The NRSC recently gave a candid assessment of their party in a report about the GOP’s increasingly “tough senate map” saying:
“None of our members have put their foot in their mouth but never underestimate us to screw it up because we have before.”
We beg to disagree. You don’t have to look too far back for examples of Republican screw ups – here are a few highlights from their last year in the Majority:
- DHS near-shutdown. “Republicans on both sides of the Capitol were shaken at the party’s handling of the DHS funding dispute that led to a monthlong standoff, paralyzed the GOP agenda and prompted serious questions internally about whether their newfound majority can deliver anything significant over the next two years.”
- Senator Coates retires. Three weeks after telling reporters his decision to run for reelection would depend on “some degree of confidence the new GOP Congress can get something done,” Senator Coates announced he’d retire.
- Freshman Senator’s “least productive year of [his] life.” Here’s what Ben Sasse, wrapping up his first year in the U.S. Senate, told MSNBC in an interview earlier this month: “I’ll be honest, it’s been the least productive year of my life so far.”
- Headline: Senator Blunt Blames College Students for Borrowing. Blunt said in a Senate hearing that when it comes to the student loan debt crisis, “we ought to be talking about… How much of [the debt problem is] related to the actual cost of going to school and how much of it is related to what you thought your living standards should be while you went to school.”
- Heck Proposes End to Birthright Citizenship. Echoing Donald Trump’s platform, Nevada Congressman Joe Heck – running against Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto – has said that ending birthright citizenship should be a part of immigration reform.
- Headline: Ron Johnson: Deporting Kids To Honduras Is OK Because It’s ‘A Beautiful Country’. “More than 200,000 unaccompanied minors or mothers traveling with their children have fled to the United States from the Central American countries of Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador over the last two years…but [Portman] saw on a recent three-day trip to Honduras and Guatemala that the implication that deporting children there is “sending them into a war zone” is incorrect. ‘We had security but, you know, Vicki, it’s not a war zone,’ he said on WIBA Madison’s “Up Front with Vicki McKenna.” ‘It’s obviously a poorer country than America but it’s a beautiful country, it’s a beautiful country. The people are beautiful.’”
- “Bro with no ho.” After a number of other major gaffes, Mark Kirk outdid himself when he was caught referring to Lindsey Graham as a “Bro with no ho…That’s what we’d say on the street.”
- Coming Up: Another attempt to defund Planned Parenthood. When the Senate returns from Thanksgiving recess, they’ll rally their caucus once again around a measure to defund Planned Parenthood – a move that will hurt already vulnerable incumbents.
“This isn’t exactly the greatest hits list Republicans were hoping to rack up before a difficult election year, so we understand why they’re trying to lower expectations,” said Lauren Passalacqua, DSCC National Press Secretary. “As Republican Senators and candidates continue to show how out of touch they are, Democratic candidates are making a clear case for how they’ll work to create a more secure economy for middle class families.”
