Democracy Arsenal

« Stay, but change the course | Main | Getting Real on America's Role in Iraq »

October 09, 2005

Bludgeoning Democracy
Posted by Lorelei Kelly

We won the vote before we lost it.

If anybody thought that Delay's demise might reveal a more deliberative, responsible Congress then guess again.  On Friday afternoon, the hooting on Capitol Hill could be heard from the House Floor and throughout the halls of the Rayburn House Office Building as the majority leadership once again torpedoed democratic deliberation.

The so called   "Barton Bill"  (HR 3893) was brought to vote ostensibly to help reconstruction in the wake of hurricane Katrina.  But this thoughtless boondoggle instead actually damages prospects for security and public health.  It is full of failed policies that didn't make it into the energy bill passed earlier this year.

Policy zombies, excavated from the oil and gas industry talking points graveyard-now live to haunt us once again.  Let's hope the populist dictators of Central Asia and Latin America aren't CSPAN geeks. It would be awful if they decided to emulate us these days.  This vote was held open by the frazzled looking Rep. Michael Simpson despite the fact that all members present had voted, and the bill had lost.  210 yeas, 212 nays.  Yet no gavel fell.  The only possible reason to keep a vote open like this--when every vote has been cast-- is for the majority to dragoon Members, twist their thumbs, and make them return and change their vote to the leadership's liking.  I have no idea what actually happened.  But somehow, with the anti-democratic over-time, the bill squeaked by.

The good part here was that the minority fought back, vocally, and with parliamentary inquiries.  Members of Congress, Bernie Sanders, Barney Frank, John Dingell and Nancy Pelosi, among others, didn't let this abusive behavior go unremarked.   The minority is feeling its oats.  Hopefully it is the start of a trend.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e200d834924fb369e2

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Bludgeoning Democracy:

Comments

"Members of Congress, Bernie Sanders, Barney Frank, John Dingell and Nancy Pelosi, among others, didn't let this abusive behavior go unremarked."

...i'm sorry to harp here, but if all that happens is that the minority party 'remarks' on this blatant abuse of A) democracy and B) its long suffering citizens, HR 3893 will sidle on through: it's not, after all, as if most of the members of the Senate aren't also bought.

and you know what? even if ALL the top newspapers in the land make this their lead, page 1 - HR 3893 will still pass. why? my sense is that everything and everyone important to running the cohtry id bought and paid for...

...what's it gong to take, folks?

My one remark:

While it was fun to watch (regardless of however ineffective it might have been), if we're going to have a really active minority, could we kindly change the rules of the House to a more Commons-like set?

The current rules are, so far as I understand, rather cumbersome for such an atmosphere.

Do you like the Asda Story money?I think that if you know it you will like it. If you have it you can go to buy Asda Story Gold and then you can go to buy equipment to arm yourself. You can also get some cheap Asda Story gold from the game. Join us and play the game with us together.

I hope i can get Perfect World Silver in low price.

When I have seal cegel, I was just told you, I decide to earnsealonline cegel, that is so interesting.


I hope i can get Sword of the New World Vis in low price,
Yesterday i bought Sword of the New World Gold for my friend.

I appriciate him. I prefer the
wonderland money in the game. In fact, the
buy wonderland Gold is expensive

Once I played AOC, I did not know how to get strong, someone told me that you must have aoc gold.He gave me some conan gold.

appriciate him. I prefer the
wonderland money in the game. In fact, the
buy wonderland Gold is expensive

Thank you for your sharing.! seslichat seslisohbet

Thank you for your sharing! I like i very much!

0314
The Nike air max Shoe lives up to its name with plush cushioning and a sleek silhouette. It brings you just what you need to style it up wherever you go. you can look at the Air max 2009,air max 90,Air max 95,Air Max 2010
Features:
* Minimalistic construction of leathers and synthetics in the upper
* Nike Shox technology for optimal cushioning
* Rubber outsole for excellent grip

en güzel rokettube videoları,
en muhteşem sex izleme sitesi
en kral youjizz yeri
kaliteli pornoların bulunduğu tek mekan
yabancı sitelerden özenle seçilmiş muhteşem ötesi porn sitesi...

Thank you for your sharing! I like i very much!

could we kindly change the rules of the House to a more Commons-like set?

The current rules are, so far as I understand, rather cumbersome for such an atmosphere.

I would like to say thanks for the time you took compiling this article. You’ve enlightening for me. I have forwarded this to a friend of mine.

100m water resistance, though, which is a good tradeoff and a strong point in their favor.The face and dial are, in contrast to the Raptor just reviewed, quite sparse and understated. Stark white hands, minimal text and graphics, and a reverse LCD display; it all adds up to outstanding legibility

prefabrik

rehau

doğal taş

relevant to the job in turkey there is a refreshing towel işyerimiz one site dedicated to ourselves that we could not do, but I think I will also not be right if ta yağacayız asp, but let's look at how your friends do you think?

complex 41 kullanıcı yorumlarıorjin krem

Post a comment

If you have a TypeKey or TypePad account, please Sign In.

Guest Contributors
Founder
Subscribe
Sign-up to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts from Democracy Arsenal.
Email: 
Powered by TypePad

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use