Despotic Democrats

The Democratic CONTROLLED House, the People's House as Imperial Speaker Pelosi is fond of describing it, last night chose to follow Alice through the looking glass.

Instead of following 200 years of democratic traditions, Democratic leaders took the first steps toward a despotic legislative tyranny.

While voting on a motion to recommit the agricultural appropriations bill, the presiding chair, New York Representative Michael R. McNulty gaveled the vote closed. The vote was over and the Republicans won. Realizing what had happened - the undemocratic Democratic leadership allowed Democratic members to keep voting to change the result.

Instead of honoring the legitimate, electronically tabulated result of a vote, the Democrats used tactics usually seen only in single party states and other dictatorships. According to Republican Whip Eric Cantor:

The Democrat chair closed the roll call when Republicans had won – as the electronic voting tally indicated enough votes to return the bill to committee. Shouting erupted on the floor, as the Democrats attempted to change the outcome of the vote after the gavel had come down – the vote was closed.

Republicans attempted to adjourn, but we were ruled out of order. Confusion set in as members waited at least five minutes for the chair’s decision.

At Politico, Patrick O'Connor described the vote cheating in an article entitled, House Erupts In Chaos:

Details remain fuzzy, but numerous Republicans argued afterward that they had secured a 215-213 win on their motion to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance. Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed, members and aides on both sides of the aisle said afterward.

One GOP aide saw McNulty gavel the vote to a close after receiving a signal from his leaders – but before reading the official tally. And votes continued to shift even after he closed the roll call - a strange development in itself.

[. . .]

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) eventually offered a motion to reconsider, according to floor staff on either side, ostensibly giving members a chance to recast their votes. But the maneuver sparked a chorus of angry protests from the Republicans, yelling “shame” on Democrats, while they returned fire with angry volleys of their own.

When Democrats finally moved to consider the spending bill as the last vote of the night, furious Republicans left the chamber en masse to protest the maneuver. The House eventually recessed at 11:18 p.m. But Republicans quickly discovered that there was no longer any record of the controversial vote and immediately charged Democrats with erasing the bad result.

Some have tried to equate this to the Republicans keeping a vote on the Central American Free Trade Agreement open for an extra 47 minutes two years ago. But there is a big difference in last night's failure to recognize the results of a vote ruled over. Once a vote has been gaveled closed, it should be recognized and become part of the official record.

The Democrats promised to stick by vote timetables and allow measures to succeed or fail according to the will of the majority. Another inconvenient promise broken.

You can watch the Democrats attempt to change the result of the vote after the vote was closed in the following video:

Comments

[Mike]

You have a short memory, when your party did this it was okay, but now its Tyranny? This Democracy has failed, and you politicans have only yourselves to blame.