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When I think about Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), three anecdotes come to mind.
The first came earlier this year, when Kyl got caught lying about Planned Parenthood, and his spokesperson said the senator’s bogus claim was “not intended to be a factual statement.” The second came in 2005, when the right-wing senator looked for people killed by Hurricane Katrina who might be exploited to justify a tax cut for millionaires and billionaires.
And the third came last year, when Kyl negotiated with Obama administration officials on the New START treaty — an issue he admittedly didn’t understand — and the president’s team agreed to all of the senator’s terms. Almost immediately, Kyl betrayed the White House anyway, just because he could.
Dana Milbank, meanwhile, turned his attention this week to a fourth legacy-defining moment for the Arizona senator: his behind-the-scenes efforts to sabotage the super-committee debt-reduction talks.
It exaggerates little to say that Kyl thwarted agreement almost singlehandedly. While some Republicans on the panel — notably Reps. Dave Camp and Fred Upton — were, with House Speaker John Boehner’s blessing, prepared to strike a deal, Kyl rallied resistance with his usual table-pounding tirades. […]
The sabotage began on the very first day the supercommittee met…. When Democrats floated their proposal combining tax increases and spending cuts, Kyl rejected it out of hand, citing Republicans’ pledge to activist Grover Norquist not to raise taxes. Kyl’s constant invocation of the Norquist pledge provoked Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to snap at Kyl during a private meeting: “What is this, high school?” […]
“Walking napalm” is how one Democratic aide involved in the supercommittee described Kyl this week…. As Kyl leaves the Senate, he will be remembered as a lawmaker who intended to be not factual but destructive.
That part about Kyl leaving is important — the GOP leader is retiring at the end of this Congress, and he was in a position to, in theory, show some courage and leadership that other members might have been more reluctant to show. Instead, the Arizonan did the opposite.
Kyl has long been one of the nation’s worst senators, though a few too many pundits refuse to believe it. Kudos to Milbank for shining a spotlight on him.
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DAY on November 25, 2011 9:14 AM:
They say, "you can't judge a book by its cover."
And some also say, "Looks are deceiving."
In Kyl's case, neither is applicable. . .
c u n d gulag on November 25, 2011 9:19 AM:
"Manure Kyl" is more like a 'walking black hole' for intelligent thought and human caring.
And, of course, leave it to George Will to put on kneepads and lipbalm, and fellate an ignorant, hateful old goat like "Manure Kyl."
berttheclock on November 25, 2011 9:20 AM:
Ah, the day when Senator Ted Baxter Kyl retires.
He and Saxby Chambliss - Senators should not selected to run based upon their Central Casting looks. Both empty suits.
walt on November 25, 2011 9:25 AM:
A few years ago, Time Magazine had a story listing the Top 10 Senators. Guess who they included?
Kyl represents virtually everything that is wrong with our oligarchy. He panders to the birdbrain relics who vote in Arizona's GOP primaries and then pretty much serves as an enforcer for corporate governance. He's mean, he's smart, and he's ruthless. He's retiring not for any other reason than to rake in some millions doing what he does best: corporate lobbying. His replacement will be the libertarian Jeff Flake, one the House's two most conservative members. Arizona loves its right-wing grovelers to the 1%.
Richard Fox on November 25, 2011 9:28 AM:
Glancing quickly at this headline I mistook it to read "Walking napkin".
Since it pertained to the knowledge challenged Senator Kyl I think that works just as well, given his paper thin accomplishments in the Senate. So glad he is leaving the Congress along with Senator Lieberman, the other most useless Senator on the planet...
stormskies on November 25, 2011 9:31 AM:
And just think that last weekend David "I am not a used corporate condom" had this thing on his "Meet the Propagandist"......meaning him ... and said or pointed absolutely nothing that Dana Milbank has now revealed ... why not ? If he was doing this from day one, why not ?
Rudy Gonzales on November 25, 2011 9:32 AM:
This career Republican learned early in life politics would be a good source of money and power. He learned early in life to lie his way into office and speak with a forked tongue. His puppeteer, Grover Norquist, controls his every move. Why do the TEA/GOP/Republican leadership shows a greater allegiance towards and for a lobbyist like Grover Norquist, than the American public or economy? The people of his district chose him to lead for everyone in his district, not elitist like Norquist. Every TEA-GOP-Republican, who have signed or pledged to anyone other than their constituents, should be targeted for expulsion from the House or Senate for compromising their fiduciary responsibility to their constituents.
kevo on November 25, 2011 9:35 AM:
Napalm Kyl - as good an epithet as Tail-gunner Joe!
