Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., humiliated Democrats in both chambers of Congress Tuesday by bringing a vote to advance the preposterous Democratic Green New Deal resolution.
The motion was rejected overwhelmingly, failing to attract even a single “yea” vote from Democrats, including the 2020 hopefuls whose names already appear as co-sponsors on the Senate version of the “green” proposal. In other words, it is a total and complete embarrassment for Democrats. Tuesday’s vote reveals their rhetoric on combating climate change as less than sincere, and it also reminds everyone that McConnell really does control the Senate.
But luckily for Democrats, there’s always a newsroom willing to massage what is an otherwise deeply unflattering news event for them.
“JUST IN: Senate Republicans get enough votes to defeat Green New Deal resolution in a move Democrats call a political stunt,” read Reuters’ breaking news alert.
JUST IN: Senate Republicans get enough votes to defeat Green New Deal resolution in a move Democrats call a political stunt https://t.co/g2TLbfFWY7
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) March 26, 2019
It’s sort of breathtaking just how misleading that alert is.
The Republican leader of the Senate put forth a vote to advance the proposal championed by both Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. Not a single Democratic lawmaker went along. In fact, only three Democrats voted “nay.” The rest voted “present.” They’re willing enough to say the Green New Deal needs to happen, not willing enough to vote to advance it, but also not willing enough to say “no” to it. True profiles in courage. They were badly outmaneuvered by McConnell, as they failed to anticipate he would actually call their show resolution to the floor for a vote. One obvious takeaway from the vote is that the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats are interested in combating climate change, so long as it doesn’t actually involve anything more than talking.
And yet Reuters characterizes this as a story of Republicans gathering enough votes to “defeat Green New Deal resolution.” When all else fails, just make it up, I guess.
After the vote, Ocasio-Cortez took an approach similar to Reuters in revising what actually happened in the Senate Tuesday afternoon, tweeting:
Because I encouraged them to vote present, along w/ others.
McConnell tried to rush the #GreenNewDeal straight to the floor without a hearing.
The real question we should be asking: Why does the Senate GOP refuse to hold any major hearings on climate change? https://t.co/de8oKOXeJf
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) March 26, 2019
Yes, shame on McConnell for bringing Democrats’ legislation up for a vote. The fiend.
