Today, Senate Majority Leader [mc_name name=’Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000355′ ] had the chance to actually do something about Planned Parenthood. The Highway Bill was on the floor. That bill is going to pass because too much money rides on it for it to fail. McConnell attached a provision that funds the Export-Import Bank. He could have done the same with [mc_name name=’Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’P000603′ ]’s proposal to defund Planned Parenthood. [mc_name name=’Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000355′ ] elected to go with corporatist interests and dropped the Planned Parenthood provision. If he had attached the Planned Parenthood provision, Obama would have vetoed it. But the Highway Bill doesn’t shut down the government… and Democrats would have the stark choice of supporting jobs back home or supporting Planned Paenthood. In the wake of the two videos, Planned Parenthood would have lost.

As I posted on just a couple of hours ago, [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] called him out on the Senate floor for the lying crapweasel that he is. Now McConnell is talking tough again:

Senate Majority Leader [mc_name name=’Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’M000355′ ] Friday took steps to speed up consideration of legislation to defund Planned Parenthood, a bill his conservative rank-and-file are pushing in the wake of two videos showing organization officials haggling over the sale of fetal body parts.

The Kentucky Republican has not put the measure on the Senate schedule, so it is not clear when it will be considered.

But McConnell announced he would use a rule to allow the measure to move to the Senate floor without first churning through the committee process.

McConnell’s move comes after he fielded complaints from a group of Senate conservatives who had hoped to make the provision an amendment to a highway funding bill now up for debate.

This is just more Failure Theater. This bill is a stand-alone piece of legislation. It will either be filibustered in the Senate or Obama will veto. Unlike the Highway Bill, it doesn’t have to pass. Plus, “it is not clear when it will be considered.” This is a golden moment to attack Planned Parenthood. McConnell’s bill is designed to be addressed after the smoke has cleared from the undercover videos when he could have done the same thing today. [mc_name name=’Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’C001098′ ] is right. McConnell is no different than [mc_name name=’Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV)’ chamber=’senate’ mcid=’R000146′ ].