What America’s Still Saying About The Stolen Immigration Vote
“… Democrats ruled that a GOP motion had failed even though, when the gavel fell, the electronic score board showed it winning 215-213 along with the word FINAL.”
“Democrats undid a vote they had lost over the issue of subsidies to illegal immigrants … you don't change or ‘fix’ the score after the game has been played.”
“Even [Democrat Rep. Rick] Larsen, who voted with his party, wasn't certain how the roll call moved that night. ‘I looked up and the board had changed,’ he said.”
The Wall Street Journal’s John Fund: “The House of Representatives almost turned into the Fight Club Thursday night, when Democrats ruled that a GOP motion had failed even though, when the gavel fell, the electronic score board showed it winning 215-213 along with the word FINAL. The presiding officer, Rep. Mike McNulty (D., N.Y.), actually spoke over the clerk who was trying to announce the result.
“In the ensuing confusion several members changed their votes and the GOP measure to deny illegal aliens benefits such as food stamps then trailed 212-216. Boiling-mad Republicans stormed off the floor. The next day, their fury increased when they learned electronic records of the vote had disappeared from the House's voting system.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi made matters worse when she told reporters, ‘There was no mistake made last night.’ Majority Leader Steny Hoyer had to rescue her by acknowledging that, while he thought no wrongdoing had occurred, the minority party was ‘understandably angry.’ Under pressure, the House unanimously agreed to create a select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican charges the vote had been ‘stolen.’” (Wall Street Journal’s John Fund, 8/6/07)
Seattle Times: “What ensued is now the subject of a congressional investigation, which will determine how an apparent 215-213 victory by Republicans became a 216-212 win for Democrats. Even [Washington Democrat Rick] Larsen, who voted with his party, wasn't certain how the roll call moved that night. ‘I looked up and the board had changed,’ he said.” (Seattle Times, 8/6/07)
Columbus (OH) Dispatch’s Daily Briefing: “GOP Fumes Over Democratic Vote Change. Republicans like Rep. Pat Tiberi of Genoa Township are still angry today over the actions of House Democrats late last night during a close vote on a GOP procedural motion. Republicans last night initially thought they had won the vote when it was gaveled closed, 215-213. But then the vote was declared not over, and Rep. Zack Space of Dover was one of several Democrats who changed their votes. In the end, the official result was Democrats defeating the GOP motion, 216-212. … ‘Last night, I joined my fellow Republicans and walked off the floor of the House in disgust,’ Tiberi said. ‘The Democrats' maneuver last night as they trampled House rules by changing members’ votes, in order to defeat a Republican measure that would have banned illegal immigrants from receiving certain government benefits, showed a blatant disregard for House rules, policies, and practices.’” (Columbus Dispatch’s Daily Briefing, 8/3/07)
KHTS Radio (Santa Clarita, CA): “McKeon Votes To Oppose Providing Illegal Immigrants Benefits. He is ‘appalled by Democrats unethically changing final vote.’ Yesterday, Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon made the following statement on the Democrat maneuver late last night to reverse the outcome of a vote that would have barred illegal immigrants from receiving taxpayer-funded benefits: ‘Last night’s unethical maneuver by the Democrats to overturn the final vote on a motion to send the agriculture funding bill back to committee was disgraceful, but even more outrageous was the unjust defeat of the motion that would have also kept American taxpayer dollars out of the hands of illegal aliens.’” (KHTS, 8/4/07)
Troy (NY) Record: “Rep. Michael McNulty, D-Green Island, made his way onto the popular video Internet site YouTube after enraging Republicans Thursday night when he gaveled a tight vote to close. McNulty, who was sitting in for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, found himself drawing boos mostly from the minority after he apparently gaveled in favor of Democrats on a motion to bar illegal immigrants from receiving federal funds in an agricultural spending bill. The close vote was gaveled away by McNulty to a 214 to 214 failure, but Republicans argued the tally was really 215 to 213 in their favor. Angered over the loss, Republicans began chanting ‘shame, shame, shame,’ and then walked out in protest – a scene that was posted on the Internet video Web site YouTube shortly after the incident [sic] irrupted.” (Troy Record, 8/4/07)
Real Clear Politics: House Democrats' Unforced Error. Late Thursday night there was a significant uproar on the House floor as Democrats undid a vote they had lost over the issue of subsidies to illegal immigrants … While the general public may not understand all the nuances of parliamentary tactics, they do understand that you don't change or ‘fix’ the score after the game has been played … The stolen vote wasn't just 'inconvenient' for Republican politicians; it was an affront to the millions of Americans we were representing … This little episode may not gather a lot of attention with the broader public and the press, but the Democrats, through a needless unforced error – made significantly worse by a lack of judgment as to how to deal with losing a vote they did not have to lose – have given the Republicans a club...” (Real Clear Politics, John McEntire, 8/6/07)
“House Forms Special Panel Over Alleged Stolen Vote”
The Washington Post: “The House last night unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had stolen a victory from the House GOP on a parliamentary vote late Thursday night.
