Bennet's Bipartisan Budget Buddies II: Mitch McConnell and Tom Coburn
Michael Bennet wanted to be a United States Senator. And he wanted the full imprimatur of voters to a full six-year term to an institution that he repeatedly stated was "broken". He even employed his three daughters to gain sympathy and help drive home his campaign's message:
I agree with the Senator that Washington, DC is a cesspool of too-close relationships and shop-worn rules rituals. Yet why does Bennet time and again endorse those failed habits? Why does he enable the phony bipartisanship loved only by The Denver Post's Editorial page and DC's most elite, and usually conservative, pundits?
When you do something together, the result is that it's not usable in the election. I think there's an understanding that if there's a grand bargain, none of it will be usable in next year's election.
And this, I'm afraid, is the most likely explanation for Bennet's insatiable quest for bipartisanship in Congress' guerrilla war over how to fund and pay for government. Even as each attempt at bipartisanship fails, Bennet plaintively wails that it really will work, Toto:
Talks among a bipartisan group of senators to try to solve the nation's fiscal woes seem to have stalled in recent weeks, with a separate set of talks led by Vice President Joe Biden taking a larger share of the spotlight.
But senators continue to root them on. On ABC's "Top Line" today, we featured an interview with Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. - who is not among the so-called "Gang of Six" - where he praised their talks and said they are continuing to make progress.
"It's not dead," Bennet told ABC's Jonathan Karl, in the latest installment of the "Subway Series."
A source with knowledge of the negotiations says Coburn ultimately broke ranks after members of the group rejected his proposal to introduce a global cap on Medicare spending that would have cut $150 billion from current beneficiaries.
If Bennet's response to the quitter Coburn is not the most pitiful attempt to evade responsibility while endorsing a clearly broken system then I don't know what is:
"I don't think it's dead. And I think, in fact, I would say that has some of the most promise we have because we've got three Democrats, three Republicans, working together to try to come up with a plan."
Tom Coburn is a hypocritical liar who seems to have abused both his Physician and "ministerial" privileges with a soon to be charged fellow felon Senator. The others on that Gang are either Right-wing Ideologues or Milquetoast Democrats.
They wouldn't, and never will (especially now that Coburn's morals are so severely compromised) come up with a budget agreement that is fair to all Americans and truly addresses budget and deficit issues. (Unlike the Progressive "People's Budget" that actually does.)
Michael Bennet should get off his bi fetish, start taking on the job he asked Coloradans for, and put some principles on the line to address the budget as a full-paid, duly-elected Senator should. He can start yesterday as far as I'm concerned.
(Coupla grammatical updates and minor changes to Coburn cite. Sheesh, I need an editor! - Z)
