More hypocracy.

[Charade]

Newsflash: Drudge is no longer developing. The monumental, earthshaking, universe rending possible change to "Motion to Recommit or the test of germaneness on the motion to recommit" disappeared from Drudge's site.

:

Has anyone figured out what that is?

 

[LuvDuke]

Has anyone figured out what that is?

You mean you don't know?

 

[Charade]

Boehner’s office just sent this out:

DEMOCRATS TO CHANGE 185 YEAR-OLD HOUSE RULE TO ALLOW TAX HIKES WITHOUT HAVING TO VOTE

May 16, 2007

In a stunning move, House Democrats today revealed they will attempt to rewrite House rules that have gone unchanged since 1822 in order to make it possible to increase taxes and government spending without having to vote and be held accountable. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today vowed Republicans will use every available means to fight this unprecedented change.

“This is an astonishing attempt by the majority leadership to duck accountability for tax-and-spend policies the American people do not want,” Boehner said. “The majority leadership is gutting House rules that have been in place for 185 years so they can raise taxes and increase government spending without a vote. House Republicans will use every tool available to fight this abuse of power.”

Last November, House Democratic leaders promised the most open, ethical Congress in history:

“[W]e promised the American people that we would have the most honest and most open government and we will.” (Nancy Pelosi press stakeout, December 6, 2006)

“We intend to have a Rules Committee … that gives opposition voices and alternative proposals the ability to be heard and considered on the floor of the House.” (Steny Hoyer in CongressDaily PM, December 5, 2006)

The rules House Democrats are seeking to change have not been changed since 1822.

Republicans have already achieved significant legislative successes on the House floor with 11 consecutive “motion-to-recommit” victories that exposed flaws and substantively improved weaknesses in underlying Democrat bills. But rather than living by the same rules which have guided the House of Representatives for 185 years, Democrats are proposing to change the rules in order to game the system and raise taxes and increase spending without a House vote. What are House Democrats afraid of?

Update 2:
From Republican Study Committe

The rule providing consideration for the FY 2008 budget conference report (on the floor tomorrow) is expected to modify current House rules to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their Motions to Recommit (MTR). In English, that means that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership are proposing a massive change to the current House rules regarding the Republican right to the motion-to-recommit bills to Committees for improvement.

This rules change is a historic infringement on the rights of the Minority-it is the first change in this House rule since 1822. The RSC Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, have requested a series of procedural votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority. More details are likely to follow as the situation unfolds.

Update 3:
Democrat Leadership responded to the protest votes (after about 4 hours) and pulled the rule change from the bill

Earlier today, House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), today sought to rewrite the rules of the House to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their motions to recommit the bills to Committee. Such a change would allow House Democrats to more easily raise taxes and increase government spending without being held to account. The move would have marked the first change in the germaneness rule since 1822 and is a direct infringement on the rights of the Minority in the House and the Americans that they represent. The Republican Study Committee Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), began requesting a series of procedural protest votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority, and was joined Rep. Tom Price, another member of the RSC floor Action Team. Today was a big win for all Republicans in the House.

 

[LuvDuke]

Boehner’s office just sent this out:

DEMOCRATS TO CHANGE 185 YEAR-OLD HOUSE RULE TO ALLOW TAX HIKES WITHOUT HAVING TO VOTE

May 16, 2007

In a stunning move, House Democrats today revealed they will attempt to rewrite House rules that have gone unchanged since 1822 in order to make it possible to increase taxes and government spending without having to vote and be held accountable. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today vowed Republicans will use every available means to fight this unprecedented change.

“This is an astonishing attempt by the majority leadership to duck accountability for tax-and-spend policies the American people do not want,” Boehner said. “The majority leadership is gutting House rules that have been in place for 185 years so they can raise taxes and increase government spending without a vote. House Republicans will use every tool available to fight this abuse of power.”

Last November, House Democratic leaders promised the most open, ethical Congress in history:

“[W]e promised the American people that we would have the most honest and most open government and we will.” (Nancy Pelosi press stakeout, December 6, 2006)

“We intend to have a Rules Committee … that gives opposition voices and alternative proposals the ability to be heard and considered on the floor of the House.” (Steny Hoyer in CongressDaily PM, December 5, 2006)

The rules House Democrats are seeking to change have not been changed since 1822.

Republicans have already achieved significant legislative successes on the House floor with 11 consecutive “motion-to-recommit” victories that exposed flaws and substantively improved weaknesses in underlying Democrat bills. But rather than living by the same rules which have guided the House of Representatives for 185 years, Democrats are proposing to change the rules in order to game the system and raise taxes and increase spending without a House vote. What are House Democrats afraid of?

