Specter Accuses Reid Of “Conduct Unbecoming Of A Senator”
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 — As if there was any doubt that Congress was on the verge of devolving into a carnival atmosphere, Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the Democratic majority leader, on Thursday proposed doing cartwheels down the center aisle of the Senate chamber to draw attention to Republican efforts to block legislation.
Here, in the Cirque du Senate, there is trash-talking, whining and finger-pointing, bickering and, occasionally, brief flashes of serious disagreement on policy.
But with the clock ticking swiftly toward the end of the year and a stack of stalled legislation piling up, little is getting done in the Senate these days. And tempers are starting to boil over.
Mr. Reid, who turned 68 on Sunday, ultimately did not perform any gymnastics. But his fury over the inability to move the Democrats’ legislative agenda seemed to have deepened since Tuesday, when he accused President Bush of “pulling the strings on the 49 puppets he has here in the Senate.”
That reference to the Republicans, in a speech on the Senate floor, prompted Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, to accuse Mr. Reid of violating a rule prohibiting senators from imputing “any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a senator.”
“It is my view that being called a puppet is in direct violation of that rule,” Mr. Specter said. He added: “I wonder if he is up to the job when he resorts to that kind of a statement, which only furthers the level of rancor.”
On Thursday, Mr. Bush once again criticized Congressional Democrats, saying they were not doing enough to help homeowners hurt by the mortgage crisis. “The Congress has not sent me a single bill to help homeowners,” he said.
The president’s comments further escalated a war of words that also involved Vice President Dick Cheney, who, in an interview with Politico.com on Wednesday, called the Democrats’ record “pretty dismal.” Asked what it was like to work with Mr. Reid, Mr. Cheney said: “Difficult. He’s — I’ll leave it at that. He’s difficult.”
(NYT)
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Good for Spector to speak up.
Reid is a piece of Sh*t.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:23 amShocking, I know
December 7th, 2007 at 8:29 amWow, he’s loopy!!
The Congress looks so crazy now that GWB comes off looking like a frustrated father.
December 7th, 2007 at 8:31 amThe less the Congress gets done - the better for America.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:04 amI’ve always had good luck with all of my dealings with the VA, until… That one thing occurred, really worried me and Senator Specter straightened it out, ASAP.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:17 amWOOOOOOOOPIE DOOOOOOOOOOOOO! WORDS ARE CHEAP, WHAT’S SPECTER GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? GIVE A LITTLE HINT: NOTHING!!!!
December 7th, 2007 at 9:20 amTRAPPER, i agree with your feelings on the situation. Its all about walking the walk. I think its time the Real Americans in congress stand up to these wanna be communists and do something about it. They hold hearings, we should hold hearings.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:50 amConduct Unbecoming!!?? What about Traitor? Reid is an absolute disgrace and has no place in public service, he should be brought up on charges.
December 7th, 2007 at 9:53 amIt’s about time for a good caning session to break out on the senate floor. Spare the rod and spoil the Senator.
December 7th, 2007 at 11:04 amI am proud to say that Senator Spector is my Senator.
James Farrell
December 7th, 2007 at 11:17 amNew Hope, PA
I’d quite forgot that Specter was a Republican. When I read the headline, I thought that the Dem. Party was splitting in half…oh well, Specter only grew balls. But it does say something when someone like Specter upbraids an ideological brother for being an ass.
December 7th, 2007 at 12:02 pmFunny how Harry seems like like posing with his nose as high in the air as possible. I think his subconscious is trying to tell us something …
December 7th, 2007 at 12:29 pmReid–Specter—specter–reid
December 7th, 2007 at 12:36 pmBoth POS cut from the same cloth, bottom feeders of the Government.
“…[Reid] accused President Bush of “pulling the strings on the 49 puppets he has here in the Senate.””
Bush controlling 49 Puppets? But, but how can this be?
December 7th, 2007 at 12:52 pmI thought the dems told us “the American voters handed the dem party a mandate in ‘06″ that would usher in a “new tone of civility”, a “new era of bipartisanship”.
Or maybe the dem leadership just meant that in the same way the dems in congress told us they “stand shoulder to shoulder with the President in the war on terrorism” post 9/11.
What is telling is how well the war on terror is going in spite of a self-imposed hamstrung congress. It must really suck to be a member of the dem code pink base right now that got the dems elected, expecting some favorable legislation in return. I’ll bet it sucks even more for dem politicians that are hourly being verbally taken to the woodshed by their whiny leftist base. No wonder Reid’s lost it. Even though Reid can’t admit it publicly, Bush is the least of his problems. Merry Christmas dems!
When did Specter once again make the decision to become a Republican?
December 8th, 2007 at 1:38 amA while back along with Hagel he was leg humping Reid and Pelosi while waving the white flag. Matter of fact I thought Specter and Murtha started dating each other by the way he was going on about Bush’s failure in Iraq and how America had lost the war.