Senators Get Nasty: "You're Good" ... "Your Wife Said The Same Thing" (VIDEO)

Marking up budget legislation can be a brutal affair, often beginning early and lasting long into the night.

But buried within the hours of debate in the Senate on Thursday is an exchange you'd be more likely to hear in a locker room than a congressional hearing.

Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) was on the receiving end of this one, after telling Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), "Oh, you are good."

"Well, your wife said the same thing," Grassley responded.

The back-and-forth came after Grassley, the ranking Republican on the finance committee, pressed Conrad to include an amendment of his. "I'd like to suggest to the chairman that he might want to support this because, you remember, you asked me two years ago not to take a vote on it and you said if we did take a vote on it you might not get your budget resolution adopted. So I did not ask for a vote on it and you said it was a very statesmanlike thing for me to do at that particular time and so I would hope that you would return the favor," said Grassley.

"You know, I used to like you. Let me just say: Oh, you are good," said Conrad.

"Well, your wife said the same thing."

Conrad didn't miss a beat. "She did, she said you were the biggest hit of all the speakers at the event," he replied.

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"Okay," said Grassley.

An audience member can then be heard calling out something that sounds like, "What she say?!"

Watch it, courtesy of the C-SPAN Video Library:

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Comments

[eirrac]

Grassley needs to be booted out. He has no class and is exactly the kind of person we don't need in Congress.

[Steambomb]

I dont think the article or grassly have acted with any class and I think if I was Conrad I would suggest to Grassly that he keep his discussion of a professional manner.

[YOUCANNOTHANDLETHETRUTH]

Conservative Republican Because Not Everyone Can Be On Welfare!!!

[mattwin]

I understand Grassley is a conservative republican that is not on welfare, but that still leaves the majority of Conservative Republicans still on the welfare rolls.

[bpai]

These people deserve nothing but contempt and derision. Incidently, they also make the decisions and laws that control our lives. What a great combination.

[Hawkeye17]

Gotta love those 'conservative values' there Chuck.

[flossophy]

Listen to what Conrad said after Grassley's "offensive" remark....

then tell me if this article is being responsible in how it's portraying what happened...

[Earl]

Before long, they'll be beating each other with their canes.

[Robert Cantor]

aww the good ole days. Bring back dueling and Old Hickory.

[isis]

Chuck Grassley is getting creepier and creepier.

[theone718]

What's the amendment?

[onalimb]

Right!
That's where my mind went too.

[alabaman]

Well, it has been worse in the Senate before. In 1856 Sen. Sumner beat Rep. Brooks with his cane on the Senate floor knocking him unconscious.

[Alexander-Y]

It was the other way around, but good point. It is tough not to make insensitive comments/actions when you are in a debate, seeing as emotion generally takes control.

[AirForce Vet]

This type of demeanor shouldn’t be part any discussions. I am sincerely shocked by some of the off the wall remarks that have been made recently by some government people that I held in high esteem. These personal attacks and innuendos need to cease. The world is watching this circus of fools.

[MountainPenelope]

I thought it was pretty cool.

It's called comic relief, AFV, and in highly charged exchanges quite healthy. Would you prefer the Brooks - Sumner method, or outright gun.fire?

[TrooAmerican]

I watched that Entire exchange last night on Cspan at 1am.
Conrad the Democratic chairman was very cordial, nice and polite to Grassley, and complimentary of him, and either he purposely took the comment as meaning something else, or he didnt get it, but from the demeanor, Grassley meant it as an insultive comment, not something innocent about being a sly and clever politician.

Conrad tabled the amendment to Grassley's displeasure, and Two other Republicans both spoke up in favor of what Conrad was saying and against taking a vote on Grassley's amendment.
Hammer time! lol

Most of the votes shown went totally party line and the repubs looked so unhappy and neutered.
I guess now they know how the dems felt in committee for 13 yrs of republican dictatorship.

[McChimp]

New main... talking about the markets.

[BPCentrisAmerican]

Grumpy Old Men 3.

[McChimp]

I'm glad to see differences of opinion in the Democratic Party, the last thing we need is for the Democratic Party to become a lockstep party for President Obama just like the Republicans were a lockstep party for Bush.

Republicans spent eight years rubberstamping every single one of Bush's policies, and NOW they complain about the new guy in office who has different ideas from their party and a new direction.

What more can you say from the party who has Rush Limbaugh, Michael Steele, Karl R o v e, Sarah Palin, Piyush Jindal, and now Michelle Bachmann fighting to be the leader?

[marxmarv]

It's nice from a theoretical standpoint, but not terribly practical or useful in a two-party system when the opposition party votes as a strong bloc.

[BlueStateMan]

The "opposition party" in this case is a non-stop Punch & Judy show.... only the republicans are BOTH "Punch" AND "Judy".