Just when I think Nancy Pelosi cannot possibly surprise me with any more insipid concepts, ill timed announcements, or just old fashioned stupidity, she steps up to the plate and hits another grand slam out of the park. If the results of her actions were not so tragic and the fact that a person I would not trust with the complex assignment of greeting shoppers at Walmart was our Speaker of the House, I would actually think her initiatives scientifically interesting for their obtuseness and, from time to time, somewhat humorous even though that would be akin to emitting a tee-hee at Bernie Madoff's little act of financial indiscretion.
But I digress.
Today Pelosi made it clear that she is going to re-write House rules in such a manner that will insure the Republican minority has absolutely zero influence on any legislation. These new rules will bar Republicans from offering alternative bills, amendments to Democratic bills, or even the guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress. She is proposing the repeal of decades long House accountability reforms that would virtually eliminate President-elect Obama's stated goal of bi-partisan cooperation.
The real good news is that there is really nothing that can be done for two years. At that time we will have a shot at electing responsible people who believe that debate is healthy, that good ideas come from both sides of the aisle, and that people with diverse opinions can work together to actually optimize a concept. Of course, that would assume the elected representatives have brains slightly larger than an emu's, whose eyes are actually larger than their brains.
Is it just me or does Pelosi have really large eyes?
Here is a copy of the letter House Republican leadership sent to Pelosi. Read it and weep.
January 5, 2009
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker of the House
H-232, U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Madame Speaker,
We hope you and your family had a joyful holiday season, and as we begin a new year and a new Congress, we look forward to working with you, our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and President-elect Obama in tackling the many challenges facing our nation.
President Obama has pledged to lead a government that is open and transparent. With that in mind, we are deeply troubled by media reports indicating that the Democratic leadership is poised to repeal reforms put in place in 1995 that were intended to help restore Americans’ trust and confidence in the People’s House. Specifically, these reports note that the Majority, as part of its rules package governing the new Congress, will end six-year term limits for Committee chairs and further restrict the opportunity for all members to offer alternative legislation. This does not represent change; it is reverting back to the undemocratic one-party rule and backroom deals that the American people rejected more than a decade ago. And it has grave implications for the American people and their freedom, coming at a time when an unprecedented expansion of federal power and spending is being hastily planned by a single party behind closed doors. Republicans will vigorously oppose repealing these reforms if they are brought to a vote on the House floor.
As you know, after Republicans gained the majority in the House in 1995, our chamber adopted rules to limit the terms of all committee chairs to three terms in order to reward new ideas, innovation, and merit rather than the strict longevity that determined chairmanships in the past. This reform was intended to help restore the faith and trust of the American people in their government – a theme central to President-elect Obama’s campaign last year. He promoted a message of “change,” but Madame Speaker, abolishing term limit reform is the opposite of “change.” Instead, it will entrench a handful of Members of the House in positions of permanent power, with little regard for its impact on the American people.
The American people also stand to pay a price if the Majority further shuts down free and open debate on the House floor by refusing to allow all members the opportunity to offer substantive alternatives to important legislation -- the same opportunities that Republicans guaranteed to Democrats as motions to recommit during their 12 years in the Minority. The Majority’s record in the last Congress was the worst in history when it came to having a free and open debate on the issues.
This proposed change also would prevent Members from exposing and offering proposals to eliminate tax increases hidden by the Democratic Majority in larger pieces of legislation. This is not the kind of openness and transparency that President-elect Obama promised. This change would deprive tens of millions of Americans the opportunity to have a voice in the most important policy decisions facing our country.
Madame Speaker, we urge you to reconsider the decision to repeal these reforms, which could come up for a vote as early as tomorrow. Just as a new year brings fresh feelings of optimism and renewal for the American people, so too should a new Congress. Changing the House rules in the manner highlighted by recent media reports would have the opposite effect: further breaching the trust between our nation’s elected representatives and the men and women who send them to Washington to serve their interests and protect their freedom.
Sincerely,
Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), Republican Leader
Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Republican Whip
Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), Conference Chairman
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), Policy Committee Chairman
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wyo.), Conference Vice-Chair
Rep. John Carter (R-Texas), Conference Secretary
Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas), NRCC Chairman
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Chief Deputy Whip
Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.), Rules Committee Ranking Republican
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