[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 34 (Wednesday, March 2, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1170-S1171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            REPUBLICAN PARTY

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, here is a headline of an article that 
appeared in the Washington Post: ``Trump is the GOP's Frankenstein 
monster.'' This was the headline in the Washington Post article 
authored by Robert Kagan, a former official in the Reagan State 
Department who is now a senior fellow at the Brookings Institute.

  It is true, Donald Trump is the Republican Party's Frankenstein 
monster. Republicans have spent the last 8 years stoking the fires of 
resentment and hatred, building Trump piece by piece. Today the 
Republican establishment acts like it is surprised by Donald Trump's 
victories around the country. They feign outrage that a demagogue 
spewing vile xenophobia is somehow winning in a party which spent years 
telling immigrants they are not welcome in America. They act surprised 
that Republican voters are flocking to a birther candidate, even as 
Republican congressional leaders continue to support a man who refuses 
to distance himself from the Ku Klux Klan.
  They express shock and outrage that Republican voters cheer Trump's 
schoolyard taunts, even as they trounce the most common courtesies 
extended to every President, even as they deny a fair hearing to a 
President's Supreme Court nominee for the first time ever--the first 
time--in history. Republicans shouldn't be surprised. They spent 8 
years laying the groundwork for the rise of Donald Trump.
  The reality is that Republican leaders are reaping what they have 
sown. As Mr. Kagan said in his Washington Post opinion piece yesterday, 
``The party's own political crimes are being punished in a bit of 
cosmic justice fit for a Greek tragedy.''
  Seven years ago the Republican leader and his party decided that 
President Obama was an illegitimate President. They decided his 
Presidency was unworthy of their basic respect and good-faith efforts. 
Congressional Republicans decided that whatever policies this President 
proposed, they would reflexively oppose them--regardless of the merits. 
Instead, congressional Republicans had only one objective--to keep 
President Obama from being reelected.
  In order to do that, the Republican leader and his party refused to 
engage the President or Democrats on policy. No matter how dire the 
crisis for the

[[Page S1171]]

American people, Republican leaders decided it was more important to 
deny President Obama an achievement than help people in need. Think 
about that. No matter how dire the crisis for the American people, 
Republican leaders decided--I repeat--it was more important to deny 
President Obama an achievement than to help people in need.
  Think about the monumental legislation Republicans refused to even 
engage in, let alone work on:
  The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, known as the stimulus, 
when our economy was in a nosedive--in a nosedive. Remember, when Obama 
was elected, that month he was elected the country lost 800,000 jobs in 
1 month. We were in the throes of the great recession, and yet it took 
an effort to get a mere three Republicans to work with us on that 
legislation. Very important. They were strong, they were courageous--
Specter, Collins, and Snowe. Republican leadership made it clear they 
didn't want their Senators working with President Obama on the 
stimulus, but we got it done.
  Health care. Before ObamaCare, there were nearly 50 million Americans 
with no health insurance. Since then, almost 20 million more Americans 
have health coverage. Today, if you have a preexisting disability, you 
are covered with insurance. Today the rate of no insurance is below 10 
percent. This is all in spite of congressional Republicans who would 
not work with Democrats despite our best efforts. They refused to do 
anything to engage in any way. When the debate over health care 
started, three Republicans--Senators Snowe, Grassley, and Enzi, very 
important Members of the Finance Committee--acted interested in fixing 
our Nation's health care system, but Republican leadership twisted 
their arms to convince them--whatever words we want to use--to get them 
in line with the Republican leader's wishes and abandoned any hope of 
bipartisanship on the issue. So there was none. Senator Snowe brought 
up a bill in the Finance Committee, but the Republican leadership 
turned it into a ``no'' vote on the Senator floor, and the senior 
Senator from Iowa went back to Iowa and started talking about death 
panels. Doesn't that sound like something Donald Trump would do?
  Wall Street and Dodd-Frank legislation, when Wall Street crashed. I 
can remember being in the White House with the Republican Secretary of 
the Treasury, a wonderful man. Secretary Paulson was on his knees 
begging Nancy Pelosi to work with him. The country was in deep trouble. 
Democrats controlled the body. We had a Republican President, and we 
worked with a Republican President.
  In the shadow of economic ruin created by Wall Street's unhinged 
greed, Republicans would not work with us to rein in the big banks and 
financial institutions. They had been warned by Republican leadership. 
In the end, only one Republican voted for that bill--only one.
  Time and time again, congressional Republicans went to the extreme to 
block any positive legislation to improve our Nation. The tactics 
Republicans used to obstruct this President were unprecedented. In 
effect, the Republican leader told the President that none of his 
policies would get a fair hearing from Republicans, and that is 
basically true. Republicans denied the Office of the President the 
respect it deserves, and their shoddy and disrespectful treatment 
became the norm.
  In 6 years, the Republican leader launched more than 500 filibusters. 
During the same 6-year period, Lyndon Johnson, in 6 years, had overcome 
2 filibusters--500 to 2. This is far more than anyone ever imagined 
could happen in this great body.
  Actions speak louder than words. Automatically filibustering the 
President's policies for years on end sends a clear and simple message: 
Republicans think this President's proposals are illegitimate. Instead 
of working for the American people, Republicans decided that making the 
extreme rightwing happy was more important. Republicans blocked 
legislation to prevent criminals and suspected terrorists from buying 
guns, even background checks. Republicans blocked commonsense campaign 
finance reform. We had 59 votes to allow some disclosure of all these 
huge amounts of money; not a single Republican voted with us--not a 
single Republican. Republicans voted to deport DREAMers. Republicans 
blocked an increase in the minimum wage. Republicans blocked equal pay 
for women. Republicans blocked efforts to do something about student 
loan debt. Now Republicans are blocking the nominee of the Supreme 
Court before that person has even been nominated. This is just a short 
list of what they have blocked.
  From this rhetoric to their actions, the Republicans have set the 
Trump standards. The Republican Party has long used Islam to 
fearmonger. Now Donald Trump is doing the same thing. The Republican 
Party has spent years railing against Latinos and immigrants, trying to 
incite fear and panic. Congressman Steve King called immigrants drug 
dealers and described their bodies in a very negative, ugly way. Now 
Donald Trump is saying the same thing. Donald Trump is the ultimate 
fulfillment of the Republicans' legacy of obstruction and resentment, 
but to be frank, it is not only Trump. Senator Cruz, Senator Rubio, and 
Ben Carson are saying basically the same thing--maybe a little more 
subtle, but they are saying the same thing. After all, this is the same 
party--the Republican Party--that just yesterday saw nine of its 
Members vote against naming a post office after world-famous poet and 
civil rights activist Maya Angelou. It is hard to believe.
  Even as the establishment condemns what Donald Trump says and does, 
the Republican leadership is still supporting him. The Speaker of the 
House yesterday affirmed that he will vote for Donald Trump if he is 
the Republican nominee for President. The Senate Republican leader has 
not said he will not vote for Donald Trump if he is the nominee. 
Publicly, at least, Republicans are supporting a man who refused to 
denounce the KKK--a man who continues to denigrate immigrants, Muslims, 
and the disabled.
  Donald Trump is the standard bearer for the Republican Party. 
Republicans created him by spending 7 years appealing to some of the 
darkest forces in America. It is up to Republicans to try and undo what 
they have done by denouncing Donald Trump. It is time for Republicans 
to stop the Frankenstein they created. Trump is the GOP's Frankenstein 
monster. If Republicans fail to stop Donald Trump, it will tear the 
party apart even more than it is now.
  Will the Chair announce the business of the day?

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