Bette Midler tweeted asking ‘where’s Rand Paul’s neighbor when we need him?’ after the Republican senator forced a four and a half hour shutdown government shut down yesterday.
The actress was referring to Rene Boucher’s attack on his neighbor Paul in heated row over his lack of yard maintenance. The doctor, who tackled the Kentucky senator breaking five of his ribs on November 3, has since been charged with assaulting a member of Congress.
Midler wasn’t the only one who appeared to wish harm on Paul.
Bette Midler tweeted asking ‘where’s Rand Paul’s neighbor when we need him?’ after the Republican senator forced a four and a half hour shutdown government shut down yesterday
The actress (pictured) was referring to Rene Boucher’s attack on his neighbor Paul in heated row over his lack of yard maintenance
Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) said on Friday he could now understand what drove Paul’s neighbor to attack him.
Both Midler and Dent were speaking after Republican Sen. Paul sparked fury when held up the federal funding bill in the hopes of reversing its nearly $400 billion increase in government spending.
His move led to a lapse in federal funding for a second time in the course of one month – the deep frustration of his fellow Republicans.
The government reopened on Friday morning on the promise of Trump’s signature after the Senate and the House finally approved the bill. But Paul’s actions rankled many in his party.
‘When Rand Paul pulls a stunt like this, it easy to understand why it’s difficult to be Rand Paul’s next door neighbor,’ Dent told Politico. ‘The whole delay and filibuster exercise on the budget agreement is utterly pointless.’
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in the Senate yesterday where he blocked a budget deal
Rene Boucher, center, in court for an arraignment hearing accused of assaulting his neighbor, U.S. Sen. Rand Paul. Boucher
Paul’s spokesman Sergio Gor told the Hill Dent’s comment was ‘disgusting.’
‘That comment is disgusting and Charlie Dent should apologize. Senator Rand Paul will always stand up for what is right, regardless of which party is in control. He successfully brought much-needed attention to the hypocrisy in the halls of Congress when it comes to out-of-control spending,’ Gor said.
He also branded Midler ‘disgusting’ for ‘calling for violence. She should be ashamed.’
Others online criticized the star for calling for violence against someone she disagrees with.
Senators voted to approve the spending bill at 1:30 am after a mandated intervening period of time between the legislation’s unveiling that was set off by Paul’s objection, and the House approved the bill will just before 5 am. The legislation went to President Trump next for his approval.
A signing statement from the White House hit inboxes nearly an hour after Trump said he’d inked in his approval in an 8:39 am tweet.
The short lapse in government funding came after Paul held up voting in the Senate in the hopes of reversing its nearly $400 billion in spending increases.
He asked Senate leaders to allow a vote on his amendment to maintain current spending ceilings, but was rebuffed.
‘I ran for office because I was very critical of President Obama’s trillion-dollar deficits,’ the Kentucky senator said. ‘Now we have Republicans hand in hand with Democrats offering us trillion-dollar deficits. I can’t in all honesty look the other way.’
Paul brushed off pleas from his fellow Republicans, who billed the budget plan as an ’emergency’ measure needed for a depleted military.
‘We will effectively shut down the federal government for no good reason,’ said Senator John Cornyn, as his requests to move to a vote were repeatedly rejected by Paul.
Paul was unfazed.
‘I didn’t come up here to be part of somebody’s club. I didn’t come up here to be liked,’ he said.
The shutdown comes less than a month after a three-day interruption in January, when Senate Democrats blocked a vote on a spending bill to demand concessions for ‘Dreamers’.
The House’s 240-186 vote this Friday came in the pre-dawn hours, putting to bed a federal freeze that relatively few would notice.
The breakdown came largely in the Senate, when after a day of inaction, Paul stalled a vote in protest over his party’s willingness to bust the budget.
Meanwhile, Boucher is charged with assaulting a member of Congress as part of a federal plea agreement.
Boucher’s attorney, Matt Baker, says he’ll recommend that Boucher serve no time in prison.
Baker characterized the attack as a dispute between two neighbors that boiled over. He said Monday that it had nothing to do with politics.
Baker characterized the attack as a dispute between two neighbors that boiled over. He said Monday that it had nothing to do with politics. Pictured is Boucher’s home
Paul and Boucher are longtime neighbors in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Paul’s home in Bowling Green, where he was attacked, is pictured
‘This is over a matter that most people would regard as trivial,’ Boucher’s attorney, Matt Baker, said. ‘It has to do with yards and the maintenance of those’
‘Assaulting a member of Congress is an offense we take very seriously,’J Minkler, US Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said Friday.
‘Those who choose to commit such an act will be held accountable.’
Boucher’s attorney says he is ‘very regretful’ about the attack and that it had to do with the upkeep of their yards.
Paul and Boucher are longtime neighbors in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
‘This is over a matter that most people would regard as trivial,’ Boucher’s attorney, Matt Baker, said. ‘It has to do with yards and the maintenance of those.’
Boucher is ‘very meticulous’ about how he maintains his yard, while Paul takes ‘a much different approach’ to the upkeep of his property, Baker said.
‘It all goes to large piles of leaves and branches and yard clutter that were placed on the property line,’ Baker said.
Some residents of the gated neighborhood had speculated the attack was motivated by a dispute over yard debris- but Paul’s office rejected that.
Paul told the Fox News Channel in November that ultimately, the motive does not matter.
Boucher, a retired anesthesiologist in his late 50s, already faces a misdemeanor assault charge in state court in Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.