Original at Daily Kos
Republicans are struggling for an answer to what should be a simple question: how to fund the Department of Homeland Security past the end of the month. The problem is, the House Republican bill would fund DHS while undoing President Obama's executive action shielding some immigrants from deportation. Senate Republicans can't get that bill past Senate Democrats and Obama has said he'd veto it in any case, but House Republicans are refusing to change it one bit.
It's a bit of a dilemma -- and one that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is being quite the comedian about:
"'I think it's a rather, honestly, absurd position to say that, 'We object to the bill but we don't want to debate the bill or change the bill.' So, I'm perplexed,' he said, responding to a question from TPM. 'I think it's a pretty hard argument to make with a straight face.'"Right. Like the Democratic position on this one is a mystery. "Pass a clean bill" is soooo hard to comprehend.
Republicans have spent years throwing up roadblocks and refusing to negotiate. Now, Democrats are doing a fraction of what Republicans have habitually done -- full Republican tactics here would involve Democrats taking an additional, unrelated policy hostage in exchange for their support -- and Republicans are acting befuddled and outraged.
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