We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time. - Vince Lombardi

Fair For Me, But Not For Thee

by Hal_10000

You know those Democrats who are interested in open debate and fairness?  Um, no:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.

Pelosi’s rule changes—which may be voted on today—will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.”

...

After decades of Democrat control of the House of Representatives, gross abuses to the legislative process and several high-profile scandals contributed to an overwhelming Republican House Congressional landslide victory in 1994. Reforms to the House Rules as part of the Contract with America were designed to open up to public scrutiny what had become under this decades-long Democrat majority a dangerously secretive House legislative process. The Republican reform of the way the House did business included opening committee meetings to the public and media, making Congress actually subject to federal law, term limits for committee chairmen ending decades-long committee fiefdoms, truth in budgeting, elimination of the committee proxy vote, authorization of a House audit, specific requirements for blanket rules waivers, and guarantees to the then-Democrat minority party to offer amendments to pieces of legislation.

Pelosi’s proposed repeal of decades-long House accountability reforms exposes a tyrannical Democrat leadership poised to assemble legislation in secret, then goose-step it through Congress by the elimination of debate and amendment procedures as part of America’s governing legislative process.

Human Events’ reaction is a bit hysterical here.  According to this website, the Democrats are merely trying to remove the term limits for committee chairs (caveat: they’re being a bit secretive about it).  But that itself was a critical reform whose impact is often underestimated.  It’s been 14 years since the Contract and few of us really remember how truly vile the ensconced committee chairs used to be.

Methinks the Democrats are heading for another Rostenkowski-esque scandal.  It took Republicans six years to be corrupted by power.  Looks like it won’t take the Democrats much more than six days.

Comments

Posted by on 01/06/09 at 10:30 AM from

Nancy Pelosi is the worst thing that has happened to the Democratic party since Howard Dean became DNC chair.

Posted by Hal_10000 on 01/06/09 at 11:09 AM from

I wouldn’t slam Howard Dean too much.  Since he took over, they’ve taken back Congress and the White House.  he was the architect of the strategy to run conservative Democrats in conservative districts that previous DNC chairs had just given up on.  I think one problem recently has been that we severely underestimate Howard Dean.  Just because he’s a raving looney-tune does not mean he’s not a good organizer.

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