mitch McConnell excels at saying one thing and doing another. Yesterday, Mitch McConnell voted to fund Obamacare.

Hey Utah, he joined Orrin Hatch in doing so. Remember, just last year on the campaign trail Orrin Hatch told you all how he was going to absolutely fight to rid us of Obamacare at all costs. And he got a large portion of the conservative movement to cheer him on as a result.

Yeah, that Orrin Hatch voted to fund Obamacare too.

And now for the punchline — the majority of the Republicans in the Senate voted against funding Obamacare. McConnell and Hatch were in the minority of Republicans who chose to side with the Democrats and fund Obamacare.

Here is the full list of the Republicans who voted for the Ted Cruz amendment to defund Obamacare, but then flipped their votes to actually vote to fund Obamacare:

  • Alexander (R-TN)
  • Barrasso (R-WY)
  • Blunt (R-MO)
  • Boozman (R-AR)
  • Chambliss (R-GA)
  • Coats (R-IN)
  • Cochran (R-MS)
  • Collins (R-ME)
  • Corker (R-TN)
  • Cornyn (R-TX)
  • Hatch (R-UT)
  • Hoeven (R-ND)
  • Isakson (R-GA)
  • Johanns (R-NE)
  • McConnell (R-KY)
  • Murkowski (R-AK)
  • Sessions (R-AL)
  • Shelby (R-AL)
  • Thune (R-SD)
  • Wicker (R-MS)
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COMMENTS

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  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    What is wrong with Alabama?

  • http://www.imvtcenter.com jjwcook

    Rescind all the waivers – Congress, the pres, unions – they ALL have to be in it!
    That’ll get rid of it quicker than a bum goin’ for a free baloney sandwich.

  • Joe Cor

    Why didn’t Rand Paul use his filibuster to stop this? Why didn’t any Republican try to filibuster this? Clearly, the votes weren’t there to do it but it would have been a way to draw attention to the fact that Obamacare is going forward. Isn’t this actual outrage at least as important as a theoretical abuse of drone strikes?

  • MadElephants

    Almost Red State Republicans hmmmm RINOs they all need to go no excuses

  • raginpatriot

    We must encourage “UNDERVOTING” — ONLY vote for conservative candidates, not “the most conservative on the ballot” or “vote conservative in the primary and then GOP no matter what in the general.” The only way to reform the GOP is to vote, but not cast a vote in individual races in which there is not a genuine conservative (e.g., Cruz). The GOP RINO’s have been counting on us voting for the “lesser of two evils” come general election time, and we’ve been doing it, to our detriment and their empowerment.

  • Rick_Caird

    You cannot filibuster budget bills.

  • tngal

    The same thing that’s wrong with Tennessee. Too much time on the the hill has made them beholding to other influences. Not sure anyone in the Volunteer state is suprised by Alexander and Corker’s votes. Those two like to think of themselves as moderates. As does our illustrious Governor.

  • plh

    I’ve never really held myself to the “no matter what in the general.” In many cases, liberal Republicans do more harm to the cause of freedom and limited Government because their support of progressive measures sugarcoats the downhill slide while shielding the other side from blame when those measures ultimately fail. We need to take back our Party before the America in which we believe can no longer be restored through peaceful means.

  • plh

    I could not be more disgusted at this list of losers.

  • grumpyKoz

    Along with M. McConnell, they all got the note that said Dear Leader Obama will be picking this minions for his court in a couple of years, and these worm-toads think that by voting for his disaster, they will be in line.

    Really, did anyone think that McConnell would do any different?

  • electedconcerned

    Once again, Chambliss showing he is not in tune with his constituents. I guess when you’re as old as he is and have already decided you’re not going to run again you can just do as you please. His true colors abound!

  • steve51

    Less than 1/2 of the GOP Senators voted to defund? What the hell are
    is going on? So, many of these backstabbers were spoon feeding us bs
    when they campaigned Or campaigned for others. Awesome,who are we
    to trust now? 21 GOP Senators is not enough to make much of a
    difference.

  • steve51

    Worse,this will bankrupt America.

  • http://www.conservativefiction.com kywrite

    What is WRONG with the man? Is he trying to lose in Kentucky? Did the election of Rand Paul instead of his little hand-chosen successor to Bunning teach him nothing about his own state? If he keeps it up, Ashley Judd may actually be able to beat him; he’s never been beloved in Kentucky and they are quickly losing what patience for him they had.

