Orrin Hatch protests the snickering commentators after saying senators 'shot their wad on health care'

Orrin Hatch.
(Image credit: STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

Eighty-three-year-old Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) learned Monday that to "shoot one's wad" no longer means to most people what it did in the good ol' days.

Last Wednesday, the Utah senator complained that "we're not going back to health care. We're in tax now. As far as I'm concerned, they shot their wad on health care and that's the way it is. I'm sick of it." The comment naturally earned a few chuckles, although Hatch did nothing to discourage amused smiles when he protested Monday:

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.