Orrin Hatch is a blowhard.

How could "outright war" be worse than what we have right now? How more obstructionist could they possibly be?

Orrin Hatch capable of shame? This is the guy who said that Bush's wiretap program was clearly illegal and it was up to the United States Congress to pass a law to make the program legal.

This is the guy who said, just last week, that the GOP passed a lot of bills in the last decade that weren't paid for. But he's opposed to the Democrats passing bills that are paid for.

Orrin Hatch don't do shame, Steve.

You mean if we don't give Orrin Hatch what he wants he might participate with the minority in unprecedented obstructionism? Heavens no!

Oh please. Yeah, what are you gonna do? Refuse to vote for anything?

Mr. Hatch needs to see more clearly! The primary causal element to our now polarized political process is the intransigence of the Republican party.

These self-proffessed “leaders” short-sightedly have put party above nation in so much of their “legislative” efforts, their myopia has allowed them erroneously to think their party is the nation.

They fail to see their own party for what it’s worth - a 26% regional political club not open to all Americans! When will unassuming Americans of all stripes wake up and realize the Republican party has not an ounce of concern for our nation - it is merely concerned with exercising power over our nation’s citizens? -Kevo

(I originally posted this on The Plume Line comments section, but it is also relevant here!)

As with all things Republicans do, if this is not reported on the MSM outlets from which our uninformed electorate largely gets its news, did it really happen?

Orin Hatch's earlier votes did not lead to "war" because the Democrats didn't respond by crippling the government and ending all motion of bills. You can't have a war -- even a metaphorical, over-the-top war -- unless the other side shows up. When the other side refuses to defend itself, you don't get a war. You get a massacre.

reconciliation it will lead to permanent "war" between the two parties

And that would be different from the Republicans current modus operandi how exactly?
The current opposition party proudly describes itself as "taliban" and labels Democrats and Obama as "enemy" and "graver threat than terrorists".

Orrin Hatch is a god damn american original joke.

He is a fool in magic underwear, and he is brought to you by america's own original exploitative and demonic simulation of the abrahamic patriarchy in a grotesquery of absurdity, misogyny, and a plague of sexually-abused children.

That's some amerikan values we can believe in, my friends...
whatta country!

Bring it, Mofo.

Up to now, it's been a one-sided war.

"Outright war" -- unlike what we have now, which is the GOP opposes everything Obama does and calls him a crypto-fascist Muslim terror lover.

Hatch has been watching that Byrd clip too long.

"War"!

Republicans fight harder for their constituents than Democrats fight for their constituents.

Hey, show some deference to Our Colleague, the Esteemed Senior Senator from the GREAT state of Utah.

He is, after all, not subject to the laws of logic that we mere mortals must obey. . .

Someone should probably ask Hatch what the difference is between the "war" he envisions and what the Republicans are doing now.

Don't be too hasty in declaring Hatch's threat a "joke," Steve.

I give it until the end of the day before some so-called Democrat like Evan Bayh or Mary Landrieu declares that they, like Hatch, believe that reconciliation should be avoided at all costs precisely due to the need to avoid "all-out war" between the parties.

Hatch's threats are a rather pathetic joke. If he's still capable of shame, now would be a good time for some.

And yet Steve, per your 3 previous posts, Hatch's rhetoric will become TV News's soup dujour and concrete reality shortly thereafter.

Senator Orrin Hatch is now warning that if Dems pass health care reform via reconciliation it will lead to permanent "war" between the two parties

Is the old fart going to "kick in some teeth"?

he's working the wussy red-state dems.
bayh's gone, dorgan? lincoln? pryor?
landreau? nelson? nelson/florida?

hatch is a creep, but this is savvy tactically.
and 5 to 1 he's on face the nation this sunday and gets a lovely tongue bath.

"If he's still capable of shame..."

A very big "if" for any Republican these days.

And yet, despite all our derision of Hatch, Evan Bayh just wet his Depends and fainted. Call the Waaaambulance.

Imagine Dems using that kind of language. We're just so well behaved (and see where it gets us).

By using the word "war", the senator cheapens the actual wars Americans are fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Why so unpatriotic, Sen. Hatch? Why do you hate America?

(as well, ditto to all those who have pointed out, how could that possibly be different than now? You already vote against ideas that you nominally support just to oppose every effing thing that comes to a vote. You're going to declare an all-out war while you have a 18 seat minority? Bring it, you punk ass bitch.)

