ENDA, Pathetic Amendments, and the End of the Fight for Religious Liberty
What did the members get in return for the vote on cloture? A phony religious liberty protection:
This is a classic one-sided Republican deal. They will vote for a bill mandating the hiring of cross-dressers to any position as long as the government doesn’t retaliate against religious groups. And of course, John McCain was in on it.
Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on one more phony amendment. In exchange for his vote for cloture, Senator Toomey secured a vote to “expand” the religious protections. The underlying bill only exempts those groups whose “purpose and character are primarily religious.” His amendment would expand that to organizations that are partly religious in nature, such as a school that teaches religion for part of the day.
What’s missing from all of this?
Private business owners – religious or otherwise.
If you own a daycare center or any other business and object to the dissolute behavior of a cross-dresser, you are out of luck. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will have full latitude to agitate seminar discrimination complaints and infringe upon private property rights.
Amazingly, even this milquetoast amendment is being subject to a 60-vote threshold. They couldn’t even secure an agreement for a simple majority vote in exchange for ensuring passage of the bill.
The amendment is being co-sponsored by Senator Flake, which means he will join McCain in juicing up the Democrat supermajority.
All the while, there has not been one word of opposition from Mitch McConnell. As Democrats pick off members one-by-one, there is no counter effort to stand up for religious liberty.
What did the members get in return for the vote on cloture? A phony religious liberty protection:
“Senate passage of ENDA seemed more and more likely Wednesday after the Senate unanimously accepted an amendment by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) protecting religious groups exempted under the legislation from government retaliation. That amendment likely secured the vote of several other Republicans pushing for that language, including Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).” [Politico]
This is a classic one-sided Republican deal. They will vote for a bill mandating the hiring of cross-dressers to any position as long as the government doesn’t retaliate against religious groups. And of course, John McCain was in on it.
Tomorrow, the Senate will vote on one more phony amendment. In exchange for his vote for cloture, Senator Toomey secured a vote to “expand” the religious protections. The underlying bill only exempts those groups whose “purpose and character are primarily religious.” His amendment would expand that to organizations that are partly religious in nature, such as a school that teaches religion for part of the day.
What’s missing from all of this?
Private business owners – religious or otherwise.
If you own a daycare center or any other business and object to the dissolute behavior of a cross-dresser, you are out of luck. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) will have full latitude to agitate seminar discrimination complaints and infringe upon private property rights.
Amazingly, even this milquetoast amendment is being subject to a 60-vote threshold. They couldn’t even secure an agreement for a simple majority vote in exchange for ensuring passage of the bill.
The amendment is being co-sponsored by Senator Flake, which means he will join McCain in juicing up the Democrat supermajority.
All the while, there has not been one word of opposition from Mitch McConnell. As Democrats pick off members one-by-one, there is no counter effort to stand up for religious liberty.