A House Divided

In the way of a quick update, here are just a few of the articles that ran in response to Thursday night's fiasco in the House.

I found it particularly amusing that Nancy Pelosi felt the need to insult both Republicans and the legislative process itself when she called Republican requests to resolve the issue "frivolous" - even after her Democratic colleagues had admitted to the egregious mistake.

(From the Washington Post article:) Pelosi was unsympathetic. "There was no mistake made last night," she said. "Apologies were made for the early announcement of the vote," but the early announcement would not have changed the outcome, she added. Thankfully, her legacy and leadership are shaping up to be less than stellar... and even her hometown paper isn't singing her praises, and polls show that Democrats aren't exactly seen as the knights in shining armor they puported themselves to be.

In the end, though, Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer and his colleagues supported a measure that will form an investigative committee to look into the incident.

What America is Saying About The Stolen Immigration Vote
“Stolen Vote” … “An Outrage” … “High-Handed Tactics”

“It is particularly egregious for House Democrats to attempt to rescind the outcome on an issue so clear-cut as public assistance for illegal aliens.”

“Such powerful investigative committees are usually reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal…”

"House Forms Special Panel Over Alleged Stolen Vote”

“The House last night unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had stolen a victory from the House GOP on a parliamentary vote late Thursday night.

“The move capped a remarkable day that started with Republicans marching out of the House in protest near midnight Thursday, was punctuated by partisan bickering, and ended with Democratic hopes for a final legislative rush fading. … The agreement to form a special committee was extraordinary. Such powerful investigative committees are usually reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal and the funneling of profits from Iranian arms sales to the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s. ‘I don't know when something like this has happened before,’ said House deputy historian Fred W. Beuttler. He called the decision ‘incredible.’ …

“GOP lawmakers had marched out of the House chamber about 11 p.m. Thursday, shouting ‘shame, shame’ and saying that Democrats had ‘stolen’ a vote on a parliamentary motion to pull an agriculture spending bill off the floor until it incorporated an explicit denial of federal benefits to illegal immigrants.” (The Washington Post, 8/4/07)

"The GOP measure would have amended the agriculture bill to ensure that no funds could be used to employ or provide housing for illegal immigrants — about half of the 2.5 million workers on U.S. farms. … The move infuriated Democratic leaders, who saw it as a political maneuver to force their party's vulnerable freshman members to take a difficult vote that could be used against them next year on the campaign trail. … In a maneuver that recalled the high-handed tactics of House leaders from generations past, the Democrat lawmaker presiding over the chamber brought down his gavel, ending the vote…” (Los Angeles Times, 8/4/07)

“It usually takes several years for a House majority to overreach like Democrats did Thursday night. But now we see enraged House Republicans credibly accusing Democrats of stealing a vote, followed by a Republican walkout, the first in the House in years. …The short version: Republicans sought to send the agriculture bill back to committee to block federal employment and rental assistance for illegal aliens. Democrats supported these agriculture-bill loopholes.

“Glitch or no glitch, this was an outrage. Democrats at minimum were content to appear to tell Republican lawmakers that their vote and their silm apparent victory didn't count. On Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Roy Blunt vowed to halt all House business except foreign intelligence surveillance reform and bridge-safety legislation until the matter is resolved — as they should. …

“A vote is a vote. It is particularly egregious for House Democrats to attempt to rescind the outcome on an issue so clear-cut as public assistance for illegal aliens. Illegal aliens who disregard our immigration laws should not also be allowed to enjoy public benefits courtesy of the American taxpayer.” (Editorial, The Washington Times, 8/4/07)

"…House Republicans remained spitting mad. At one Capitol Hill press conference, Republican lawmakers to a person, referred to the Democratic leadership as the "Democrat leadership" a subtle difference that upsets many Democrats because of the fondness of conservative bloggers to emphasize the last syllable. … Republicans framed the issue as Democrats violating the rules of the House as well their own rules in order to transfer taxpayers' money in the form of welfare benefits to illegal immigrants. If you're in the Democratic leadership, that's got to give you a headache.” (Chicago Tribune, “The Swamp” blog, 8/3/07)

“Vote cutoff creates furor in House”

“The trouble began about 11 p.m. Thursday, as Republicans tried to send an agriculture spending bill back to the drawing board. They said it needed to be altered to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining taxpayer- funded food stamps. Furious Republicans shouted ‘Shame, Shame, Shame,’ before leaving the House floor. Republicans want the vote to be reversed, said Cincinnati Republican Steve Chabot. ‘They don't count our votes any more,’ added Springfield Republican David Hobson. ‘They ran for these jobs and accused us all of holding votes open and doing chicanery to them, and now they're doing worse. Our people are just enraged by it.’” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/4/07)

“Democrats Cheat On House Vote”

“We're laughing at this but this is a serious thing. The Democrats are hell-bent on getting these illegal immigrants here and making them voters. They're hell-bent on expanding the redistribution of wealth. They are hell-bent on getting them in here and getting them on our welfare rolls and the social safety net, which we, more properly, have termed here the hammock. The Republicans thought they defeated it last night, and I'm sure they did, and the Democrats just couldn't put up with that so they just stole the vote. The Republicans are not letting go of this.” (The Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/3/07)


“Republicans continued to steam … over the episode in which they appeared to be the winners by a 215-213 tally on a procedural motion designed to make sure illegal immigrants would not get certain benefits from an agriculture spending bill. … Republicans prevailed upon their Democratic rivals to establish a special panel to investigate the manner in which the vote was handled.” (AP, 8/3/07)