Update 2:
From Republican Study Committe

The rule providing consideration for the FY 2008 budget conference report (on the floor tomorrow) is expected to modify current House rules to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their Motions to Recommit (MTR). In English, that means that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership are proposing a massive change to the current House rules regarding the Republican right to the motion-to-recommit bills to Committees for improvement.

This rules change is a historic infringement on the rights of the Minority-it is the first change in this House rule since 1822. The RSC Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, have requested a series of procedural votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority. More details are likely to follow as the situation unfolds.

Update 3:
Democrat Leadership responded to the protest votes (after about 4 hours) and pulled the rule change from the bill

Earlier today, House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), today sought to rewrite the rules of the House to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their motions to recommit the bills to Committee. Such a change would allow House Democrats to more easily raise taxes and increase government spending without being held to account. The move would have marked the first change in the germaneness rule since 1822 and is a direct infringement on the rights of the Minority in the House and the Americans that they represent. The Republican Study Committee Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), began requesting a series of procedural protest votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority, and was joined Rep. Tom Price, another member of the RSC floor Action Team. Today was a big win for all Republicans in the House.

Actually, that was put out yesterday. And if you're going to explain what a rule is, please do so without Boehner's editorial embellishments of all the terrible things it's going to do Republicans.

Frankly, with the way the Republicans ran Congress without any oversight, they're lucky they aren't handed a muzzle as they step in the door. Who gives a **** over what the Congresssional Republicans propose. They had their chance, unopposed, and they blew it. They used their power to rubberstamp everything that came out of this administration and we can all see where that got us.

The Congressional Republicans ought sit down, shut up, and let this country move forward which was, btw, the results of the 2006 elections.

 

[peachgirl]

.

I had oatmeal for breakfast.

NOW it's interesting!

I had 2 cups of coffee for breakfast.....Food is gross until 10am. I'll be back in a bit to let you know what I decided on for my first meal of the day.

I know, you don't have to say it. Compared to the original topic, this has got to be keeping you on pins and needles!!

 

[LuvDuke]

NOW it's interesting!

I had 2 cups of coffee for breakfast.....Food is gross until 10am. I'll be back in a bit to let you know what I decided on for my first meal of the day.

I know, you don't have to say it. Compared to the original topic, this has got to be keeping you on pins and needles!!

Ohh, I'm just tingling all over.

 

[yeartolate]

Have you tried a pesto swirl on your unsweetened oatmeal? You serve it with a fine bloody mary (made with absolute peppar).

 

[eclectics]

The Congressional Republicans ought sit down, shut up, and let this country move forward which was, btw, the results of the 2006 elections.

Actually, that's exactly what the Republicans told the House Democrats in 1994........except their vision was to let the country move backward instead.

I had a grapefruit and numerous cups of coffee (my usual boring morning fare)

 

[LuvDuke]

Have you tried a pesto swirl on your unsweetened oatmeal? You serve it with a fine bloody mary (made with absolute peppar).

Interesting.

Now, I'm really tingling.

 

[yeartolate]

Interesting.

Now, I'm really tingling.

That is the absolute peppar. Gotta love it.

 

[peachgirl]

a fine bloody mary

BREAKFAST!!!

Thanks! Saved me tons of time trying to decide what to have!

 

[What the Heck]

1 - Until it's confirmed, I wouldn't get too worked up over it.

Actually, I'm with you on that.

2 - After the last 6 years, you don't get to complain about losing minority rights. The right did everything they could to completely exclude the left (and center, for that matter) from governing. To quote a friend of mine...boo-frickin'-hoo.

3 - No, I don't think this should happen, though I won't shed a tear for the formerly thuggish minority. You did bring this on yourselves by saying that the minority didn't matter. Reap what ye sew.

From what I read, if it was true, it would be a disaster,and it has nothing to do with rights of the "thuggish minority" - it has to do with the House being able to raise taxes and spending without a vote. Sounds outrageous - but again it's not confirmed also, so my outrage is kinda on the really small side right now. This kind of thing is hard to believe, even from someone on the left coast. It would take a lot of persuading to change a rule that has been around since 1822 (and a lot of nerve to consider it).

 

[What the Heck]

Interesting.

Now, I'm really tingling.

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo baby!

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

Outrage from the left? They're still trying to get over the Gore/Bush election. Give 'em a few years and they may get around to this.

No kidding!

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

Boehner’s office just sent this out:

DEMOCRATS TO CHANGE 185 YEAR-OLD HOUSE RULE TO ALLOW TAX HIKES WITHOUT HAVING TO VOTE

May 16, 2007

In a stunning move, House Democrats today revealed they will attempt to rewrite House rules that have gone unchanged since 1822 in order to make it possible to increase taxes and government spending without having to vote and be held accountable. House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today vowed Republicans will use every available means to fight this unprecedented change.

