Shown here is a view of a Senate Budget Committee meeting held last week, at which Chairman Kent Conrad conducted a faux “markup” of his party’s FY 2013 budget resolution. The near side of the table is where Democrats were supposed to sit.
Throughout much of the session, all 11 Republican members were present to, you know, do their jobs. Of the 12 committee Democrats, no more than 3 or 4 were in attendance at any given time, according to sources inside the meeting.
Since the year 2009, not one single Democrat or Democrat-aligned member of the United States Senate has voted “yes” on any budget. They’ve refused to present their own ideas, of course, but they’ve also unanimously voted down every last alternative.
Think about that.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has fulfilled its budgetary obligations each of the last two years, ever since Republicans won control of the lower chamber. (Nancy Pelosi’s House intentionally failed to pass a fiscal blueprint in 2010).
These GOP budgets have been relentlessly lied about, demagogued, and attacked. President Obama’s alternatives have been so irresponsible that they’ve failed to garner a single vote in either house, but Senate Democrats have scrupulously avoided putting forth any ideas of their own.
I hope the self-anointed “party of ideas” is proud of itself. They’ll no doubt turn around and decry Republicans as the “party of no” at every opportunity.
Perfect Storm Warnings! 