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GOP Haggling With Dems Over Spending Bills

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  July 14th, 2009 at 01:30 PM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

The House Democrats have shut their Republican counterparts out of the legislative process. Normally, the minority gets the right to offer amendments over spending bills, but the House Democrats have decided not to allow the GOP that right.

The Democrats claim the GOP is slowing things down — you know, so members have time to actually read the legislation they are voting on, etc. Nonetheless, Rep. Eric Cantor has offered to compromise with the Democrats on the issue. The GOP would be allowed to offer up to 20 amendments and would abide by time limitations. Democrats won’t commit.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Monday formally asked House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) to cut Republicans back into the debate on spending bills, promising they would offer a maximum of 20 amendments to each bill and would abide by a set of time limitations during the debate.

Cantor had proposed the deal verbally on Friday; Hoyer has not yet responded, and a Democratic aide voiced doubt that the majority will sign on.

Why won’t the Democrats commit? Because the GOP can’t keep its members toeing the party line. My friend Paul Broun (R-GA) tried to shut the House down the other day. He made a motion to adjourn. The Speaker called a recess instead of putting it to a vote because Broun would have won.

With the GOP routinely able to outmaneuver the Democrats under the Democrats’ own rules, the Dems don’t want to play nice.

Here’s the problem for the Democrats — majorities do not last forever. The GOP will one day take over the House again. And payback is hell.

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COMMENTS

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  • janis

    wanting to play by their rules now if I thought that there would be payback in time to come. Unfortunately, when Republicans are in the majority, they’re all too apt to defer to their “honored colleagues on the other side of the aisle.”

    If I could strip each Republican of just one thing, it would be their manners. Let ‘em scream, shout, and hurl insult– what have they got to lose at this point? Besides more of us.

  • AceInTX

    How anyone can claim Republican are holding anything up when Republicans are giving the Democrats they need to pass their socialist agenda is beyond me!

    Grow a pair Cantor and object to all unanimous consent requests…if you’re gonna get blamed by the Dem’s and the lap dog press for obstructing anyway….what have you got to lose?

  • AceInTX

    Show tham what slowing things down really means!

  • 10ksnooker

    The first leading indicator to turn is hours worked per week which is still steadily declining.

    The donks know by Sept unemployment numbers, their time is up.

  • Scope

    Cantor and all the R’s in Congress should be screaming, shouthing, demanding and going to battle if necessary against the antics of the Liberals. Please read mmmc’s and my comments on Cantors diary. We do pay much attention to what he is doing, as he is our rep. We do get the chance to vote for him or not. It seems to me that Cantor is becoming a pro-big government politician, and he can’t even do that effectively.

  • Scope

    Cantor and all the R’s in Congress should be screaming, shouthing, demanding and going to battle if necessary against the antics of the Liberals. Please read mmmc’s and my comments on Cantors diary. We do pay much attention to what he is doing, as he is our rep. We do get the chance to vote for him or not. It seems to me that Cantor is becoming a pro-big government politician, and he can’t even do that effectively.

  • Marcus_Traianus

    Let’s see, we have;

    - 10% unemployment
    - We are headed to a $2 trillion dollar deficit in 2009
    - Federal spending is up 23%
    - Corporate tax receipts down 57%
    - Personal tax receipts down 22%

    Next;
    - A new multi-trillion dollar entitlement in National ObamaCare
    - Another “stimulus”
    - Cap and trade to increase everyone;s taxes

    Yes. It’s the peoples agenda alright.

  • johnCV

    Here?s the problem for the Democrats ? majorities do not last forever. The GOP will one day take over the House again. And payback is hell.

    If only…

    We all know that the likley result of a GOP majority will be a willingness to bend over forwards to show ‘bi-partisanship” with democrats featuring favorable committee numbers, unlimited debate, and a veto over the agenda. As usual.

    The democrats are at war with us and we are looking for common ground.

    Feh.

  • Aaron Gardner

    And I know this is gonna sound petty but we all have our peeves right??….anyhow the favor would be to spell Erick’s name correctly.

    Erick will probably respond quicker if you were to do so.

    Oh and I actually lean towards agreeing with you on Cantor, which is a shame because I had high hopes for him. Being a conservative seems to put us in a constant state of being let down lately.

  • AceInTX

    If you are unarmed and your oponent has a gun to your head…why in heavens name would he feel any need to negotiate with you.

