Reid to Colleagues: ‘Go Back to Gentlemanly Ways’
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) on Tuesday appealed to his colleagues to “go back to their gentlemanly ways— as the chamber nears its final vote on Christmas Eve on a sweeping health care overhaul.“This is a very difficult time, the next day or so, and let’s try to work through this,— said Reid, after another early morning trio of votes on the $871 billion health care package.Invoking Rodney King, who famously asked, “Can’t we all just get along?— during the 1990s race riots in Los Angeles, and pointing to the upcoming Christmas holiday, Reid reminded Senators that this “is a time when we reflect on peace and the good things in life.—“I would hope that everyone would kind of set aside all their personal animosity if, in fact, they have any, the next little bit and focus on that holiday,— Reid added.Democrats are hoping that Republicans will agree to move up the final vote on health care reform set for 7 p.m. Christmas Eve. While no agreement has been reached yet between the two parties, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) did seem to suggest one might be in the offing on Tuesday morning.“We are working on an agreement that will give certainty to the way to end this session, and hopefully the two of us together can be recommending something that makes sense for both sides in the not-too-distant future,— McConnell said.