Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday said trying to work with Republicans reminds him of chasing a greased pig at the rodeo.
“Oft times, working with some Senate Republicans feels a lot like chasing one of those greased pigs,” Reid said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Anytime we get close to making progress it seems as though we watch it slip out of our hands, and Republicans scamper away.”
He said he enjoys going to the rodeo and watching the “greased pig contests,” where children chase around a greased piglet, but said the antics of Republicans aren’t as enjoyable.
{mosads}Reid’s criticism came as the Senate prepared to vote Tuesday on whether to end debate on proceeding to an energy efficiency bill. He said Republicans keep changing their amendment demands despite deals being made.
Republican insistence on considering non-germane ObamaCare amendments killed progress on the bipartisan bill last year.
This year, Republicans and vulnerable Democrats up for reelection are pushing for a vote on the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that is in limbo due to an Obama administration review.
Reid said Republicans first asked for a sense of the Senate vote on Keystone, but then decided they wanted a binding vote. Reid said he agreed and said Republicans could have votes on a total of five germane amendments, but as of last night he said they were demanding yet another amendment.
“It’s not a game,” Reid said. “It’s part of a calculated political scheme.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Reid was blocking the minority party’s rights to offer amendments.
“This is hardly obstructionism,” McConnell said. “It’s laughable to say it’s obstructionism to allow the minority to have five or six amendment votes.”