What was supposed to be a routine vote in the House—to knock down an amendment authored by [batshit insane confederate] conservative Republicans—turned into pandemonium on the House floor Friday, as Democrats tried to jam the plan through, and hang it around the GOP’s necks. The vote was on the Republican Study Committee’s alternative budget—a radical plan that annihilates the social contract in America by putting the GOP budget on steroids. Deeper tax cuts for the wealthy, more severe entitlement rollbacks.
Normally something like that would fail by a large bipartisan margin in either the House or the Senate. Conservative Republicans would vote for it, but it would be defeated by a coalition of Democrats and more moderate Republicans. But today that formula didn’t hold. In an attempt to highlight deep divides in the Republican caucus. Dems switched their votes—from “no” to “present.”
Panic ensued. In the House, legislation passes by a simple majority of members voting. The Dems took themselves out of the equation, leaving Republicans to decide whether the House should adopt the more-conservative RSC budget instead of the one authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. As Dems flipped to present, Republicans realized that a majority of their members had indeed gone on the record in support of the RSC plan—and if the vote closed, it would pass. That would be a slap in the face to Ryan, and a politically toxic outcome for the Republican party.
So they started flipping their votes from “yes” to “no.” In the end, the plan went down by a small margin, 119-136. A full 172 Democrats voted “present.”
This is spectactular. And I demand for more. The problem with us Democrats (and I am a Democrat so I can say “us”) is that we are the responsible governing party. We are too nice and respectful. We take the job of service in government seriously and respect our institutions and even our colleagues across the chamber aisle. The reason for that is because we believe government is a force of good. So we speak in Roberts Rules of Order language and the like.
Meanwhile, for decades, the Republican Party has viewed government, even the government of the United States, as a force of evil, and thus Republicans treat all involved in government, no matter the station, with disrespect. (Yes, Republicans who get elected to office are treated with deferance and are later worshiped not because they are Presidents or Senators or Secretary of State, but because they are Republicans who did good.) With no respect for the institution, they have played parliamentary tricks for decades, tricks getting more outrageous as the years pass.
But I am the kind of Democrat that wants to destroy Republicans and their policies. Figuratively. Metaphorically. I want my party to treat Republicans as Republicans treat us. I want my party to be as devastating in messaging and tactics as the Republicans are, and I want whiny Democrats, who say that will just make us like the Republicans and we have to be better than them, to shut up.
So Nancy Pelosi, good job. At the risk of offending my female colleagues, the Democratic Leader in the House has a set on her.
Other Democrats, do this more often. As in, every fucking minute of the day.