Reid: Republicans ‘refusing to take yes for an answer’

Reid noted that just 72 hours remain before the government’s funding bill expires. He said Democrats are engaged in non-stop negotiations with Republicans to prevent a shutdown.

“Every time we agree to meet in the middle they move where the middle is,” Reid said. “It’s like trying to kick a field goal and the whole goalpost keeps moving.”

But Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) countered that Democrats are “rooting for a shutdown.” He touted the House Republicans’ budget plan, H.R. 1, as a way to avoid a government stoppage.

“Throughout this entire debate Republicans have not only said we prefer a bipartisan agreement that funds the government, but there is already a Republican plan on the table right now that would do just that,” said McConnell.

McConnell said if Democrats refuse to accept that plan they would only have themselves to blame for a shutdown.

Reid said McConnell and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) are marching to the beat of the Tea Party by insisting on H.R. 1, a plan that cuts $61 billion in government spending by the end of the fiscal year. 

“The Republican Party has the Tea Party screaming so loudly in its right ear that it can’t hear what the vast majority of the country demands,” said Reid.