“The move capped a remarkable day that started with Republicans marching out of the House in protest near midnight Thursday, was punctuated by partisan bickering, and ended with Democratic hopes for a final legislative rush fading. … The agreement to form a special committee was extraordinary. Such powerful investigative committees are usually reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal and the funneling of profits from Iranian arms sales to the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s. ‘I don't know when something like this has happened before,’ said House deputy historian Fred W. Beuttler. He called the decision ‘incredible.’ …
“GOP lawmakers had marched out of the House chamber about 11 p.m. Thursday, shouting ‘shame, shame’ and saying that Democrats had ‘stolen’ a vote on a parliamentary motion to pull an agriculture spending bill off the floor until it incorporated an explicit denial of federal benefits to illegal immigrants.” (The Washington Post, 8/4/07)
Los Angeles Times: “The GOP measure would have amended the agriculture bill to ensure that no funds could be used to employ or provide housing for illegal immigrants — about half of the 2.5 million workers on U.S. farms. … The move infuriated Democratic leaders, who saw it as a political maneuver to force their party's vulnerable freshman members to take a difficult vote that could be used against them next year on the campaign trail. … In a maneuver that recalled the high-handed tactics of House leaders from generations past, the Democrat lawmaker presiding over the chamber brought down his gavel, ending the vote…” (Los Angeles Times, 8/4/07)
The Washington Times: “It usually takes several years for a House majority to overreach like Democrats did Thursday night. But now we see enraged House Republicans credibly accusing Democrats of stealing a vote, followed by a Republican walkout, the first in the House in years. …The short version: Republicans sought to send the agriculture bill back to committee to block federal employment and rental assistance for illegal aliens. Democrats supported these agriculture-bill loopholes.
“Glitch or no glitch, this was an outrage. Democrats at minimum were content to appear to tell Republican lawmakers that their vote and their silm apparent victory didn't count. On Friday, House Minority Leader John Boehner and Minority Whip Roy Blunt vowed to halt all House business except foreign intelligence surveillance reform and bridge-safety legislation until the matter is resolved — as they should. …
“A vote is a vote. It is particularly egregious for House Democrats to attempt to rescind the outcome on an issue so clear-cut as public assistance for illegal aliens. Illegal aliens who disregard our immigration laws should not also be allowed to enjoy public benefits courtesy of the American taxpayer.” (Editorial, The Washington Times, 8/4/07)
Chicago Tribune: “…House Republicans remained spitting mad. At one Capitol Hill press conference, Republican lawmakers to a person, referred to the Democratic leadership as the "Democrat leadership" a subtle difference that upsets many Democrats because of the fondness of conservative bloggers to emphasize the last syllable. … Republicans framed the issue as Democrats violating the rules of the House as well their own rules in order to transfer taxpayers' money in the form of welfare benefits to illegal immigrants. If you're in the Democratic leadership, that's got to give you a headache.” (Chicago Tribune, “The Swamp” blog, 8/3/07)
“Vote cutoff creates furor in House”
Cleveland Plain Dealer: “The trouble began about 11 p.m. Thursday, as Republicans tried to send an agriculture spending bill back to the drawing board. They said it needed to be altered to prevent illegal immigrants from obtaining taxpayer- funded food stamps. Furious Republicans shouted ‘Shame, Shame, Shame,’ before leaving the House floor. Republicans want the vote to be reversed, said Cincinnati Republican Steve Chabot. ‘They don't count our votes any more,’ added Springfield Republican David Hobson. ‘They ran for these jobs and accused us all of holding votes open and doing chicanery to them, and now they're doing worse. Our people are just enraged by it.’” (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 8/4/07)
“Democrats Cheat On House Vote”
The Rush Limbaugh Show: “We're laughing at this but this is a serious thing. The Democrats are hell-bent on getting these illegal immigrants here and making them voters. They're hell-bent on expanding the redistribution of wealth. They are hell-bent on getting them in here and getting them on our welfare rolls and the social safety net, which we, more properly, have termed here the hammock. The Republicans thought they defeated it last night, and I'm sure they did, and the Democrats just couldn't put up with that so they just stole the vote. The Republicans are not letting go of this.” (The Rush Limbaugh Show, 8/3/07)
Associated Press: “Republicans continued to steam … over the episode in which they appeared to be the winners by a 215-213 tally on a procedural motion designed to make sure illegal immigrants would not get certain benefits from an agriculture spending bill. … Republicans prevailed upon their Democratic rivals to establish a special panel to investigate the manner in which the vote was handled.” (AP, 8/3/07)
I got this in my email today. It speaks for itself.
Comments