Salon.com > Senate Republicans

Republicans just not that mad about AP phone records scandal

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:34:00 +0000

Senate Republicans, definitely outraged about the attacks in Benghazi and the IRS's targeting of Tea Party groups, are just not feeling it when it comes to the Department of Justice's subpoena of Associated Press phone records.

“I don’t want to jump to judgment here because many of us did call on the administration to investigate leaks; I am struck by what appears to be a very broad net and not a very targeted look,” Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters on Tuesday, Buzzfeed reports. “I think the best thing to do would be to have the attorney general come over and testify before the Judiciary Committee.”

“I can only speak for myself, but it strikes me this Justice Department inquiry will go forward and we’ll look forward to seeing what comes of it,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

GOPers in damage control mode after background checks votes

Tue, 07 May 2013 16:39:00 +0000

After seeing their approval ratings tank following their votes against the Senate's gun background check measure, Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., are scrambling for some damage control, both arguing that they have always supported background checks.

Flake first told CNN that he would be willing to flip his vote on the measure, provided one provision was amended:

Flake said the only reason he voted no was because of his concern that the requirement for background checks on internet sales is too costly and inconvenient, given the way guns are often sold among friends in his state of Arizona and others.

He said under the measure as written, if a gun owner sends a few friends a text or email asking if they want to buy their gun, or posts it on their Facebook page, "that is considered a commercial sale."

Shortly after, Flake tweeted that this didn't really represent a reversal of his position:

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Republicans block Obama nominee to appeals court

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 18:02:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans have blocked the confirmation of federal appeals court nominee Caitlin Halligan for the second time, denying President Barack Obama a key judicial appointment.

Republicans say Halligan is too liberal to sit on U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia and cited citing her work on lawsuits against gun manufacturers. The National Rifle Association opposed her nomination.

Democrats say the effort to block her is about maintaining a conservative majority on a key appellate court.

A majority of senators, 51, supported her nomination, but Democrats needed 60 votes in the 100 member Senate to get it past Republican objections.

Halligan serves as general counsel in the Manhattan district attorney's office and served as solicitor general for New York state. Obama first nominated her in September 2010.

Republicans cagey on gun control vote

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 16:31:00 +0000

The emotional high-note of President Obama's State of the Union came when he called for Congress to vote on gun prevention measures. “The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence — they deserve a simple vote,” Obama said.

As The Hill points out, at the time, "Republican leaders stood and looked around but did not applaud." So far, the public reaction from the Republicans has been comparable.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., all made statements after Obama's speech, but none of them mentioned a gun control vote. Only McConnell mentioned guns at all. “Gun control, cap-and-trade, tax increases, and spending programs are exactly what we’ve come to expect from a liberal President who seems perfectly content to preside over a divided country and a stagnant economy," he said in his statement.

AP Source: Sen. Chambliss won’t seek reelection

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:15:00 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional aide says Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia won't seek re-election to a third term.

The conservative lawmaker was first elected to the House in the 1994 Republican wave. He moved up to the Senate after a rough 2002 campaign in which he defeated Democratic incumbent Max Cleland, a triple amputee from his Vietnam war service.

The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak in advance of an official announcement.

Chambliss has been a GOP loyalist throughout his career, but he drew criticism from tea party Republicans for his participation in a bipartisan Senate "Gang of Six" focusing on the budget. The group advocated a mix of tax increases and spending cuts but failed to produce a bargain.