“This is an astonishing attempt by the majority leadership to duck accountability for tax-and-spend policies the American people do not want,” Boehner said. “The majority leadership is gutting House rules that have been in place for 185 years so they can raise taxes and increase government spending without a vote. House Republicans will use every tool available to fight this abuse of power.”

Last November, House Democratic leaders promised the most open, ethical Congress in history:

“[W]e promised the American people that we would have the most honest and most open government and we will.” (Nancy Pelosi press stakeout, December 6, 2006)

“We intend to have a Rules Committee … that gives opposition voices and alternative proposals the ability to be heard and considered on the floor of the House.” (Steny Hoyer in CongressDaily PM, December 5, 2006)

The rules House Democrats are seeking to change have not been changed since 1822.

Republicans have already achieved significant legislative successes on the House floor with 11 consecutive “motion-to-recommit” victories that exposed flaws and substantively improved weaknesses in underlying Democrat bills. But rather than living by the same rules which have guided the House of Representatives for 185 years, Democrats are proposing to change the rules in order to game the system and raise taxes and increase spending without a House vote. What are House Democrats afraid of?

Update 2:
From Republican Study Committe

The rule providing consideration for the FY 2008 budget conference report (on the floor tomorrow) is expected to modify current House rules to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their Motions to Recommit (MTR). In English, that means that Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat leadership are proposing a massive change to the current House rules regarding the Republican right to the motion-to-recommit bills to Committees for improvement.

This rules change is a historic infringement on the rights of the Minority-it is the first change in this House rule since 1822. The RSC Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, have requested a series of procedural votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority. More details are likely to follow as the situation unfolds.

Update 3:
Democrat Leadership responded to the protest votes (after about 4 hours) and pulled the rule change from the bill

Earlier today, House Democrats, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), today sought to rewrite the rules of the House to prevent PAYGO offsets from expanding the scope of germaneness to further what Republicans may offer in their motions to recommit the bills to Committee. Such a change would allow House Democrats to more easily raise taxes and increase government spending without being held to account. The move would have marked the first change in the germaneness rule since 1822 and is a direct infringement on the rights of the Minority in the House and the Americans that they represent. The Republican Study Committee Floor Action Team, under the leadership of Rep. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), began requesting a series of procedural protest votes every 30 minutes in response to this power grab by the Majority, and was joined Rep. Tom Price, another member of the RSC floor Action Team. Today was a big win for all Republicans in the House.

Ms. Pelosi, I am so disappointed in you. Trying to more easily pass tax increases and gov't spending. I thought you were still working on lowering the cost of gas.

 

[eclectics]

Ms. Pelosi, I am so disappointed in you. Trying to more easily pass tax increases and gov't spending. I thought you were still working on lowering the cost of gas.

Joe, I see your literalism doesn't end with the Bible. It apparently extends to any word uttered by any Republican in Washington D.C. I suppose if George Bush put on a tin foil hat and stated we should all start building spaceships to colonize Mars, your first words would be "Beam Me Up".

 

[Chicago526]

I'm not sure what a rule change would accomplish, actually. Last I checked, any bill still has to be passed by the Senate and then be submited to the President for signature or veto, so it's not like the Dems (or anyone) can just raise taxes and/or spending willy-nilly, even if the rules were changed.

I'd like more details about how this proposed-and-now-withdrawn rule change would really affect things before I decide to be outraged or not.

 

[JoeEpcotRocks]

Joe, I see your literalism doesn't end with the Bible. It apparently extends to any word uttered by any Republican in Washington D.C. I suppose if George Bush put on a tin foil hat and stated we should all start building spaceships to colonize Mars, your first words would be "Beam Me Up".

Not until they build the Mars Disney park.

 

[Anewman]

I'm not sure what a rule change would accomplish, actually. Last I checked, any bill still has to be passed by the Senate and then be submited to the President for signature or veto, so it's not like the Dems (or anyone) can just raise taxes and/or spending willy-nilly, even if the rules were changed.

The way it stands now Congress simply VOTES on how many BILLIONS to give peanut farmers, with "pay as you go" they would be allowed to show voters where the money would come from if the bill makes it to law...

But Republicans see this as a way to raise taxes, I see it as a way to make congress accountable for all the pork. Bills would still have to work their way through all the way to the presidents desk, where he/she could take into account how the bill would be funded.

And VOTERS would be able to see EXACTLY who voted for what.

 

[Laz]

This is the closest I can find on this story:

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0507/4046.html

Dems bend rules, break pledge
By: Patrick O'Connor
May 17, 2007 06:25 AM EST

Democrats are wielding a heavy hand on the House Rules Committee, committing many of the procedural sins for which they condemned Republicans during their 12 years in power.

So far this year, Democrats have frequently prevented Republicans from offering amendments, limited debate in the committee and, just last week, maneuvered around chamber rules to protect a $23 million project for Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.).

