Courtesy of the Washington Post:
The video — which has already attracted more than 702,000 views since being posted to YouTube on Saturday — shows Van Hollen engaging in a parliamentary inquiry with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), who was in the speaker’s chair at the time. The two men discussed why Democrats could not bring up a Senate amendment that would provide funding to return the government to normal operations.
Normally an individual lawmaker would be able to force a vote on a bill where there is a dispute between the House and Senate, but on Oct. 1, House Republicans passed a resolution, H. Res. 368, altering the rules to make that impossible.
“The Rules Committee under the rules of the House changed the standing rules of the House of the to take away the right of any member to move to vote to open the government and gave that right exclusively to the Rep leader, is that right?” asked Van Hollen, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.
“The House adopted that resolution,” Chaffetz replied.
Pressing the point, Van Hollen asks, “Why were the rules rigged to keep the government shut down?”
While House leaders of both parties have sometimes changed the rules of the House by a majority vote during pitched political battles, this particular procedural move is much more rare.
At the end of the exchange, Chaffetz denies Van Hollen’s attempt to force a vote on the Senate measure, prompting Van Hollen to retort, “Well, Mr. Speaker, democracy’s been suspended.”
The next time one of your Right Wing relatives starts trashing the President over the government shutdown or if and when we default on our debt, you show them this video.
Because this entire debacle is the SOLE responsibility of the Republican party, and grandstanding with vets ate the World War 2 monument, and continuing to try and shift the blame to the President is underhanded political hypocrisy.
I am literally seething after watching this.
Fuck these Republican assholes! It is time for a Democratic revolution to rid our country of this vermin and get our country back!
I wondered why this wasn't viral when it happened. I know I read about it somewhere a week ago. You would think the Dems would be screaming about this in the media, I thought maybe I didn't understand but it seems I did. Yeah that weasel Eric Cantor has all the power....they all need to be voted out. Watching them this morning....I really think we are going to default, they are still going for the ACA and trying to reduce the president's power....traitors one and all.
ReplyDeleteFor what I have been reading....Ryan is the power behind the teaparty.
Go over to Crooks and Liars and watch our side ask why in the hell this was passed. This bill stopped Pelosi from bringing up the Senate bill way back on Oct 1, the day before the shutdown. Now you can get really really pissed.
ReplyDeleteI really, really want to know at what point does the DOJ say, o.k., they've crossed the line - they are now actively, openly engaging in Sedition. When? Cause if it was up to me, Ted Cruz, DeMint, Boehner, Cantor and the rest of the mad hatter's party would have been removed from office and indicted by now.
ReplyDeletehedgewytch, the problem with any action from the Government regarding these seditionists is that both the President and AG Holder are men of color.
DeleteThey are the main targets of the "Hatriots", those who wish to incite a civil war against any and all who do not fit into the mold of their perceived "1776 Spirit of the Christian White Man's Power".
The very thought that they aren't the pinnacle of their universe is so abhorrent that they will pursue a Scorched Earth policy in any way possible in order to dominate this multi cultural, multi racial, multi gender and multi religious/philosophical society.
Include the Koch asswipes (they fund the TP afterall) who I just read are depositing petroleum coke (by product of tar sands upwind of where I live and upstream of the lake I get my drinking water from. Mother fucking vicious evil scum.
Delete2:21 -
DeleteThat's probably one of the best descriptions of the Kochs that I've read. Although you did forget to include 'unconscionably greedy'.
Today someone told me they saw something on msnbc about De Mint being the defacto speaker of the house, and I thought it was a joke. Seeing this makes me wonder who's actually pulling Boehner's strings - Tea Party or Heritage Fund?
Delete
ReplyDeleteFrom time to time theTree ofLiberty must be watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
And the TeaPartiers will be supplying the blood of the tyrants, because they certainly are no patriots.
DeleteWhere is the Democratic Party in getting this information out to Americans across the nation?
ReplyDeleteThe rectification of the Republican 'problem' is only going to be rectified at the voting booth. Vote them OUT across the nation, in Congress and in our communities/towns/cities and states.
I am pissed!!!!
To quote:"Fuck these Republican assholes!"..........indeed....indeed...! Could not agree more.......
ReplyDeleteJust this past Sunday a young fellow I know was back from his first year at college.
ReplyDeleteI asked him who he thought was at fault for the government shutdown?
He said 70% Republican and 30% Democrat.
I corrected him, stating that the Democrats have compromised and compromised and compromised to the point where the DEAL THAT WAS AGREED UPON back in July was a full $70 BILLION lower than the Ryan Budget! PLUS Barack Obama had chained Social Security to CPI - which he fucking hated doing -- but he did so as a compromise.
And then I told the young college man the kicker:
TWO HOURS before the midnight deadline the House Republicans quietly changed Clause 4 of Rule 22
insuring that the shutdown could not come up for vote.
The shutdown is 100% the Republicans' fault.
Q.E.D.
I could not believe this video when I first saw it because I was not aware that ONE PERSON can shut down America's business and he is NOT the president. How did our government get to the point that one republican can hold up our country and no one can do anything about it! How in the hell did this pass? Was it done in GOP committee only w/o input from Democrats? This should be against the law!
ReplyDeleteAnd the Republicans in the House of Representatives are doing the work of the Koch Brothers, not the work of the American people. We, the people, have a right to know exactly what the Koch agenda is.
ReplyDeleteBeaglemom
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Delete(Because being able to purchase the world several times over just isn't enough)
I don’t remember seeing this on C-SPAN. But, it is very disturbing. I do remember watching C-SPAN during the health care committee meetings and I will never forget how the single-payer and universal proponents were led out of the room. At that point it became clear the ACA was already in the hands of the insurance companies. And, curiously, those companies run the House votes. The ACA wasn’t the reason for this shutdown. Fuck the GOP/Tea Party.
ReplyDeleteThey have completely lost their minds.
ReplyDeleteThey never had a conscience.