Check For The String

Seriously, there has to be a string hanging from the back of every Republican Senator and Representative, because they seem to say the same set of sentences over and over again in response to dealing with every issue our country faces.

(TPM) Senate Republicans say they're prepared to work constructively with Democrats on a consensus financial reform bill. But this weekend, after the White House offered up a key substantive concession, they swatted President Obama's hand away in a fashion that was all too reminiscent of their strategy of opposition to health care reform.

"We ought to go back to the drawing board," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on CNN Sunday morning.

Likewise, moderate Republican Scott Brown (R-MA), once considered a swing vote on regulatory reform, explicitly threatened to vote to block the bill from even being debated. Asked by CBS' Bob Schieffer if he'd filibuster the bill rather than let it come to the Senate floor, Brown was unequivocal: "In this particular instance, yes," he said.

Update: Seems Steve Benen over at The Washington Monthly agrees with me.

McConnell was asked on CNN this morning what, specifically, was said at the gathering about the Wall Street reform bill. The conservative Kentuckian was evasive -- imagine that -- and instead of answering the questions, he talked about scrapping the legislation altogether.

"We ought to go back to the drawing board and fix it."

It's like deja vu all over again -- Democrats tackle a pressing national issue, negotiate with Republicans in good faith, craft a reasonable, middle-of-the-road legislative package that deserves bipartisan support, lobbyists tell Republicans to kill it, and McConnell voices his support for killing the legislation and going "back to the drawing board."

Is it me or does this sound familiar?

The Republicans are dead set on spending many years in the political wilderness.