Smooth: McConnell Exploits Reid's Budget Vote Theatrics - Touche'

Being in the majority in the Senate, Reid is calling the shots and has chosen to play politics rather than help solve the crises that our economy is now in. Republicans, in the minority, have little power in bringing bills to a vote, but McConnell is able to call for a vote on the President's budget, which will be a disaster for the Democrats. Let's see how Reid counters.

Excerpt: Reid is playing politics:

The idea behind Reid's plan is to force Senate Republicans to vote on the measure, which could put incumbents facing tough reelections on the spot.

The Ryan budget is not expected to pass the Senate, which is controlled by Democrats.
"I would hope they do," Reid said when asked if he thinks the Senate will reject the plan. "It would be one of the worst things to happen to this country if that came into effect."

That clever dog! Reid is going to force Senate Republicans -- very few of whom actually face tough re-elections -- to vote on a budget that the American people...well, don't really mind. Not to be outdone, Reid's Republican counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell, has orchestrated a political counter-punch to Reid's shenanigans. Brilliant:

A day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) put Republicans on the spot by saying he will bring the House Republicans’ budget proposal up for a vote, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) turned the tables by exercising his legislative prerogative to call for a vote on President Barack Obama’s budget.

The two votes amount to legislative brinkmanship by both party leaders. Mr. Reid wants to put Republicans on record supporting legislation authored by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R., Wis.) that would eventually transform Medicare and Medicaid. Mr. McConnell, meanwhile, wants to force Democrats to vote on a plan that rolls back Bush-era tax cuts for people who make more than $250,000 and ignores many of the long-term costs driving the deficit.

“I understand that the Majority Leader would like to have a vote on the House-passed Ryan budget and we will,” Mr. McConnell said in a statement. “But we’ll have a vote on the President’s budget at the same time. Since there is no Democrat budget in the Senate, we’ll give our colleagues an opportunity to stand with the President in failing to address the problems facing our nation while calling for trillions in new spending, massive new debt and higher taxes on American energy, families and small businesses across the country.”

Translation: "Alright chumps, if you're going to pull a stunt that forces us to vote on a controversial but serious budget plan -- without even pretending to introduce your own alternative -- we'll force you to vote on Barack Obama's toxic budget proposal that raises taxes, does nothing to address long-term drivers of our debt, and adds $9.5 Trillion of red ink to the nation's bottom line. Let's do this thing!"

Read full Townhall.com article here.