Orrin Hatch: “today the Senate is taking more time to debate a bill that will have little consequence for the American people--all…”

“today the Senate is taking more time to debate a bill that will have little consequence for the American people--all people, that is, but those who work in the White House on President Obama's reelection campaign. We are in our 41st straight month with unemployment above 8 percent, but the Senate is again taking up precious time--time that could be devoted toward creating jobs--to address legislation that is instead designed to create votes for the President's flagging reelection efforts. I would be outraged at this partisan display if it were not so pathetic, but in the end I think the American people will have enough outrage to spare. It is important for the American people to know what the Senate Democratic leadership considers pressing business. Today the world's greatest deliberative body, the Senate, takes up one of the most deliberately political pieces of legislation you will ever see. Meanwhile, my friends on the other side of the aisle are now saying that when faced with the choice of addressing the fiscal cliff we are facing at the end of this year by raising taxes on small businesses, they will take their stand with tax hikes. This is remarkable. Rather than stop the country from going over the fiscal cliff and preventing the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax relief, they are prepared to ``Thelma and Louise'' the American economy right off the cliff. This is an astonishing admission, but it is not surprising.…”