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Obstructionist Congressional Republicans Block Will of the People

SUNDAY MAY 20 2007 11:00 AM

Submitted by legionnaire. Edited By erin_broadley.

TAGS: Republicans, Congress, block, legislation

The House of Representatives is the closest thing Americans have to a truly representative democracy. While states as small as Rhode Island receive equal representation to states as large as California in the Senate, and the bizarre electoral college system can award the presidency to someone who receives fewer votes than their competitor, Representatives in Congress are apportioned on the basis of population distribution to ensure that everyone gets some measure of a voice in the federal government. So when Democrats took back Congress last year by storm, overturning a 12 year Republican majority, it was the best indication so far that the will of the voters was to push forward a Democratic agenda and reject the failed policies of their Republican predecessors. However, Republicans have refused to accept the will of the American people and have revived a little-used procedural tactic to block the legislative efforts of the majority party.

Since January, GOP leaders have relied on a maneuver known as the "motion to recommit" to stymie Democrats and score political points for Republicans still adjusting to life in the minority.

The motion to recommit allows the minority a chance to amend a bill on the floor or send it back to committee, effectively killing it. In a legislative body in which the party in power controls nearly everything, it is one of the few tools the minority has to effect change.

In the 12 years of Republican control that ended in January, Democrats passed 11 motions to recommit. Republicans have racked up the same number in just five months of this Congress.

To anyone keeping score, the Democrats have made this possible because their congressional leadership has made good on their promise to keep the legislative process more open and give their own party members more freedom than Republicans while they were in control. Republican leaders demanded that their party members all vote against motions to recommit, but Democrats are leaving the choice to do so up to the individual Representatives.

In a turn of refreshing honesty, Republican minority leaders are brazenly open about the purely partisan nature of these motions, with little indication that they serve any purpose but to slow down the legislative efforts of the Democrats.

"Sometimes we offer motions to recommit to improve legislation -- sometimes it's to force Democrats in marginal districts to make tough choices," [Minority leader and hater of Democracy John] Boehner said. "Every time the Republicans win, it boosts morale. We're able to show unity, which is good for the overall team. Members feel good about winning on the House floor. And when you're in the minority, it doesn't happen that often."

For decades Republicans leveled charges against the "obstructionist" Democrats in Congress and how their nefarious plots and schemes prevented Republicans from doing the bidding of the people. But with only five months under their belts as the minority party, Republicans have demonstrated that they can and will use every loophole available to them to be even more "obstructionist" than the Democrats ever were.

64 Comments

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Trahern

United Kingdom

March 2003

MAY 20, 2007 11:26 AM

Republicans, abuse the system? Well I never.

Snazzy

SUICIDEGIRL

Minnesota, USA

MAY 20, 2007 11:33 AM

It's stories like this that make me want to move to Canada.

shapeshifter23

San Francisco, CA

September 2005

MAY 20, 2007 11:38 AM

The system is rigged so as to prevent and obstruct truly democratic decisions from being implemented anyhow. The electoral college is a prime example of this, and the 'motion to recommit' is another. Never mind that the last two elections were fixed, or that nobody gets elected to high office without the blessings of an Illuminati shadow government, or that the supposedly liberal Democratic party now occupies a position on the political spectrum formerly held by conservative Republicans thirty years ago. Token Democrats who speak and stand for truth, such as Barbara Lee or Cynthia McKinney, are only permitted to serve so long as they are in such a small minority in Congress that their positions on matters of great import would never stand a chance of being voted into public policy. There will be no real change of the course the U.S. is on so long as the populace is enslaved by the two-party mentality. We've all got to learn to think outside the box.

The good news is that intuition tells me we are on the verge of a truly major paradigm shift, as a nation and as a species. But that's a whole other topic...

catdad

Portland, OR

August 2002

MAY 20, 2007 11:57 AM

Sojourn356445 said:
It's stories like this that make me want to move to Canada.

Or Mars.

Cash

I'm lost

OLD SKOOL

MAY 20, 2007 11:59 AM

shapeshifter23 said:
The system is rigged so as to prevent and obstruct truly democratic decisions from being implemented anyhow. The electoral college is a prime example of this, and the 'motion to recommit' is another. Never mind that the last two elections were fixed, or that nobody gets elected to high office without the blessings of an Illuminati shadow government, or that the supposedly liberal Democratic party now occupies a position on the political spectrum formerly held by conservative Republicans thirty years ago. Token Democrats who speak and stand for truth, such as Barbara Lee or Cynthia McKinney, are only permitted to serve so long as they are in such a small minority in Congress that their positions on matters of great import would never stand a chance of being voted into public policy. There will be no real change of the course the U.S. is on so long as the populace is enslaved by the two-party mentality. We've all got to learn to think outside the box.

The good news is that intuition tells me we are on the verge of a truly major paradigm shift, as a nation and as a species. But that's a whole other topic...

So...how's life on Nebulon 5 treating you?

shapeshifter23

San Francisco, CA

September 2005

MAY 20, 2007 12:30 PM

So...how's life on Nebulon 5 treating you?

So far I haven't noticed any dramatic improvement. Perhaps I need to ask my shrink to up the dosage...

ObservingOne

Monroe, LA

April 2006

MAY 20, 2007 12:40 PM

Democrats whining about republicans blocking their votes?

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LostLucy

USA

December 2006

MAY 20, 2007 12:50 PM

Kill all republicans

SuperCrunch

Birmingham, AL

January 2007

MAY 20, 2007 12:52 PM

catdad said:

Sojourn356445 said:
It's stories like this that make me want to move to Canada.

Or Mars.

I second that.

skeptik

New Orleans, LA

February 2004

MAY 20, 2007 12:56 PM

ObservingOne said:
Democrats whining about republicans blocking their votes?

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Not much on the ol' reading comprehension, are ya?

In the 12 years of Republican control that ended in January, Democrats passed 11 motions to recommit. Republicans have racked up the same number in just five months of this Congress.

The Democrats aren't whining, they are pointing and laughing at the hypocrisy of the Republicans. Who whined for twelve years about supposed Democrat obstruction. And then obstructed as much in five months as had been done over more than a decade.

montestruc

Houston, TX

June 2004

MAY 20, 2007 01:09 PM

Good!! The more they fight the less work gets done the less government annoys us. I was glad the democrats got control of congress, I hope the republicans win the presidency in 2008, and the democrats keep congress so we can still have fighting between them so government spending and intrusion in our lives will be less.

Vote Libertarian

Libertarian Party

Stiles

New York, NY

November 2002

MAY 20, 2007 01:11 PM

ObservingOne said:
Democrats whining about republicans blocking their votes?

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For someone named Observing one, your powers of observation are truly lacking.

Tarqu1n

Victoria, BC

February 2005

MAY 20, 2007 01:13 PM

catdad said:

Sojourn356445 said:
It's stories like this that make me want to move to Canada.

Or Mars.

Canada is much closer though. And has air. Which is nice. Just watch out for the mountain lions, tigers and bears, oh my!

Sunflash

Fairbanks, AK

February 2006

MAY 20, 2007 01:17 PM

I have to say that as a NON-party individual who as issues on both sides of the coin this to me seems like a fairly nominal thing. Really more time is wasted by congress than any other government body. This is no surprise to me but hell that is the nature of the beast so as before this is no surprise to me.

ObservingOne

Monroe, LA

April 2006

MAY 20, 2007 01:28 PM

This is simply ONE example of obstruction. Democrats used every means available to them for over a decade and ridiculed republicans for accusing them of obstruction. Now that the shoe is on the other foot they can't stand it.

Anyone who can't see that doesn't have the "powers of observation" I do.