31 Republicans Vote to Advance Liberal CR

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Yesterday, 31 Senate Republicans joined every Democrat in voting to advance the “continuing resolution” (CR), which fully funds Planned Parenthood, the president’s Iran deal, Obamacare, and executive amnesty.

These Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), betrayed the voters who sent them to Washington to fight for limited government, a strong national defense, and traditional values.

They did this for one simple reason: Senator McConnell pressured them to vote for this terrible bill to give himself political cover at a time when millions of Americans want him to be replaced.

Fortunately, the debate isn’t over and one senator isn’t backing down.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a motion yesterday to clear out Senator McConnell’s procedural blockade so he could offer amendments to defund Planned Parenthood and the president’s reckless Iran nuclear deal.

However, Senator Cruz was unable to get a vote on this motion because his Republican colleagues would not give him a “sufficient second,” which is normally customary in the Senate.

Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), John Barrasso (R-WY), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) were all on the Senate floor when Senator Cruz made his motion, but they all refused to support his right to get a vote on his motion.

This is an unprecedented procedural trick that Senator McConnell is using to gag conservatives. Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) used to fill the amendment tree to block amendments too, but he never denied members of his own party a sufficient second to get votes on their motions.

While the Senate appears to have surrendered the power of purse once again, it’s not clear yet what will happen in the House. Reports indicated that Speaker Boehner will try to pass the Senate’s CR with the support of House Democrats since he’s resigning and won’t be around to be held accountable.

Conservatives in the House should not support anyone who goes along with this for Speaker or any other leadership position. If they want to lead Republicans in the House, they must be willing to fight for our principles.

TAKE ACTION NOW

There are two important things we need you to do today.

First, cast your vote of no confidence in Senator McConnell’s leadership and join our campaign to force him to resign.

Second, call the 31 Republicans who voted for “cloture” to end debate and advance McConnell’s dirty CR.

Click here for the list of senators and their phone numbers.

These senators voted to advance a bill that funded Planned Parenthood, the Iran nuclear deal, executive amnesty, and Obamacare.

Please don’t let them say that they have a better strategy to defund Planned Parenthood or that a government shutdown would set the pro-life movement back. Both are false. They have no strategy to defund Planned Parenthood and their failure to fight for our principles is hurting the party’s image.

Thank you for standing strong for freedom. More and more Americans now see that the Republican leadership in Washington is a big part of the problem.

Now is the time for us to redouble our efforts, expose the Republicans who refuse to fight, and replace them with true conservatives.

Sincerely,
Ken Cuccinelli II
Ken Cuccinelli II
President
Senate Conservatives Action