I have to admit that it was truly astonishing. In my forty-some...almost fifty years of following politics I had never seen anything quite like it. I'm talking about the 'Skinny Bill' voted on in the Senate very early this morning. After hours of debate the time to vote had come. Each Senator's name was called and he or she walked to the front and either voted yes or no.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood at the front with his arms folded. Senator Schumer sat close by. As I watch the evening unfold there was obvious tension around John McCain. At one point earlier in the evening he walked up to Schumer, and even from a distance you could tell that his conversation was heated.
The Senate chamber was quiet. Most everyone was standing. McCain entered from the right of the camera position on the Republican side of the aisle. He walked up to the front about five or six feet from Mitch McConnell and held his arm out with thumb down. Everyone was obviously stunned. His lone vote defeated the bill. After a stunned two or three seconds some of the Democrats hesitatingly start to clap or gasp. Schumer angrily turned to them and waved off any response and they obediently cowered. McCain walked off the floor and up the aisle. McConnell never moved a muscle. He just kept looking down for a few seconds and then slowly walked away.
John McCain is a Shakespearean tragic figure....but then as I watched this supposedly august assembly I thought many to be tragic figures and much worse. Watching these type of votes certainly does not instill confidence in our government. The bill was a mess...the last six months were a mess....the Democrats....Schumer excluded.....are one large group of spoiled children without a clue as to what America or freedom or liberty is all about....Schumer is the arrogant bully who commandeered the leadership of these piddling pretenders of prestige and prominence....and the Republicans...save for a few strong honest men.... are merely their handmaidens.
If America were to undergo a spiritual awakening...a genuine Christian reformation....95 of these Senators would not even get out of their primary battle. We put them there and we are paying the price. These men and women can have their fame....for it is nothing but for a mess of pottage that they gave away any honest desire they may once have had to uphold our constitution.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stood at the front with his arms folded. Senator Schumer sat close by. As I watch the evening unfold there was obvious tension around John McCain. At one point earlier in the evening he walked up to Schumer, and even from a distance you could tell that his conversation was heated.
The Senate chamber was quiet. Most everyone was standing. McCain entered from the right of the camera position on the Republican side of the aisle. He walked up to the front about five or six feet from Mitch McConnell and held his arm out with thumb down. Everyone was obviously stunned. His lone vote defeated the bill. After a stunned two or three seconds some of the Democrats hesitatingly start to clap or gasp. Schumer angrily turned to them and waved off any response and they obediently cowered. McCain walked off the floor and up the aisle. McConnell never moved a muscle. He just kept looking down for a few seconds and then slowly walked away.
John McCain is a Shakespearean tragic figure....but then as I watched this supposedly august assembly I thought many to be tragic figures and much worse. Watching these type of votes certainly does not instill confidence in our government. The bill was a mess...the last six months were a mess....the Democrats....Schumer excluded.....are one large group of spoiled children without a clue as to what America or freedom or liberty is all about....Schumer is the arrogant bully who commandeered the leadership of these piddling pretenders of prestige and prominence....and the Republicans...save for a few strong honest men.... are merely their handmaidens.
If America were to undergo a spiritual awakening...a genuine Christian reformation....95 of these Senators would not even get out of their primary battle. We put them there and we are paying the price. These men and women can have their fame....for it is nothing but for a mess of pottage that they gave away any honest desire they may once have had to uphold our constitution.
