Menendez calls out ‘unprecedented’ filibusters as DeMint backtracks on ‘Waterloo’

By David Edwards and Gavin Dahl
Sunday, January 24th, 2010 -- 2:24 pm

jimdemint2 Menendez calls out unprecedented filibusters as DeMint backtracks on Waterloo
Senators from each of America's two major political parties lashed out at one another on a Sunday morning talk show. Dodging questions with talking points is nothing new, but this morning Senator Robert Menendez went off script and challenged the defeatism infecting the country.

In July, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) said if Republicans were able to stop health care reform it would "break" President Barack Obama. "If we're able to stop Obama on this it will be his Waterloo. It will break him," he said.

But now, DeMint denies that his intention was to break the president. He was asked by ABC's Terry Moran Sunday, "So did you break him, and is that really how Americans want you to behave here in Washington -- Break the President?"

"I did not want this to be the president's Waterloo," DeMint replied.

"But pushing through a massive government takeover of our health care system was certainly not a good idea," he said, hyping vague fears of spending and government takeovers. "After three years of controlling both houses of Congress, (Democrats) are still trying to blame someone else."

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"There are a lot of people out there who see the Republican party as the party of no right now," Moran asserted.

DeMint dodged Moran, instead claiming "broad-based tax cuts" are the best way to get the economy working, adding "the President's stimulus has been a massive failure."

So Sen. Menendez (D-NJ) cut him off.

"My dear friend Jim DeMint did want to break Barack Obama," he said. "The Republicans' whole political strategy is for this President and for this Congress to fail."

"All our Republican colleagues have said is no," he went on to say. "They have used the filibuster, a procedure in the Senate to stop progress, 101 times, unprecedented in the history of the United States Senate!"

Menendez pointed out that when George W. Bush came to office he began with a $236 billion surplus, whereas Obama was handed a $1.3 trillion deficit. He credited Obama with making progress despite the economy, attacking Republicans for standing in the way.

"No doesn't create a job, no doesn't create health care insurance for anyone," Menendez huffed. "Or stop the abuses of the insurance companies. No doesn't help a senior citizen with their prescription drug coverage. Its time to begin to say yes to move the country forward."

This video is from ABC's This Week, broadcast Jan. 24, 2010.



Download video via RawReplay.com

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  • mwl
    Who is Obama, Obama has yet to devulge any information about himself. No school records, no Havard papers, no editor in charge papers, he went to Pakisatn but not on a US passport, still cant find his birth papers of any kind. Unless you talk to Brian Williams he showed on the news Obamas birth notice in the paper and exclaimed what more do you need.
    Congress should be like all those sports minded people wear their SPONSERS on their jackets so we would know who they are supporting and whos supporting them.
    We are too late Obama raised the debt to 14.1 trillion, now what the hell is he buying with that. The two wars dont cost that much, whos he funding, what do the Americans have coming to face.
    Mike
  • Satan
    Watch: "At least 36 killed as three blasts target Baghdad hotels" - Raw story deny commenting on stories dealing with Obama's perpetual and endless war.
  • DeHoped
    The Republican* Pledge of Allegiance:

    I pledge allegiance to the dollar, of the bank-owned Federal Reserve, and to the plutocracy for which I serve, to enrich Wall Street and subjugate the worker, by tredding on poor human being on the way to our overstuffed vaults in foreign tax havens.

