About a half hour ago, Sen. Joe Lieberman was making remarks on Medicare on the Senate floor when his allotted time expired. As is standard practice in the Senate, Lieberman asked the chair for a few minutes of additional time to conclude, “without objection.”
But the presiding officer, one Sen. Al Franken, said no. “In my capacity as Senator from Minnesota, I object.”
Lieberman laughed. “Really? Okay, I don’t take it personally.”
But John McCain did. Rising to defend Lieberman he told Franken that in 20-plus years in the Senate, he’d never seen a member denied an extra minute or two of floor time.
“I don’t know what’s happening here in this body,” McCain said, “but I think it is wrong.”
Don’t get us started.
UPDATE: Here is the video