(147 page) Report by House Democrats Alleges GOP Abuse of Power

[truthpusher]

I do not have a link to the report yet, just the Washington Post article. I will post the report link when i get it.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15140-2005Mar7.html

Report by House Democrats Alleges GOP Abuse of Power
---------------------------------
By Mike Allen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 8, 2005; Page A13
---------------------------------
(snip)

The report contends that rules governing major legislation "severely restrict or sometimes even totally block the minority's ability to debate or amend bills." It charges that Republicans on the Rules Committee have intentionally "used emergency meeting procedures and late-night meetings . . . to discourage Members and the press from participating in the legislative process."

(snip)

The 147-page report, by the Democratic staff of the House Rules Committee, is called "Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy" and is described on the cover as "A Congressional Report on the Unprecedented Erosion of the Democratic Process in the 108th Congress," which ended at noon on Jan. 3.

"In the 108th Congress, House Republicans became the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt majority in modern Congressional history," the report begins. "When they took control of the House after the 1994 elections, Republicans vowed they would be different than previous Congresses."

(snip)

Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (N.Y.), the top Democrat on the Rules Committee, said that the method by which Republicans run the House and their procedures "are moral decisions."

"Over the past two years, the Republican leadership ignored House Rules and the basic standards of legislative fairness and decency with an impunity that is unprecedented in the history of the House of Representatives," she said in a statement.

complete story: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15140-2005Mar7.html

[KittyWampus]

1. Hopefully The Dem Party Is Smart Enough To Have An Ad Campaign

to go with this cause the mediawhores won't give a shit.

[truthpusher]

25. The Report is Up......Link:

http://housedemocrats.gov/news/librarydetail.cfm?library_content_id=343

[Tigress DEM]

31. Word of mouth has always been more powerful...whisper whisper.....

[GetTheRightVote]

2. This is sounding real good, Dems in a fighting mood, call them

as I do all the time.

:kick:

[Nothing Without Hope]

3. What's the projected chain of events in this? Important: RECOMMENDED

To whom is the report being made (the GAO?) and what will happen to it?

Thanks for posting this, TP! I'll check back later for the updates.

[countmyvote4real]

4. This is what I want from an opposition party.

I want them to fight back. It�s not being obstructive when the party of rule controls both houses, the SCOTUS, the executive branch (POTUS) and for all intents and purposes, the press.

Against these odds, what kind of bipartisan deal could ever be acceptable to the rest of us? Please, fight on. You need to impress me, because this time I will seriously back a strong Green progressive over a middle of the road, centrist, milquetoast Democrat.

That�s mainly meant for my Maloney Boloney congressional representation in LIC, NY; but it does apply to my two Senators as well.

[MGKrebs]

5. I really respect the people who do this work.

This is the kind of grunt work which allows the 'celebs" to then make accusations, which then get looked into by a journalist, and finally cannot be ignored by cnn, and next thing you know, a federal prosecutor or an ACLU attorney is all over it. And the original authors get no credit or reward, other than doing their part to save democracy.

[EC]

6. I seen this going on all the years of Republican

control, but the last 4 years were the worst, even going so far as to have the Dems forcefully removed by DC cops...I've gotten to calling them the vampires, just hoping someone would ask me why I call them that, so I can say, they do all their work in the wee hours of morning...without any input by the Dems...

[BadGimp]

7. priceless

"In the 108th Congress, House Republicans became the most arrogant, unethical and corrupt majority in modern Congressional history,"

No need to mince words.

wow the Dems grew some testicular membranes..

[Us vs Them]

8. Keep it up.

Seriously. This is only the beginning... if you want it to be.

[FlemingsGhost]

9. Ever hear a chihuahua growl and bark?

If you close your eyes, you'd swear it was a pit bull.

Funny, the GOP has been abusing power going on five years. Now, when the Democrats are literally the weakest they've been in 60 years, they decide bitch about it.

[democracyindanger]

10. Yeah, it'd be better if they just didn't say anything

:eyes:

[The_Casual_Observer]

11. Strange, but the gop could simply claim that that's what the

citizens voted for, essentially a one party theocratic dictatorship. And they would be right.

[JohnOneillsMemory]

12. Reread the Declaration of Independence. It condemns today's White House

The Colonial American indictments of King George are the same today:

"The history of the present king...is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states."

"He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good."

"He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures."

"He has affected to render the military independant of and superior to the civilian power."

"He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:
For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:
For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offences:"

"He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totoally unworthy the head of a civilized nation."

(In short, King George Bush** is a torturing murderous asshole.-jom)

[mod mom]

19. Sadly, the masses do not read, they simply follow marching orders

delivered by the complicit corporate sponsored media. As they say on morning sedition:

"WAKE UP SHEEPLE!"

[ashmanonar]

21. not only the declaration

but the constitution as well, and foreign policy/treaties. linky

[lonestarnot]

13. Tyranny of the majority, suppression of dissent of the minority is not

democracy. Most oppressive, unethical, unscrupulous, despicable bunch on capital hill to date.

