Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell R-Ky. is calling the Democrats’ bluff — and it has Democratic leadership like Chuck Schumer scrambling.
In a clever political move, McConnell has invited the controversial Green New Deal to hit the Senate floor.
He’s going to force Schumer into a no-win political bind: Either embarrass his far-left allies, or vote to fund an insane $100 trillion dollar spending bill.
“I’ve noticed with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate,” McConnell said. “We’ll give everybody a chance to go on record and see how they feel about the Green New Deal.”
The radical bill was introduced last week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y, and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Political experts say that McConnell is in a win-win situation here. The Democrats can’t possibly band together to vote on the deal, which would bankrupt America. Anyone that supports it will be labeled far-left socialist without an American bone in their bodies.
If the Democrats split from Ocasio-Cortez and Markey in voting the bill down, the GOP will have exposed the internal strife between far-left Democrats and moderates.
The bill is already causing headaches for Democratic leadership. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi lazily referred to the deal by the wrong name recently, and would only say she welcomes “the enthusiasm that is there” but refused to endorse the $100 trillion plan.
Nothing more than a pat on the head for an ill-conceived, politically toxic project.
Presidential hopeful Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ducked and dodged her way around questions from Fox News host Bret Baier earlier this week.
She said, hesitantly, the deal is “aspirational.” But she doesn’t agree with it.
“I’m not for reducing air travel,” Klobuchar admitted. Nor did she agree with total economic security for people “unwilling to work.”
President Donald Trump is also seizing on the moment, and forcing Democrats to swallow their own bad medicine. At his El Paso rally, he completely tore apart the reality of the Green New Deal.
“They want to take away your car, reduce the value of your home and put millions of Americans out of work, spend $100 trillion,” Trump told a booing crowd of 35,000 supporters.
And McConnell isn’t playing around. In the past he’s said he wouldn’t let the Senate become a theater for stunts like the Green New Deal, and he’ll put it forward to make the Democrats take a stand.
The Democrats drafted this thing. The votes will prove who really believes in it.
—The Horn editorial team