  • gmat

    Out of that list, Alexander, Chambliss, Cochran, Collins, Cornyn, Johanns, McConnell, and Sessions are up for re-election in 2014. Keep an eye on their votes the rest of this year and remember them when primary season comes around.

    If Cruz does what he said he’s going to do, there will be plenty of votes coming up on bills, and amendments to bills, to help restore economic growth. Starting with the next item on the Senate agenda, 50 hours of debate, amendments and numerous votes on the new budget.

  • steve51

    They have the same virus as Tennessee. Well now they can
    have Obamacare to not treat it, for 6 or 8 months anyway.

  • 308winchester

    Here in the Workers Paradise of Kalifornia, they have already discovered that there won’t be enough doctors when they expand medicaid to 2 million more citizens, so they’re looking at licensing Pharmacists, Nurse practitioners, and anybody who can be trained to stick a needle in you. This is Castro / Michael Moore style healthcare for the masses. Wanna bet within 2-4 years the outrage at this mess starts a bigger movement for repeal.We need to have McConnell booted from the leadership and Hatch recalled for breech of his promise.

  • http://www.facebook.com/michael.shreve.94 Michael Shreve

    This would marginalize the Republican party but would probably NOT be enough to convince the Republican aristocracy. Still, I personally will NEVER AGAIN vote for a RINO or CINO candidate.

  • http://www.gradegov.com gradegov

    I am so sorry that RedState has characterized a vote for the Continuing Resol. as a vote to fund ObamaCare. This CR does so much more…from funding our entire Dept of Defense, to funding Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Vets programs, etc…It funds the entire Federal Government and all of its programs. Sen. Cruz tried to de-fund ObamaCare. It failed. Should Senators then vote to defeat the entire government funding because they couldn’t defund ObamaCare in this bill? I am guessing it that were the action taken by the entire GOP Senate, that this would be viewed as irresponsible, extreme and unreasonable. I would hope Mr. Erickson and his team could chose better phrasing when sending out fundraising material on the issue of defunding ObamaCare. We need to be more about re-building America than scoring fundraising points (using an inaccurate narritive) on the backs of the GOP leadership. Just a suggestion. keep the faith!

  • dcarey

    Right now, she’s a Lib from TN, but I’m sure the Dems in KY can fix that.

  • markkozikowski

    Simply,
    Yes.
    Close everything until a real budget is presented.

  • norris

    Take the next bus back to Kentucky Mitch .
    We could get that vote from Ashliegh Judd.

  • longhawl

    “One of the common failings among honorable
    people is a failure to appreciate how thoroughly dishonorable some
    other people can be, and how dangerous it is to trust them.” – Thomas Sowell

  • sudomakeme

    “This CR does so much more…”
    And one of Congress’ biggest problems in a nutshell.

  • http://www.theprecinctproject.wordpress.com ColdWarrior

    The reason they don’t fight for our liberties is because they don’t see enough conservatives fighting for their liberties back home in their states.

    Take a look at the Republican Party committees in the states of these senators. At the local, precinct, level, half of the “voting” slots of the Party are vacant. When it comes time for the 2014 primary election, with half of these slots still vacant, and with history as their guide, these senators know that they’ve got about a 97% probability of surviving the primary.

    By contrast, imagine conservatives filling up all of these vacant precinct committeeman slots. And getting from the Party a walking/telephone sheet for their precinct. Allowing them and their fellow conservative PCs to contact the “low propensity” Republican voters and urging them to get to the polls in the primary and vote out the limp Richard Republican incumbent who doesn’t have the spine to fight for our liberties and defund and repeal Obamacare.

    Unless and until they see their constituents organizing and uniting politically, inside the Republican Party, where they live, and then actually doing something to change the outcome of the primary elections, don’t expect the incumbents to start fighting for us.

    Writing about them at Redstate isn’t going to change things. Calling or faxing or emailing them isn’t going to change them. However, if enough conservatives contact them and let them know that they’ve become a precinct committeement and they’re recruiting every conservative they know to do the same to organize and unite inside the Republican Party where they live to take them out in the primary election, they might take notice.

    But we need thousands and thousands of conservatives to do this.

    It works. We’re doing it in Arizona. It’s been done in Utah (remember former incumbent Sen. Bob Bennett?). We’ve got the numbers to do it everywhere.

    It’s not rocket science. It just takes a little time and effort.