    * Soon to be adopted by Obama and the other the Democratic Party leaders who only recently finished selling out to the corporations.
  • disgustedindc
    i hope south carolina falls into the Atlantic ocean, the country as a whole would be better off - good riddance!
  • Hologram5
    Senators from each of America's two major political parties lashed out at one another on a Sunday morning talk show
    ---------------------------------------------------------------
    This is a total JOKE and they are the ones laughing all the way to the bank. BOTH parties are GUILTY of treason. One party dictates Marxism, the other Fascism. Take your pick. We don't live under constitutional law anymore. We are currently enslaved by Contractual law, or Admiralty law if you will. Neither of which have ANYTHING to do with constitutional law. We are at a turning point here, we either take back our country and bring back the institutions and Virtures as well as values that America was founded on and live free, or we continue to vote in these idiot treasonistic dogs and die as slaves. Take your pick and choose a side. (Choose wisely)
  • gr0o
    If anyone still believes that Republicans, (not necessarily conservatives, many of them CAN see past the partisan pigheadedness but are often disgusted with the choices they are offered), are looking out for the best interests of their constituency, then they are NOT paying attention.
  • scresident
    if you read Jeff Sharlet's book " The Family", you'll understand DeMint is a C Streeter and truly wants to "break" Obama... or initiate him into :"The Family".
    page 35 - "Pray to be broken"
  • sprout
    those christists sure are warm, loving folks!
  • bordway
    I didn't want to break the President. My ass.

    "After three years of controlling both houses of Congress, (Democrats) are still trying to blame someone else."

    Senator, after 11 years of mismanagment, incompetence and abatis building by the GOP we're trying to move this country forward, instead of nowhere or backwards, which you would seemingly prefer. Our deficit is in the trillions, let's cut taxes. Brilliant.



  • Gabriel Archangel
    The fact the GOP losers of 2008 can still get the same insane minds and yapping faces onto the Corporate Media stage is the saddest piece about this story. Why does this man still have his job?
  • motorfingaz
    Republics are a bunch of lying pig shitz. They are a danger to the progress of this nation!
  • carol h.
    God you commentators make me sick. How many of you are willing to take to the streets over and over with some of the rest of us. How many of you do anything but gripe? We now are losing our Democracy thanks to the Supreme Court. Have any of you written to any Constitutional lawyers like Jonathan Turley or David O Stewart to see just how if at all, we could impeach them? Or if it is even possible.

    Have any of you bothered to contact your state Attorney General to try and find a way to not only get their signature on a petition but to try and get as many of their state by state Attorney Generals to band together for impeachment of the Supreme Court. That sound you hear is the whimper of our Democracy dying. What does it take to get more of us on our feet and taking to the streets? Hell there is more citizen involvement and demonstrations in Iran or Mexico.

    When we are all well and fully finished, and when we no longer have the illusion of a free Democracy, just remember how unaffected, how lazy and how unwilling most of you are to protect the Constitution. Our legislators won't, so we have to. Go ahead write these comments. Then go to bed and get up tomorrow one date closer to religious, fascist, oligarchy.
    Go watch American Idol and keep yourselves entertained and maybe you won't miss your loss of freedoms, your privacy and your right to a fair and free election.

    If your Republicans, your in gravy.
  • sprout
    someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed...
  • Talis13
    Hey Steelpony I can assure you that lawyers are not the cause of rising healthcare costs. That is a repube cannard to feed to their ignorant sheep.
  • Mooftown
    Listen to this putrid sack of shit dodge the question and go straight to regurgitating the GOP talking points, these guys all say the same fuckin thing, disgusting, i hate it
  • Mooftown
    This guy gasps for air so loud every few seconds, what the fuck, can't he breath? how fucking annoying
  • dennycrane
    Please...wake me up when they tell the truth.

    ......Republicans- Over 30 Years Of Lying and Still Counting.
  • mmeflutterbye
    This has been a year of hate sponsored by the GOP. Now that the SCOTUS has ruled in favor of the corporations, their GOP shills can run rough shod over the poor and the middle class. They'll jeer at opponents and even the President during his speeches. They can make laws that damn the disenfranchised to slavery. It's no holds barred for making us a banana republic. Only the rich will win out. The only power we have is the power to vote for the lesser of evils. Not a pretty picture.
  • Dr Hook
    You can bet if Mc POW won in 2008, by now we would be bombing and fighting in Iran!
  • RomanceWritR
    I'm guessing...That would be a bad thing? If so, I can't wait to see how you feel about Iran Nuking us in a few years.
  • steelpony
    You believe all the media bullshit?
  • RomanceWritR
    You actually believe Iran is not a threat? Stalin had a name for such people during the early cold war: "Useful Idiots."
  • gr0o
    Hello Romy. Iran overstates their nuclear capabilities, if not their intentions. I do believe that Iran would like to be a threat but if Ahmadinejad & the Ayatollah were actually capable of attacking the US in any meaningful way, they would do it NOW while we're stretched thin in two wars and ideallogically divided at home. Iran will have to be dealt with but it would be better foreign policy to let (urge) the Iranian people and other countries in that region take the lead.

