The Senate just voted on cloture for the Reid-McConnell deal to reopen the federal government and pay the nation's bills. It's now clear that the bill has broad, bipartisan support. Yet despite this and despite the need to avoid a disastrous debt default, Senator Dean Heller (R) voted to filibuster the bill to end the manufactured crisis.
Funny enough, it's about to pass anyway. And Senator Heller must have known it was going to pass. And he voted against it anyway? Whatever happened to his "fiscal responsibility"?
5:00 PM UPDATE:
The first procedural vote (for cloture) on the bill to reopen the federal government passed 83 to 16. Obviously, Senator Harry Reid (D) voted for his own bill. So did all the other Democrats. Even most of the Republicans joined him and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) to end the filibuster so this bill can pass (and the government can reopen).
However, Senator Heller joined a handful of hard-core G-O-TEA Senators against paying the nation's bills and reopening the government. What point was he trying to make?
Whatever the case, it doesn't matter. The bill is easily passing without him. Is Senator Heller trying to look irrelevant?
5:10 PM UPDATE:
Senator Heller also voted against final passage of his home state colleague's hugely bipartisan bill to reopen the federal government and pay the nation's bills. It doesn't matter in terms of the whip count, as it has more than enough support to pass. Senator Heller is just using this as an opportunity to pledge allegiance to the 21st Century Know Nothings.
Sad...
(And by the way, it passed 81-18 and is now heading to the House.)
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