Casual Observation

6 Comments

1. 

   corvus on October 31, 2009 at 1:04 pm

   Forgive me for understanding less of the protocol of the legislature than I should, but doesn’t that basically mean that the GOP shut itself out of having any influence on the form the bill will take?

   That’s not extreme. It’s stupid. And, I hope, a trend. Even the most spineless Democrat can’t appease the Republicans if there are no Republicans around to appease.

   • 

     Parallax on October 31, 2009 at 1:23 pm

     The party of “NO!” is serious about its no. Democrats will have to go it alone, taking all the credit and all the blame as Republicans have taken their stand against progress and dared us to take up progressive reforms on our own. So this is not particularly surprising so much as an extreme example of a flat earther banging his club on the flat earth. The real question is what to do about corporate shills and whores in our own party/caucus.

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       scurvy turbo on October 31, 2009 at 2:43 pm

       i thought i read somewhere that at least 2 (???) repubs were required to move the bill forward.  by boycotting, the mark-up can not proceed, essentially stalling the bill.  is this true?

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         BooMan on October 31, 2009 at 3:31 pm

         Environment and Public Works Chairwoman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said yesterday that she is planning to hold a markup Tuesday on S. 1733 (pdf), a bill that seeks to curb domestic greenhouse gas emissions across much of the U.S. economy.

         But Boxer cannot hold the markup unless at least two Republicans show up, and EPW ranking member James Inhofe (R-Okla.) signaled that he has unanimous support among the panel’s minority members to boycott the session until they get more data on the legislation from U.S. EPA and the Congressional Budget Office.

         Inhofe said he will wait for Boxer to file an official notice of the markup — expected today — before responding with his own declaration of the GOP’s markup strategy.

         “As soon as we find out what her announcement is and what she wants to do, we’ll have our response,” Inhofe told E&E last night. “We’ll have our unanimous expression ready.”

         link

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           corvus on October 31, 2009 at 7:24 pm

           Apparently, Senate Rule 14 makes provision for the majority on a committee to vote to move a bill to the Senate floor for a vote. I would imagine that’s considered a fairly drastic move, but I’d say that Sen. Boxer would be entirely justified in invoking Rule 14 if the opposition party “boycotts” the markup.

           I put “boycotts” in quotes because it stretches the definition of the word to use it that way. What Inhofe’s faction is doing is essentially refusing to do their jobs as elected officials. Again.

           Under the circumstances, I’d say that using rarely-exercised parts of the rules of the Senate and, if necessary, amending those rules will be necessary to deal firmly with Republican attempts to sabotage the country. That should, IMHO, include invoking the so-called “nuclear option” next time they try filibustering anything of significance.

2. 

   DaveW on October 31, 2009 at 1:27 pm

   From the Congress Daily writeup TPM quoted:

   Republicans counter that Democratic demands for additional analysis delayed a markup three times on a GOP “Clear Skies” bill before it fell on a 9-9 vote in March 2005.

   I guess the incredible childishness that shapes what happens to our country will never cease to astonish. Apparently the GOP has been waiting for 5 years to get their petty payback. Of course the Republican Party set the standard in the first place by the making Inhofe their top member on a committee whose primary responsibility he believes is a hoax. Too bad Charlie Manson is still in the slammer — he could get elected to the House from OK and become the top Rep at Homeland Security.