    Since you're such a vocal supporter of Republican ideology, what is your take on the recent SCOTUS case regarding campaign funding? I think we're in much greater danger of our government being bought and run by walmart and pfizer than by Iran attacking us in any significant way over the next ten years.
  • RomanceWritR
    If you think that Iran, with the world's second or third greatest oil reserves is not attempting to obtain a weapons capability, you are living in dreamland.

    On the second issue, I take the position that Big Business and Big Labor have entirely too much influence in politics. So I am not happy with the ruling.
  • gr0o
    I don't disagree that they are attempting to obtain weapons capability; I simply aver that they are overstating their current capability.

    On the SCOTUS decision, I'm glad to see you have some sense of reason when it comes to blindly supporting republican appointees, but Big Labor? Not much of an influence anymore. Besides, if the two were equally 'in power' they would balance each other to some degree as they've been on opposite sides of the political spectrum. (Seriously though, eff either of them being able to buy an election; corporations are not people and elected reps are supposed to represent people. Worst. SCOTUS. Decision. EVAR.)
  • steelpony
    Sounds like you don't have a clue as to the context of Stalins statement.
  • RomanceWritR
    First of all, my bad, the actual statement is attributed to Lenin, not Stalin. Second...the context is exactly as stated. But, why don't you enlighten me? And third, you liberals ARE useful idiots. The way you want to deal with Iran, to repeat a famous French saying, is like Shi**ting in your pants. Temporary relief, leaving a far worse problem down the road.
  • dennycrane
    Stick to romance novels for narcissists. When you do shit your pants, you can jump in the lake and clean them before you drown.
  • RomanceWritR
    Another thoughtful, reasoned liberal comment. And you wonder why we believe that your policies are worthless. This is the most articulate support of a liberal position we have seen all week. You should win an award.
  • WJM51
    RomanceWritR doesn't have a clue about much of ANYTHING, let alone anything with a historical context to it. Trying to talk to him or her is a total and complete waste of time. Light's not even on, let alone no one being home.
  • RomanceWritR
    Your policies are as astute as your command of the English language.
  • sprout
    beats your command of history
  • RomanceWritR
    I can just copy and repost the same comment that is applicable to almost all liberal posters here:

    Another thoughtful, reasoned liberal comment. And you wonder why we believe that your policies are worthless. This is the most articulate support of a liberal position we have seen all week. You should win an award.
  • tednarcotic
    Tell it.
  • tednarcotic
    Tell it.
  • wowser12
    Senator DeMental...your pants are on fire
  • TaterSalad
    America is rising for the better and here is why:

    http://patriotupdate.com/stories/read/2514/VIDE...
  • Mooftown
    Demint is a fucking tool and a douche bag
  • Anthony Look
    When you parents, yourself, your relatives, your friends, your children, or even strangers suffer the indignities of our current healthcare system, when you hear of bankrupted families, suffering and death from lack of coverage; then remember DeMint and the Republicans and the teabagging lockstep clones. May you and your family never reap what you have sowed. Racism is at the core of the Republican Party and what is has wrought is the evil that they have in their hearts. Remember DeMint, when you are denied care, when you loose your job and can't get insured, when you find yourself at the mercy of what ever rate your loyalty has afforded the insurance companies. What the GOP has inherited is the future wrath of any and all future health care ills in America. Your bed now, you've broken it; you own it.
  • steelpony
    I am neither Democrat or Republican, speaking as a person whose wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer 2.5 years ago, and over $500,000 in medical ( my retirment gone) I can assure you the major problem with our medical system is the lawyers and politicians in the doctors offices, I am not in favor of government in the medical buisness. Republicans & Democrats are only fighting about health care because they each want to be in control, whatever happens, you and I will end up sucking hind tit.
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