Thread: House GOP on its worst behavior, Democrats say

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Sunday, October 16, 2005
House GOP on its worst behavior, Democrats say

DENA BUNIS DENA BUNIS
Washington Bureau Chief
The Orange County Register
dbunis@ocregister.com



It's getting hotter and hotter on the floor of the House these days. And it has nothing to do with the temperature in the Capitol building.

Democrats have been complaining for - well, for years – about the way the Republicans use their power as the majority. But lately the GOP has given them some pretty blatant ammunition for their complaints.

Just a few hours before getting out of town for this past week's recess, the House voted 212-210 to pass a controversial energy bill that included incentives for new oil refineries. Obviously that's a close vote. But it was even closer - and was heading for failure - before House GOP leaders decided to hold the vote open to give them time to twist some arms.

House votes generally take 15 minutes. That's because most members spend little time on the House floor and so are likely to be in their offices or in hearing rooms - across the street from the Capitol - when a vote is called. So 15 minutes gives them time to get to the chamber and vote.

Sometimes, when there is a string of bills to be voted on, the first vote is set for 15 minutes and the succeeding ones are five minutes each. The final vote on the energy bill was a five-minute one. When it became clear that the GOP didn't have the votes to pass it, the vote was held open for 40 minutes - the time it took to change enough minds to get the bill passed.

Nothing in the House rules prevents the GOP leaders from doing this. But the Democrats are crying no fair.

"Shame, shame, shame," they chanted after the vote. They held news conferences to denounce the Republican behavior, reminding us about what happened in July on the vote for the Central American Free Trade Agreement and in June of 2003 during the controversial vote on a Medicare prescription drug program.

The vote on CAFTA was held up for over an hour after the initial vote was showing the GOP about five votes down. In the end, CAFTA passed 217-215 after serious horse trading. Members got promises from leaders about bills they wanted to get passed or money for their districts.

The Medicare vote in 2003 was more dramatic.

That night, after a day and evening of intense negotiations and posturing, the vote on the Medicare bill began at 2 a.m. But it was 5 a.m. before the gavel came down and the measure passed, 216-215.

Orange County's own Rep. Dana Rohrabacher was one of the targets that night. The Huntington Beach Republican was planning to vote against the bill, relenting only after leadership promised him a vote on an amendment involving illegal immigration.

Republicans are fond of saying they are just doing what the Democrats did when they were in power.

Scholars disagree about whether this is turnabout fair play or whether the GOP is going further than the Democrats ever did. One thing that's probably driving Republicans in this is that their majority has tended to be slimmer than the Democrats' when they were in charge.

Those with long memories around here say the Democrats definitely had their own procedural low moments.

It was Tuesday, Oct. 29, 1987, when then-House Speaker Jim Wright of Texas was having trouble getting enough votes fora $12 billion plus tax package.

Like the current House leaders, Wright figured if he had a little more time he could find the one more needed vote.

So when the 15 minutes for the vote expired, he didn't have the clerk announce the results. He instead held the vote for about 10 minutes. And like the GOP last week, Wright found someone to change his vote - a Texas Democrat - and the tax package passed.

But this story has a twist that the current crew hasn't tried. Before something can come to the House floor, members have to agree to a "Rule." That's basically a road map for how debate is conducted. The Rule lays out how long debate can last and what amendments are allowed to be offered. Often when there is a lot of opposition to a measure, members vote down the Rule and don't let the bill come to the floor.

That was the case with Wright's tax package. The Rule was voted down, and there was nothing Wright could do. Determined to find a way, he decided to take out a controversial welfare provision that was responsible for many of the no votes on the Rule. But Wright was bumping up against a House rule that says you can't consider a bill twice on one legislative day. No problem for a pro.

Wright adjourned the House at 3:16 p.m. on Thursday and reconvened at 3:17 Thursday, saying that it was a new legislative day. Wright brought the bill back to the floor, got the Rule passed, paving the way for a final vote.

At the time, then-Rep. Dick Cheney of Wyoming called the tactic "the most arrogant, heavy-handed abuse of power I've ever seen here." If memory serves, the current vice president spent most of that day in June 2003 when the Medicare bill was coming up for a vote on Capitol Hill whipping up votes. And he and the president were on the phone into the wee hours.

There's not much the Democrats can do about the way the GOP is handling things.

Their only hope is to recapture the majority .

Then what's gone around could well come around.

Just a few hours before getting out of town for this past week's recess, the House voted 212-210 to pass a controversial energy bill that included incentives for new oil refineries.

Sounds like more profit for the big oil companies at the expense of the tax payers.

IMPEACH JORGE BUSH!!!

Don't you just know it!! You can bet, if they passed a bill, SOME big business is going to be on the receiving end.

Originally Posted by Bootsie

Don't you just know it!! You can bet, if they passed a bill, SOME big business is going to be on the receiving end.

Exactly. I can't remember any bill that's been passed by this congress where big businesses hasn't heavily benefitted. They have this congress and Jorge in their back pockets. This is a disgrace. The big oil companies just reported this last quarter of making a big 50 percent profit increase and yet we are giving them more handouts. Why? What is the point of this? They aren't going to build more refineries if they continue to make a killing with their illegal price gouging while getting taxpayer handouts on top of that and why would they? What Bush and this congress are doing is downright criminal? Guaranteed gas will go up even more now. Bush is a disgrace.

Capitalism is fine and all but when corporations run the government, we have a serious problem.

I really think you have hit the root of the problem, jp. Capitalism is a wonderful system and I wouldn't want it any other way BUT there is a serious flaw in OUR system of capitalism when special interest groups BUY OUR representatives. They don't represent the people who elected them. They represent the big money lobbyists. THAT is where the failure is. If capitalism was allowed to progress like it SHOULD, I don't think we would have this problem but, as long as we continue to elect dishonest, money-hungry politicians, our system of capitalism will fail.

Originally Posted by Bootsie

I really think you have hit the root of the problem, jp. Capitalism is a wonderful system and I wouldn't want it any other way BUT there is a serious flaw in OUR system of capitalism when special interest groups BUY OUR representatives. They don't represent the people who elected them. They represent the big money lobbyists. THAT is where the failure is. If capitalism was allowed to progress like it SHOULD, I don't think we would have this problem but, as long as we continue to elect dishonest, money-hungry politicians, our system of capitalism will fail.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

House GOP on its worst behavior, Democrats say

Boy I think someone should be looking in the mirrow on this one. Not either side has been working for the Citizens. Both are working for the special interest groups. There both worthless.

Absolutely right, Scub. It's just that, at the moment, the Republicans DO control both Houses of Congress so you have to lay the majority of the blame with them for NOW. But, neither party has "clean hands".