The Aqua Buddha grifter running for president, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), promised everyone that he would filibuster the bipartisan budget deal hammered out by GOP leadership and the White House.
More importantly, Aqua Buddha used his filibuster promise to fund raise off the conservative rubes for his presidential campaign.
The conservative rubes should be entitled to a refund because this right-wing grifter did not even last 20 minutes.
Shortest. Filibuster. Ever. Rand Paul’s Budget Deal ‘Filibuster’ Lasts Less Than 20 Minutes.
With the village idiot’s fake filibuster out of the way, the Senate approves two-year budget deal in 3 a.m. vote:
The Senate passed a two-year budget deal early Friday morning that raises the debt ceiling, sending the agreement to President Obama’s desk.
The deal was approved after 3 a.m. in a 64-35 vote after a late speech by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who criticized the legislation as a blank check for President Obama to add to the nation’s debt.
[Sen McCain voted yes; Sen. Flake voted no.]
“Both sides of the aisle have what I would call sacred cows. On the right, they have the sacred cow of military contracts. … The left wants more welfare,” he said, adding, “Should we give Congress more money? Hell no.”
And they all laughed, and laughed at the village idiot.
Few other senators seemed interested in Paul’s speech, as the presiding officer repeatedly had to ask senators to keep their conversations down so that Paul could speak.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) tweeted her dissatisfaction, arguing the GOP presidential candidate was simply seeking attention for his campaign.
“Senate &staff all here at 1:55 am so that Pres candidate Rand Paul can send tweet out telling fans to watch him,” she said in a tweet.
Thirty-five Republicans opposed the deal, including Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who are facing tough reelection battles in blue-leaning states next year.
The legislation clears the calendar of major fiscal fights, including funding the government, until after the 2016 elections that will see Republicans defending 24 Senate seats.
* * *
Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) circulated a letter ahead of the vote asking that their colleagues join them in rejecting the deal.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was the only GOP presidential contender to vote for the package. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) all voted against it.
The Senate’s action on the agreement comes after House lawmakers passed the deal 266-167, including the support of 79 Republicans.
The package was a final legislative victory for outgoing House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), who officially submitted his resignation on Thursday.
It also gives new Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) breathing room as he settles in to the House’s top spot, allowing him to avoid what had been a looming Nov. 3 deadline to pass a debt bill and mid-December deadline to fund the government.
The deal suspends the limit on borrowing until March 16, 2017, leaving the next fight for Obama’s successor. It also raises spending levels above the 2011 Budget Control Act, increasing funding by $80 billion through September 2017.
It also includes changes to entitlement programs, including avoiding a premium hike for many Medicare enrollees and bolstering funding for Social Security’s disability trust fund.
With the deal headed to Obama’s desk — where he’s expected to sign it — lawmakers will now turn their attention to passing either 12 individual spending bills or one large omnibus bill.
The deadline for the appropriations bills is December 11. Yes, there could still be a government shutdown.
Last week I posted that I did not have any faith that the Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight could find a way out of financial disaster with a default looming on November 3 and a mutinous Tea-Publican Caucus.
The “secret” budget deal this week came as a complete surprise to everyone. The TanMan threw the far-right mutineers who forced him out as speaker under the bus and told them “screw the Hastert Rule!” The Turtle Man boxed out Aqua Buddha and teabaggers like Mike Lee and “his father” Ted “Calgary” Cruz from mucking things up with a fake filibuster in the Senate.
The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight got it done. I am happy to give credit when credit is due.
UPDATE: Obama signs three-week highway bill, the bill extends federal infrastructure funding until November 20. Back to work on the long-term appropriations bill. House Rules Committee to consider $325 billion highway bill.