Despicable, Reprehensible and Egregious are three descriptors that fit Kyl's legacy in the Senate! We just never saw him drunk like we saw Joe McCarthy. Too bad, he'd have it over the Tail-gunner if we ever witnessed a sauced Kyle, but anyway, the moniker Napalm Kyl fits nicely! -Kevo
MplsTOC on November 25, 2011 9:47 AM:
You missed my favorite Kylism. He said he was fine with women paying more for health care than men because men don't have babies.
Yeah, it's not enough for women to physically bear the burden of producing the next generation. They should also bear the financial burden. It's not as if MEN benefit from having children without birth defects!
SW on November 25, 2011 9:55 AM:
A stone cold idiot.
siameese.cities on November 25, 2011 10:19 AM:
does the Arizona sun do something to white hair which causes damage to the brain?
Brewer, McCain, Kyl, all REALLY stupid, and all have white hair.
Giffords and Grijalva (these five are the only elected officials I know from AZ, unfortunately) don't seem to have the same intelligence problem, AND they have pigment in their hair?
mere coincidence? hmmm.
berttheclock on November 25, 2011 10:31 AM:
@siameese.cities, I submit J. D. Backwards does not have white hair, yet.
slf on November 25, 2011 12:43 PM:
".... Kyl negotiated with Obama administration officials on the New START treaty — an issue he admittedly didn’t understand — and the president’s team agreed to all of the senator’s terms."
Question: Why would the Obama administration negotiate with Kyl on START if he admitted he didn't understand it? Why would they give him everything he wanted (though how he defined his demands had to be very bad at the very least since he didn't understand anything)? These are the questions that make innocents like me crazy.
majun on November 25, 2011 1:34 PM:
The sabotage began on the very first day the supercommittee met…. When Democrats floated their proposal combining tax increases and spending cuts, Kyl rejected it out of hand, citing Republicans’ pledge to activist Grover Norquist not to raise taxes.
OK, fine. Maybe someone should circulate a pledge for Democratic Congressmen to take, promising to do nothing that will adversely affect the social safety net. If one side wants to base their entire policy on a single absolute, with no opportunity for compromise, the other side needs to stake out a similar position. Maybe when the main stream media is finally forced to face a mirror image of the GOP obstructionism, they will finally "get it". At least when they reflexively blame both sides, they will be right. And if Democrats later back off from their reflexive obstructionism, and offer a compromise, after really refusing to, maybe the main stream media will actually give them the credit they deserve.
merl on November 25, 2011 3:10 PM:
serving Norquist instead of the USA sounds like treason to me.
PEA on November 25, 2011 6:49 PM:
Steve,
One of these days could you please shine a light on congressional income, benefits, and retirement plans? I'd love to know just what Kyl and other favorites earn and what they'll be taking with him after he has so distinguished himself in the Senate. Also, someone told me recently that congress persons can use insider info to buy/sell stock w/o it being illegal, and that many have done so. Any truth to this? Give the plight of the 99%, it might be good to know some specifics about our wonderful representatives... (BTW, captcha is improving or it's having a good day today)
Flounder on November 26, 2011 9:57 AM:
I think that Kyl's worst moment was when he and Lindsey Graham lied to the Supreme Court during the Hamdan v. Rumsfeld case. Lying to the Supreme Court of our country just takes the evil and destruction a up a notch.
yellowdog on November 27, 2011 6:41 PM:
@slf on November 25, 2011 12:43 PM:
Good question. The answer: Article II of the Constitution specifies that the President may propose and negotiate treaties, but they take effect only when the U.S. Senate ratifies them, which requires the support of two-thirds of the voting Senators.
In short, to get the votes for ratification in the Senate, Obama had to sway lots of Republicans. The GOP Leader, Sen. McConnell, designated Kyl as the lead negotiator on the New START treaty for the GOP. (Kyl did not speak, though, for Sen. Lugar, who was a vigorous supporter of the treaty from the outset.) It was soon clear, though, that Kyl's "negotiations" were a sham. Kyl's real purpose was to delay and scuttle ratification of the treaty. It took a momentous effort on the part of the President, Sen. Kerry, and Sen. Lugar to get enough Senators in the GOP to break out of lock-step with McConnell and Kyl and support the treaty.
This was one of President Obama's most important victories, and one of the lowest Republican moments in a long history of low moments. What an ugly episode. Ugly, ugly--and Kyl was, characteristically, in the middle of it, standing in the way of good sense.