    Republicans need a stick. Begging the Democrats to give you 20 amendments and and 20 minutes to debate a multi trillion dollar bill isn’t going to get you anywhere unless you can give the Democrats something…ot show your ability to hurt them in some way!

    So…What are you going to do Cantor…Beg louder? or maybe you can volunteer for something else while you are on your knees!?

  • Princeliberty

    Payback to Democrats when the Republicans come back into power?

    Since when did the modern Republicans EVER pay back the Democrats for ANYTHING did wrong.

    For what they did for to Bork and Thomas the Republican rolled over for Clinton’s picks and are now rolling over for Obama’ madwoman.

    The Democrats did not fear Republican payback because it never comes.

  • Princeliberty

    Payback to Democrats when the Republicans come back into power?

    Since when did the modern Republicans EVER pay back the Democrats for ANYTHING did wrong.

    For what they did for to Bork and Thomas the Republican rolled over for Clinton’s picks and are now rolling over for Obama’ madwoman.

    The Democrats did not fear Republican payback because it never comes.

  • AceInTX

    I almost did it in my post below and stopped and used his last name so noone would think I was talking to our Erick

  • izoneguy

    If it is then there are a lot of stupid people in America.

    Most of the people I know go about their everyday life without a clue in the world of what is going on in Washington D.C. They are no different than slaves getting ready to board Obama’s slave ship to hell.

  • Aaron Gardner

    But if you are correct then I withdraw my comment.

  • janis

    remark that I did. It was in response to Erick’s lovely but implausible suggestion that payback would be coming one day from the R’s to the D’s.

    Had I written the piece, I doubt that I ever would have put that part in, but perhaps Erick knows some politicians better than we do. If so, I wish they’d step up on the national stage and start kicking a** and taking names.

  • AceInTX

    but the body speaks to Erick…

    Some clarification please Scope?!

  • bs

    Sorry, Erick, but I gotta agree with the rest here – the GOP doesn’t know what payback is. We play by an entirely different (and entirely too civil) rulebook than the Donks. There is *no* way that we’ll do anything like that when (not if, but when) we retake the House. No one has the gonads to do it.

    The battle cry from Redstate to our GOP friends needs to be “Grow A Pair” (I know you’ve used that image in the past, and it’s still appropriate…)

  • eburke

    reeks of the Bob Michel’s approach where the GOP was content to satiate themselves with the scrap’s that fell from the master’s table.

    What he/we ought to be saying is “If you don’t start letting us into the process in some way, shape or form, we will tie this place up into parliamentary knots!”

  • mom2oneson
  • Common_Cents
  • Marcus_Traianus

    Business activity (sales, etc. ) Is down, companies are going out of business and overall the normal cycles taxed by our goverment have decreased. It also means that personal consumption is down, people are making less income/ unemployed so they are not paying taxes.

    Sorry for the disconnect. B berry is not friendly on “Reply to this” buttons

  • PoliFanatic

    First…. Broun would not have won that vote. He won literally zero, of the several offered, the same exact adjournment vote today.

    The reason the Speaker adjourned subject to call of the Chair was they were not sure whether Rules needed to meet, and to File a special Rule meant the House would have to be in session.

    Second, people here are complaining the R’s are not doing enough to tie it up in parliamentary knots.

    They had 54 votes in one day a few weeks ago.

    SINCE THEN all Special Rules reported out have done the following:

    1. On amendments reported from the Committee of the Whole, the question of their adoption is put to the House en gros and without demand for division of the question. !!!!! That means members cannot demand a seperte vote in the whole House on each individual amendment.

    2. Mandate 2 minute votes, rather than five after the first 15 minute vote.

    3. Limit the member who can offer the amendment.

    4. Waive all points of order, except claus 9, and 10, of Rule XXI.

    5. Prohibit the Chair from recognizing an amendment to strike all after the enacting clause.

    6. Prevent the minority from offering a Motion to Rise.

    _____________

    These are just some of what they have done. But, they can effectively remove the minority’s ability to do much when they report rules which are so restrictive.

  • Princeliberty

    The current leadership will already know about. There’s no way they would fight back.

    The thing is there is NO desire among the Republicans in DC to change their failed Congressional leadership.

    They are determined to gain power only by the Democrats failures, they do not want to reform, purge out corruption or fight for principles.

    Just look at the worthless corp of candidates they are cultivating for the Senate
    Kirk, Crist etc…

    Just exactly what good candidates are they asking to run?

    Toomey was forced down their throats they wanted somebody else.