GOP: We won't work past 2 p.m.

In their bid to delay health-care reform, Republicans have a new tactic: Technically permissable sloth

In their bid to obstruct health-care reform in the Senate, Republicans have a bold new directive: Simply refuse to work past 2 p.m. Strangely enough, this ostensibly lazy move is supported by an obscure Senate rule which states that hearings can't happen after that time. The "childish, petty" GOP won't win support for their cause by backlogging "important proceedings at the expense of taxpayer dollars," says Alan Comes at Liberaland. Still, notes Ezra Klein at the Washington Post, Democrats have used this "old minority trick," too. We need to reform the "Senate rulebook" and get rid of these "procedural tantrums" once and for all. In this video, a March 23 hearing on government transparency is halted at exactly 2 p.m. (00:30):

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up