Why has Nancy Pelosi flipped flopped on the "house bill of rights"?
In 2004, Nancy Pelosi unveiled a proposed "Bill of Rights" to protect House minority interests. It called on Republicans to allow more meaningful substitutes to bills, give members enough time to read bills before final votes, and stop holding roll-call votes past the normal 15 minutes. She had a point. In late 2003, Republican leaders held open a roll-call vote on the Medicare drug entitlement for three hours until they bullied enough wavering members into voting aye.
Every two years the leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives introduces a new set of rules to govern the body. Normally, this event passes with barely a yawn from the public. But the changes pushed through on Tuesday by Democrats will have real-world consequences for fiscal conservatives of both parties.
Gone are term limits for committee chairmen, a big comeback for seniority over merit. Cost containment measures on Medicare, one of the fastest growing programs, are simply suspended for this Congress.
Tax increases now will be easier to pass, because opponents will not be allowed to offer a simple motion to strike any increase without making up for the "lost revenue." In addition, tax cuts are made more difficult, because they cannot be offset with spending cuts. The new rules will mean that the only way to push for a tax cut will be to propose a tax increase elsewhere.
Democratic leaders said these changes were needed to make the legislative train run faster. "Congress has to accomplish things," said Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern of the Rules Committee. "This is designed to help us do just that."
To further grease the wheels, Democrats have also emasculated the "motion to recommit" — a procedural safeguard first given to the minority a century ago after a rebellion against tyrannical GOP Speaker Joe Cannon. It has been used by both parties to offer motions to "recommit" or send back bills on the floor to the relevant committees.
Republicans used the tactic 50 times in the last Congress, primarily to block tax increases buried in larger bills. Sometimes they also used the device to tack on a popular amendment to a bill — such as an amendment in 2007 ending Washington, D.C.’s, then-existing gun ban, which was added to a bill on voting rights for D.C. residents. That made the overall bill political poison, forcing an infuriated Speaker Nancy Pelosi to pull the bill off the floor.
Her new rules package severely limits the use of motions to recommit. Dismissing GOP complaints about this change, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said the minority was only "interested in game playing."
So why has Nancy Pelosi flipped and flopped on this? Has absolute power in the House, Senate, and Presidency corrupted her?
Here is the news story on how Democrats wanted a house bill of rights:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/art icles/A680-2004Jun23.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/john_fund_ on_the_trail.html
Chronos what does it matter if I used someone else’s opinion. Facts are facts brother.
Madd Vlad - Must not have looked too hard. I found it as soon as I saw your question. Do you know how to google?
Pelosi is a PIG———–She stands for PORK at every level, her BOTOX
Treatments could pay my rent, so why wouldn’t i resent her on top of the fact that she is a do nothing but get along go along with Harry R
GO BACK 100YEARS IN HISTORY WE Have never had a worse group
of so called representatives in the highest offices of this Country, this
is the whale turd, at the bottom of the ocean, and history will back me up, these are worse than the gang who couldn’t shoot straight.
PITIFUL BASTARDS
i'm watching washinton d.c. | Jan 13, 2009
can you please provide a source to this "house bill of rights" I cannot find it anywhere.
Madd Vladd | Jan 13, 2009
It’s the Democrat way.
Sam | Jan 13, 2009
Why has Nancy "partisan" Pelosi flipped? The answer is obvious.
thor_torkinson | Jan 13, 2009
Pelosi is all about me, me, me. Now that she has a democratic controlled house and congress, she knows that they can get whatever they want. She is the worst example of being Parisian that our government has. She is so extreme liberal, that she fell off the cliff a long time ago. Worst speaker that we have EVER had in history.
Time travler | Jan 13, 2009
I agree with madd vladd.prove it,prove it.show me something.
jwboomer@rocketmail.com | Jan 13, 2009
Your "question" is an OPINION piece by a conservative columnist, John Fund, writing in the Wall Street Journal. Fund is an editor for The American Spectator and has collaborated with Rush Limbaugh on one of his books. His objectivity should, at the very least, be suspect.
Chronos | Jan 13, 2009
Democrats flip flop all the time. How do you think Burris got into the Senate? It was just last week they weren’t going to seat anyone Blago appointed, remember?
texasjewboy12 | Jan 13, 2009