Harry Reid FINALLY caves on opposition to anti-trafficking bill.

Took him long enough: “It took Congress more than a month, but Senate leaders announced Tuesday morning that they’ve finally broached an agreement on legislation to help the victims of human trafficking. After a vote expected as early as Tuesday afternoon, the Senate can then finally take up the nomination of Loretta Lynch.” Basically, the Democrats objected to language in the bill reaffirming that federal tax money could not be used to fund abortions (the shorthand for this is “the Hyde Amendment”). The ‘compromise’ here is that money appropriated for this bill wouldn’t be used for any medical services; medical procedures for trafficking victims will be handled via existing procedures, which are already subject to the Hyde Amendment.

In other words, the scare quotes around ‘compromise’ favor us for a change: as Ed Morrissey notes “[i]t’s the same result through a different mechanism.” And this result was inevitable, too. Mitch McConnell knows dang well that the only criticism he was going to get from his own side was that Loretta Lynch is eventually going to get confirmed*; the Democratic base would hate his guts anyway; and that the rest of the population doesn’t care at all about this issue.  So, no reason not to hold it up until the Democrats got it through their heads that they don’t run the Congressional calendar any more.

I just wish Harry Reid could have bent his stiff neck a month or so ago. It would have been more efficient that way.  Ach, well, the man’s gotten old, and has clearly lost a step or two since his… accident.

Moe Lane

*She will. It will happen. Do not let it blight your heart.