Last night, the Senate held a procedural vote that would have allowed the body to begin debate on financial reform legislation. The vote failed 57 to 41. That’s right, 57 votes were cast to move forward – but the vote failed. It’s a good thing the Senate isn’t in charge of teaching second grade math.

But I digress…

This morning’s New York Times covered the vote. I found one paragraph to be particularly interesting:

Mr. McConnell, in a floor speech on Monday, rattled off a list of major legislation that he said had not benefited Americans in the ways Democrats had promised, including the economic stimulus measures and the health care legislation. “The days of taking the Democrats’ word for it are over,” he said.

I looked up Senator McConnell’s floor speech. The list of major legislation the article refers to: the national debt (not legislation), the stimulus package (protected/created over 2 million jobs), and health care reform (immediate benefits for many, and eventually 30 million more Americans with health coverage).

Now, we all know that the Republican plan of action since day one of the Obama Administration has been obstruction. They force a cloture vote on any legislation that will help the American people just to prevent the Administration from being able to take credit.

But, my favorite part of the article is McConnell’s quote: “The days of taking the Democrats’ word for it are over.” It’s as if he’s saying that Republicans have been a rubber stamp for the Administration, but this time, they’ve learned their lesson!

Has he forgotten the entire year of 2009? Has he forgotten that just two months ago, in an appearance on FOX News about health care reform, he said, “But I think the fundamental point I want to make is the arrogance of all of this. You know, they are saying, “Ignore the wishes of the American people. We know more about this than you do. And we’re going to jam it down your throats no matter what.””

The Senator is using an impressively deceptive rhetorical tool, covering up his consistent, decades-old right-wing fear mongering as if this fabricated problem – Democrats lying about the real effects of important legislation that will help people – is new. The truth is that on every major policy initiative designed to make the lives of the American people better, Senator McConnell and his big money supporters have used fear to build public opposition.

Basically, Senator McConnell and the Republicans have turned bailouts – their main public reason for obstructing financial reform – into the new death panels. The American people do not want any more bailouts. And whether or not the bailouts that were provided were necessary, the new legislation, as has been repeated again and again, will not allow for any more bailouts.

Health care reform passed. There aren’t any death panels.

Financial reform will pass. There won’t be any bailouts.

It’s time for Senator McConnell and every Senator who voted ‘no’ last night to come clean. It’s time for them to admit that they aren’t working in the best interest of Americans. And it’s time for financial reform to pass, regulation to be restored, and America to grow once again.