    Thank you.
    ColdWarrrior
    http://precinctproject.us
    http://theprecinctproject.wordpress.com

  • littlehouse18

    Standalone bills are merely PR right now – no chance, easy fro Rs to vote for. Cruz’ amendment was like this, in a way, but it got the discussion going because it was connected to the CR. And Cruz deserves a lot of credit. Some of the others voted for the amendment because there was little chance to pass – free PR. But when tied to other items, you see the ones who slink away from the fight. When they actually have leverage, and might have a chance, however slim, of winning or gaining some concessions, they are cowards.

  • Bill S

    The last 3 commenters (littlehouse, sudo, markk) all get it. You don’t.

    This is not a picnic. This is a war against a left-wing government. The GOP does too much nicey-nicey and not enough engaging in real battle. The McConnell/Boehner/McCain/Graham crowd needs to understand that we are not interested in playing by Marquess of Queensbury rules. We need to drop the gloves and beat the ever lovin’ snot out of the other side. But because we have a bunch of prissy, crybaby cowards in leadership, we knuckle under every time.

    They should have learned from the sequester. We did not budge. And we won. This is not a difficult concept.

  • ctpsb

    Gotcha! That’s what I thought was going on. I agree. Vote against it and tell everyone why. Fight it all the way. It’s just that the headline made it sound like a standalone bill.

  • MF

    Let me quote you to answer why you’re SO wrong: “…It funds the entire Federal Government and all of its programs.” That right there should tell you just how awful it is. There are so many areas of the federal government that need to be shut down or at least trimmed WAY back, and this bill has done none of that, yet again.

    NOW do you get it?

  • checkmate2012

    The root of the problem is that Boehner didn’t include it in the CR to begin with so he deserves the real blame. I’m not happy about these Senators but they didn’t want a shutdown. The initital strategy of defunding O’care was absent and any amendments along the way, especially in the Senate were doomed to fail with our vote count.
    .
    I read this on TheHill.com and wondered if it’s true that the final CR that passed does not inlcude any new funding for O’care? I know it’s on auto-pilot funding levels from last year as with many programs. Which is such a cop out to keep doing CRs without cutting each bucket account….Boehner and Paul Ryan’s fault for sticking with the status quo just to get it passed and not upset the apple cart. At least eliminate the $800B stimilus as the new baseline!
    .
    “The government-funding measure, which lasts through Sept. 30, contains full, detailed appropriations bills covering the departments of Defense; Commerce; Justice; Veterans Affairs; Agriculture and Homeland Security, as well as for science agencies like NASA and military construction activities.
    .
    The rest of the federal government will operate on autopilot, and the bill does not include new funding to implement President Obama’s healthcare and financial reform laws.”

    Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/floor-action/house/289515-house-passes-funding-bill-averts-government-shutdown#ixzz2OCrGb3CE

  • Samsara

    They have no intention of defending ObamaCare because they like ObamaCare, both as policy and as politics. They like it a policy because it is going to make more people pay into health care. They like it as politics because it is the best club they have in their bag. If it weren’t for Obamacare the GOP would be in worse shape than it is now. Defunding it would give the Democrats a chance to shift blame..again.

  • http://www.stridentconservative.com stridentconservative

    It just doesn’t matter anymore. We will only get rid of these Beltway idiots by just not voting for them anymore. And for those who say we can’t do that because the liberals win, well, that’s what’s happening now.

    McConnell is what he is; a self-aggrandizing, self-centered, in-it-for-myself and the money beltway politician. Bitching about it won’t change anything. Either put up a serious challenge in the primaries, or let him lose to a Democrat. That’s the only way to get rid of the scum.

  • thegreatunwashed

    I couldn’t think of a better way to lose the House and to ensure a Senate supermajority for the Democrats in 2014 than for the Republicans to be seen as the side responsible for shutting down the government by voting against this CR.

  • nomaster

    What can you really expect from a politician, true to nature, they never do what you voted them in for. They deceive you whenever they get the chance.

  • swordofzorro

    This was a drone strike. McConnell drones on about repealing Obamacare and then strikes against the people that believed he’d lead the charge. A real knife in the back.

  • drfredc

    The think about the GOP LOSERship is they are all about working in the trenches, behind to scenes to gain political power. They don’t give a rat’s behind for principle or the people. They’ve got their group of likely donors on any particular issue. If things can be made good for them, then the people and principles be damned.

    This is why the LOSERship can’t provide a clear concise well articulated message on anything that average bubbas might care about. It’s also why the GOP can’t seem to get behind any signficant changed in anything. The LOSERship first has to take any ideas for significant change to their clan of donors to see how any change might be improved to benefit the someone in the clan in exchange for more bucks and power. If the Clan says nope, not helpful, the change never happens, no matter how good it might be for the people at large. .