Thomas Daschle: “Mr. President, let there be no misunderstanding what it is we are doing here. This is one more effort to kill this bill.…”

“Mr. President, let there be no misunderstanding what it is we are doing here. This is one more effort to kill this bill. If it wasn't dead the first time, they are going to try to ensure that on the second shot it dies. That is what this is about. I think it would be much better if we just voted it up or down, yes or no. Instead, some of our colleagues on the other side are hiding in the rocks. They want to shoot and kill that bill so nobody knows who it was who killed it. Well, this will kill it pure and simple, and it is a cynical approach to killing it, because it is an amazing demonstration, in my view, of political juxtaposition here that the very Senators who will vote to kill it by not supporting the waiver on the point of order are the very Senators who offered the amendments on taxes and on drugs and on the other amendments that brought us to this point. The very Senators who said we have to have a tax bill, we have to have a drug bill, we have to have all these other amendments added before we can support this legislation are now going to vote not to waive the point of order to bring the bill down. So I hope there is no misunderstanding about what is at stake here. We are going to kill this bill tonight. I should say they are going to kill this bill tonight.”