"Specifically, Hatch, who's been around long enough to know better..."

Been around long enough to know nothing, I think you meant.

Exhibit A: Orrin Hatch voted "Yes" on defining an unborn child as eligible for SCHIP and on $75M for abstinence education, but "No" on $100M to reduce teen pregnancy by education & contraceptives. He voted "Yes" on a constitutional ban of same-sex marriage, but "No" on adding sexual orientation to a definition of hate crimes. I could go on, but what purpose would it serve? Most people can read, but you can't make people search out what they don't want to see. Orrin Hatch has been a Senator from Utah since 1976. People keep voting him in, despite impossible-to-ignore indication that his position is nothing more to him than a platform from which to espouse his personal values. He keeps voting to approve - not to mention fund - social-engineering initiatives that have been repeatedly proven not to work.

Is this sounding to you like somebody who's been around long enough to know better? Well, yes, he has, but he has chosen to learn nothing that falls outside his narrow system of crotchety values.

Ideally, the Democrats would respond thus: "War? Bring it on, douchebag."

In an ideal world. But this is Obama's world where Repugs can be negotiated with.

What are Hatch and the republicans going to do in response? Not support any Democratic proposals? Put frivilous holds on administration nominees? Quite a threat.

In the movies, this would be the time to deliver the knockout punch, because the Republicans have obviously become so overconfident at their unchallenged obstructionism that they must have actually forgotten they are in the minority.

Pass a little bit of good legislation that will show an immediate benefit to the public, and these clowns will be back to their 25% - 28% base of crazy people who wouldn't vote for a Democrat if he was gift-wrapped in sorghum and collard greens.

Would someone please show Sen. Hatch the exit? He's obviously from remarks in the past year or so having some lapses in his synapses, as in it's ok to pass bills with no funding, e.g., Medicare D, if they do good and done by Republicans. It's bad if done by Democrats, except that Democrats have tried to find revenue to pay for the bill. Example: health care reform would add about 100 billion a year to a 2.4 trillion dollar health care costs. Good deal? Sounds fine to me; but not to Senator Hatch.

Is it true that Orrin opposed the use of body scanners at airports because it would allow "gentiles" to see Morman underwear?

Hatchet job.

In a way, the GOP already is at war with the rest of us.

Obstructionist bastards.

They all need to GFTs.

As if Obamacare really is the death of our country as we know it.

JFC.

Hey, you know what's the flip side of the fact that only 26% of the public knows what a filibuster is?

That a lot less than 26% of the public will give a damn if the Dems finally grow a pair and get rid of the fliibuster.

Something to think about.

What? My man Orrin a duplicitous lying sanctimonious hack?

I shocked. Shocked.

Does Hatch mean to tell us that there isn't "permanent war" between the parties now? And if not, how much worse could it be than the status quo?

How many times in the past decade alone has Hatch threatened to kick the bottom out of the congressional tub if the GOP doesn't get its way? He must have done it at least three times every year since 2000.

And how will that differ from the warm and fuzzy relationship we have right now?

Breaking: Orrin Hatch declares state of hostilities against majority of Americans; is exposed as clandestine minion of Osama bin Laden. Details at 6 and 11.

Just out of curiosity---how literal can I be with my interpretation of Hatch's threat of war? Should I mobilize? Should I call up reserves? Should I spin up the gyros on the missiles, heat up the bombers, and put the boomers to sea?

Add to Hatch's list of hypocrisies: he helped bottle up numerous Clinton judicial nominees in committee through anonymous holds, in some cases for up to 2 years. Then he not only supported but was a leading proponent of Republicans invoking the "Nuclear Option" to end Democratic filibusters of 6 Bush judicial nominees on the grounds that every nominee deserved an up or down votes and that filibustering them was "unconstitutional".

That, however, is not to say that Democratic use of reconciliation to pass adjustments to the health reform bill will not trigger "war" between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate. There is still a slight difference between the extreme and unprecedented obstructionism of the current Republican Senate Caucus and what would happen if they decided to shut down virtually all Senate activity by withholding unanimous consent and demanding role-call votes on every procedural move no matter how minor.

It should just be clear that if they do so, Democratic use of the reconciliation process will be nothing more than a pretext.

"Of course you realize, this means war."
- Daffy Duck

He's playing to Bayh and the other DINO's. QED.

He's also playing to the small-dicked closet cases that make up much of the male portion of the wingnut base. They eat that tough-talkin he-man shit up with a spoon.