Did Mitch McConnell really lie to Ted Cruz and Americans? Here is Bob Bennett’s take on it.
By Bob Bennett, Instigator News
Last weekend’s attack on Sen. Ted Cruz for calling Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a liar had its roots back on May 21st. McConnell—doing Obama’s bidding—needed Democratic votes to get the 60 needed for cloture on the TPA bill; if you remember: that’s the bill designed to give Obama the power to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty with de facto Senate backing, in advance.
When the Treaty is negotiated, instead of needing the usual two-thirds vote to approve a treaty, it will sail through the Senate with expedited procedures: no filibusters, limited debate and only a simple majority needed to pass.
Trade Promotion Authority, as a practical matter, makes it a lot easier for a president to negotiate with other nations, because all parties know Congress backs the president in his negotiations. But we’re not talking about just any president, this is Obama, who lied to a nation about ObamaCare, who’s been relentlessly inciting racial strife against police, and who had recently shielded 4 million unlawful aliens from deportation—the latest in a string of executive amnesties. Obama did these without a vote of Congress, making them all illegal and unconstitutional.
For this reason, numerous Republicans opposed giving Obama more power via TPA.
But past history with Obama did not deter McConnell from trotting after the ball his master had thrown, so he could bring it back in his mouth and get a pat on the head.
As reported by Daniel Horowitz in Conservative Review, he approached Senators Maria Cantwell, and Patty Murray, Democrats of Washington State, who needed the Export-Import Bank reauthorized in order to keep massive loans flowing to Boeing, located in their state. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also needed EX-IM passed because Boeing had a large plant in his state.
These three, together with other Dems they pulled in, allowed McConnell to reach the 60-vote threshold for cloture on the TPA, said Daniel Horowitz, whose commentary included a photo of McConnell huddling with these very Democrats, setting up the deal. Horowitz wrote:
“Murray told reporters that McConnell promised wavering Democrats that they would receive a vote on the bank’s fate next month, before the June 30 deadline when its charter would expire.”
To ensure that the House under Boehner would take up the bill, “Republicans said they would be willing to let Cantwell try to attach the bank’s reauthorization to a must-pass bill later this summer, such as the extension of highway funding that will be required at the end of July.”
And, indeed, that’s precisely what happened.
Later, Ted Cruz (who opposes EX-IM) stood and asked McConnell, before the entire GOP conference lunch, what the deal was that had just been cut. McConnell angrily denied thrice that there had been a deal.
Read more: Instigator News
