[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 10]
[Senate]
[Page 14011]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        THE REPUBLICAN CONGRESS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, in this Republican Congress--especially as 
we head out for yet another unearned recess--I feel compelled to 
comment on how Republicans have treated the President of the United 
States during the last 8 years.
  History will look back and note that the Republicans in Congress 
treated President Obama with unprecedented disrespect. No one expected 
them to agree with everything that he did or tried to do, but Americans 
deserve better than the way Republicans behaved toward President Obama.
  A day or two after President Obama was elected the first time, 
Republicans met here in Washington--all the Republican big names--and 
they came to two conclusions. No. 1, Obama would not be reelected. They 
failed on that one quite miserably. But No. 2, they would oppose 
everything that President Obama tried to do, and they have stuck by 
that without any question.
  America would be better off with a responsible opposition party that 
found a way to make its differences with President Obama clear without 
treating him with such contempt. But, sadly, that is not what they saw 
from Republicans over the past 8 years.
  President Obama is the first President to be denied a hearing on his 
budget. He is the first President to be denied a hearing on a Supreme 
Court nominee. President Obama is the first President to be asked to 
show his birth certificate. President Obama is the first President who 
has faced over 500 filibusters here in the Senate. In this Republican 
Senate, President Obama will see fewer nominations confirmed than any 
President in many, many decades.
  Republicans have not done their basic work of government, and they 
have not stood by their commitments to restore regular order or to pass 
a budget.
  Republicans have spent their time doing everything in their power to 
discredit President Obama and empower Donald Trump. That is not a 
legacy that any Senator should be proud of.
  I listened to public radio this morning, and the Arizona Republic, 
from the big city of Phoenix, right next to Nevada, for the first time 
in its history of more than 120 years--for the first time in its 
history--endorsed a Democratic Presidential nominee. It had never been 
done before. It is a Republican newspaper. I listened to the editor of 
the newspaper on the radio this morning saying they couldn't. Why? 
Because of Donald Trump.
  The legacy of Donald Trump should not be anything the Republicans are 
proud of. The only thing Republicans have done this year was to prove 
that they are the party of Trump. They are the party of Trump. They say 
they are not the party of Trump, but they are. They would have us 
believe that Trump just fell out of the sky and somehow mysteriously 
became the nominee of the party, but that is not the way it is.
  Everything he has said, stood for, done in this bizarre campaign he 
has run has come, filtered up, from what has gone on here in the 
Republican Senate--disagreeing with everything--anything--President 
Obama wanted. They filibustered things they agreed with just to slow 
things down.
  Trump is no anomaly. He is the monster the Republicans built. He is 
their Frankenstein monster. They own him.
  All we have to do to see that the Republicans are the party of Trump 
is to look at the way they have treated President Obama. He is a good 
man, a good family man. He has a great education. He is a good 
communicator. He has written two best-selling books. Everyone knows he 
can communicate orally. He deserved better than the unprecedented 
disrespect the Republicans have shown toward him.
  America, which twice elected Barack Obama to be its President, 
deserves better--much, much better. It is a shame what has not been 
done, and it is a shame what has been done.
  Mr. President, I note that my friend the Republican leader is not 
here. I will suggest the absence of a quorum, and the Chair can 
announce the business of the day following his appearance here.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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