When the Tables Were Turned
The House Republicans, in their attempt to pass more corporate favors for their energy friends, held open the vote for 43 minutes on the energy bill that was on the floor today. While not quite a record breaker (that was on the vote for the Medicare Prescription drug bill), it is an outrageous abuse of power.
In the time that elapsed today, GOP leaders finally succeeded in changing the votes of two of the 15 Republicans who had voted against the measure initially: Reps. C.W. Bill Young of Florida and Wayne T. Gilchrest of Maryland. When Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told the presiding member, Rep. Mike Simpson, (R-ID), that "every member of the House who is in town has now voted," and demanded to know how long the roll call would be held open, Simpson replied, "until the voting is finished."
Funny how when the tables were turned, the Republicans felt differently. In 1987, when Speaker Jim Wright held a vote open for 10 minutes on a budget bill, then-House member Trent Lott said the House was being run by "Jim Wright and his goons." And Steny Hoyer today quoted then-House member Dick Cheney, who in a same instance, said that holding the vote open was "the most corrupt" action he had seen on the House floor.
(UPDATE: At 4:30 PM, Friday, when we checked CQ on vote tallies, they mentioned only Gilcrest and Young who got their arms twisted. Later , they reported that Gerlach also got got the same treatment and layed out in detail how it happened.CQ has the story, for those who have a subscription.)
Think Progress has the video.
October 7, 2005 3:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
October 7, 2005 7:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Crying "shame" when Republicans steal our money to give to their corporate friends is an attempt to get the human beings in the Republican Party to think about the consequences of their rapacious policies on the US and the world. Hopefully, somebody in that group has a conscience. So if the "shame" yellers are fools. I think that is a "ship of fools" that the vast majority of people in the world are also on.
October 8, 2005 11:43 AM | Reply | Permalink
I heard that "shame shame" chant with great pleasure yesterday. Starting several years ago we should have had a continuous "shame" chant, morning and night, day after day, at the White House and on the Hill.
October 8, 2005 2:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Actually you can't even say that a "simple majority" of Americans are on that boat. If they were you'd have President Kerry rulling over a Democrat House and Senate (shudder) Now that is scary!!!
October 8, 2005 5:44 PM | Reply | Permalink
which is why I deliberately said "of the world", although at this point it's clear that many Bush voters from November 2004 are having second thoughts, explaining his approval ratings in the 37-39% range.
October 9, 2005 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nah, I think the point is that, when the Democrats did it, the Republicans called them out on it. Someone should have done so, but when the Republicans came to power and took the tactic to new heights, it became clear that their response to 1987 was less about conviction than about political gamesmanship. That I think is the point.
October 13, 2005 4:18 AM | Reply | Permalink
From Eaves and Cates
Clash Points and Motions: Bringing Parliamentary Procedure To Parliamentary Debate
" Current practice in competitive parliamentary debate stands in strong contrast. Heckling and humor is at times encouraged (Knapp and Galizio 133-4). Even stronger in contrast is the role of the audience in parliamentary debate. The first author recognized at the 1999 Sunset Cliffs Classic that audience members in the peanut gallery often used the word "shame" to describe their discontent with the opponent. The use of "shame" or "here, here" was more vocal and boisterous in elimination rounds."
Fools?
What about the fool who tries to be whitty and in turn only shows his ignorance of parliamentary procedure.
October 13, 2005 10:13 AM | Reply | Permalink