Right Wing Spin Machine Weighs In Against Food Safety Bill
EINNEWS, November 22—Chances for food safety legislation in this Congress have slipped considerably, now that the right wing spin machine has locked onto it and called on its minions to "melt their phones" in opposition.
The measure, which has the support of a wide coalition from industry and consumer groups and which drew bi-partisan support just last week, was kept from Senate passage by an unrelated amendment on earmarks, offered by one of the bill's opponents, Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.
That delay has provided time for right wing groups to mobilize into an anti-government cause against it, the effects of which will make passage in the lame duck Congress even less certain. Because of the delay forced by Coburn a final Senate vote won't be scheduled until after the Thanksgiving recess.
Tea Party Patriots, a major organizational component of the Tea Party movement, has called on its followers to "melt their phones and tell them (yet again) why this is a bad bill and why we don't want it."
And now, political commentator Glenn Beck has weighed in against the bill, likening it to the "Death Star."
"It is all full of things that just have to happen just to keep your food safe," he continued. "In order to keep you safe, we just have to have a few more regulations, but that's it. Oh, this Death Star is fully operational."
Beck accused Congress of trying to "rush" through the legislation, and attacked the Tester-Hagan amendment for exempting small farms.
The food safety measure cleared a number of hurdles last week, including a cloture vote that drew 74 votes, including a number of Republican senators, an agreement to exempt small farmers, and withdrawal of an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, to ban the chemical BPA.
The measure passed the House in August and has White House support.
For more food safety news, visit Food Safety News Today (http://foodsafety.einnews.com), a food safety media monitoring service from EIN News.
The measure, which has the support of a wide coalition from industry and consumer groups and which drew bi-partisan support just last week, was kept from Senate passage by an unrelated amendment on earmarks, offered by one of the bill's opponents, Sen. Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma.
That delay has provided time for right wing groups to mobilize into an anti-government cause against it, the effects of which will make passage in the lame duck Congress even less certain. Because of the delay forced by Coburn a final Senate vote won't be scheduled until after the Thanksgiving recess.
Tea Party Patriots, a major organizational component of the Tea Party movement, has called on its followers to "melt their phones and tell them (yet again) why this is a bad bill and why we don't want it."
And now, political commentator Glenn Beck has weighed in against the bill, likening it to the "Death Star."
"It is all full of things that just have to happen just to keep your food safe," he continued. "In order to keep you safe, we just have to have a few more regulations, but that's it. Oh, this Death Star is fully operational."
Beck accused Congress of trying to "rush" through the legislation, and attacked the Tester-Hagan amendment for exempting small farms.
The food safety measure cleared a number of hurdles last week, including a cloture vote that drew 74 votes, including a number of Republican senators, an agreement to exempt small farmers, and withdrawal of an amendment by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California Democrat, to ban the chemical BPA.
The measure passed the House in August and has White House support.
For more food safety news, visit Food Safety News Today (http://foodsafety.einnews.com), a food safety media monitoring service from EIN News.
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