On Wednesday, Democrats suggested changing the House rules to limit the minority's right to offer motions to recommit bills back to committee -- violating a protection that has been in place since 1822.

Much of this heavy-handedness is standard procedure in the House, where the majority has every right to dominate, but it contradicts the many campaign promises Democratic leaders made last year to run a cleaner, more open Congress.

Just last December, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) declared that Democrats "intend to have a Rules Committee ... that gives opposition voices and alternative proposals the ability to be heard and considered on the floor of the House."

If this sounds familiar, it is. Republicans made similar promises in 1994, only to renege when they took control of the Congress in 1995.

Democrats have made a number of small revisions -- such as meeting earlier in the day -- but their overall record in the new Congress has fallen well short of that goal.

"The Democrats have not made good on a single promise they made during 2006, especially when it comes to fostering a more open and deliberative House of Representatives," Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said. "Instead of making the House more open and deliberative, they've gone in the opposite direction, doing things we never even contemplated during our time in the majority."

The Democratic spokesman for the Rules Committee sees it differently.

"We've passed a lot of bills, and we've passed them through the committees," said spokesman John Santore. "We're operating in an objectively fair way."

The Rules Committee itself is an often overlooked partisan backwater, where members engage in fierce debates about what amendments, if any, members can offer to bills on the floor. Under Republican rule, the committee often met late at night, when few reporters were around to cover the minority's protests.

The committee, arguably the majority's most powerful tool, serves as a bulwark for the party in power, allowing it to limit debate on controversial bills and prevent the minority from offering amendments to dramatically alter legislation introduced by the majority.

As such, the committee is extremely partisan, and that partisanship often gets personal. The current chairwoman, Rep. Louise McIntosh Slaughter (D-N.Y.), for example, has an extremely strained relationship with California Rep. David Dreier, the committee's ranking Republican, who preceded her as chairman.


Consistently, Democrats have prevented Republicans from offering amendments to legislation on the floor, which was standard procedure under GOP rule, too.

Statistics are somewhat misleading because chamber rules differ from year to year, but Democrats so far have allowed a comparable number of amendments on the floor to what the Republicans allowed during the first four months of the last Congress -- a little more than a quarter of those offered by the minority.

But Democrats this year have brought a greater percentage of bills to the floor under a totally closed rule that prevents members of the minority from offering amendments -- 45 percent under Democrats, compared with 35 percent under Republicans.

Most of the evidence, though, is anecdotal and mirrors the Democrats' complaints in the minority over the past 12 years.

Members of the majority, meanwhile, argue that they are only trying to overcome the minority's obstructionist tactics to bring down legislation that is popular with a bipartisan majority of the House as a whole.

Democrats broke their campaign pledge to run a more open and honest Congress during their much-ballyhooed "first 100 hours" in power when they introduced five bills on the floor without moving them first through committee or allowing Rules Committee Republicans to dissent. But each of those bills passed the House by a wide margin, illustrating the broad popularity of the legislation.

Members of the minority complained intermittently about alleged abuses of chamber procedure. But it wasn't until Democrats sent the motion to recommit bills back to their committees of origin that GOP leaders began protesting in earnest.

Early in the year, Republicans used a rarely used procedural tool to great effect to change Democratic bills on the floor. After the minority forced Democrats to withdraw legislation granting the Washington, D.C., delegate a vote in the House, Hoyer vowed to change the rules to prevent another such occurrence.

The majority's solution was to define any motion that would send the bill back to its committee of origin as a motion to table -- or, in essence, "kill" -- the legislation, pressuring members who support the overarching bill to vote against the motion.

Republicans tried to bring the floor to a standstill Wednesday after word leaked that Democrats would introduce the rules change into the rule on a budget bill expected on the floor Thursday. Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-Ga.) called for a procedural vote every 30 minutes before Democrats agreed to withdraw the change from the rule.

The Rules Committee provides members a chance to offer changes to legislation before it comes to the floor, even if the lawmakers aren't on the committee of jurisdiction. The majority has the votes to defeat any amendment it does not want to be considered on the floor, but rarely does the party in power block an amendment from even being considered.

Under the Democrats, filing deadlines have been moved up, and some amendments have been blocked completely. When Slaughter wouldn't allow a small group of anti-war Democrats to offer an amendment to the earliest iteration of a bill to fund the war in Iraq, Dreier agreed to offer it for them, and Democrats voted it down.

This perceived drift by the party in power resembles a similar drift by the Republicans after they stormed to power in 1994 as a spirited band of small-government reformers. The realities of the majority eventually forced them to play with the rules, too, and ignore many of the reforms they approved during their first months in power.

During their last days in power, Republicans were regularly introducing bills in the middle of the night, provoking Democrats to rail against the GOP during heated late-night sessions