[kk897]

14. kICK! n/t

[myrna minx]

15. A big kick.

:kick:

[struggle4progress]

33. and again

:kick:

[Roland99]

16. Anyone remember that Sunday morning show w/Newt Gingrich from last yr?

where he said that, essentially, the GOP has become that which they despised in the Democrats?

[snippy]

17. This is very good, but the democrats need to make use of this report. n/t

[aquart]

18. Ah, finally! "Corrupt!" Bloody about time we said it.

Keep saying it and listing the crimes.

[UCLA Dem]

20. what is this i see. a backbone??!!! finally!!

[maxrandb]

22. Ok Good! Now

start telling us what your plans are for improving the lives of ordinary Americans! Stop telling us about how mean and evil the Republicans are, and start telling us what proposals and ideas you have to change the course of this country.

My God! Poll after Poll indicate that a majority of Americans are either not happy with the direction the country is heading, or aprehensive about the direction the country is taking.

Start making some proposals for gods sake. There are alot of Americans that are looking for some ideas and proposals that we can get behind and follow through to victory. We are crying out for leadership! Now Lead Dammit!

[Sapphire Blue]

23. Pelosi and Slaughter Release Report on Republican Rules Abuse

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 08, 2005


Pelosi and Slaughter Release Report on Republican Rules Abuses

Washington, D.C. � This morning, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY), Ranking Member on the Rules Committee, held a news conference to release a report on the Republican rules abuses in the House of Representatives. To read the full report, please visit

http://www.HouseDemocrats.gov/Docs/BrokenPromises.pdf.

Below are Pelosi�s remarks:

�Thank you all for coming this morning. This is about an issue that is fundamental to our democracy: freedom of expression in the House of Representatives. I want to commend the Ranking Member of the Rules Committee, Congresswoman Louise Slaughter of New York, for her excellent leadership and for this report.

�This report provides devastating details of the profound abuse of power that characterizes House Republicans after 10 years in the majority. It demonstrates how House Republicans have completely abandoned not only the standards they set for themselves 10 years ago, but how they have also abandoned any other principle of fairness and accountability. In fact, many non-partisan analysts said that the 108th Congress not only matched the worst abuses of earlier Congresses, it has set a new standard.

Continued @ http://democraticleader.house.gov/press/releases.cfm?pressReleaseID=885

[AirAmFan]

24. Thanx4 the LINK! Here's what Pelosi et al are DEMANDING from DeLay

and company, from the Executive Summary in http://www.HouseDemocrats.gov/Docs/BrokenPromises.pdf :

"� ALLOW MORE BILLS TO BE CONSIDERED UNDER OPEN RULES. In the 109th Congress, the Republican leadership should increase the percentage of bills it allows to be debated under an open rule process, and decrease the percentage of bills it jams through the House under closed rules.

� ... LESS TIME ON SUSPENSION BILLS. Instead of using the suspension of the rules procedure to crowd out debate on major legislation, the Republican leadership in the 109th Congress should expand debate time and the consideration of amendments by restricting suspensions to Mondays and Tuesdays. The House should spend the majority of its time in session debating and voting on the major policy issues of our day, not naming post offices and congratulating sports teams.

� BRING BACK REGULAR ORDER AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF LATE-NIGHT OR EARLY-MORNING �EMERGENCIES.� The House Rules Committee should only use the �emergency meeting� procedure in the small number of cases, before recesses or at the end of sessions, when the House moves legislation more quickly through the process than regular order allows. Regular order should be the rule, not the exception. Instead of meeting late at night or early in the morning, the Rules Committee should do its business during regular �business� hours so that Members and the press can attend and participate in the House rule-making process.

� GIVE MEMBERS THREE DAYS TO READ CONFERENCE REPORTS. The Rules Committee and Republican leadership should end its practice of granting �blanket waivers� to conference reports. The Committee should protect Members� rights to know the content of conference reports by waiving only those provisions that are absolutely necessary for the orderly consideration of the conference report. The three-day layover requirement should be waived only in the most exigent circumstances, and then only by a two-thirds vote of the House."

[DixieSticks]

26. This is news to ....

... anyone with a brain?

[DixieSticks]

28. ... or a heart

[me b zola]

27. Right on!

eom

[UrbScotty]

29. Give 'Em Hell, Nancy and Steny!

:D

[dback]

30. OK, so where's OUR "Contract with America," guys?

Don't just whine--PUT OUT PRESS RELEASES!! ORGANIZE!! Start planning for the 2006 election NOW, while it's revealed that more Americans trust the Democrats than Bush and the Republicans on Social Security!

[msongs]

32. Some spine in Dems?? when not supporting BUSH legislation :-(

all the people who vote against personal bankruptcy while corporate bankruptcy screws honest citizens out of billions of dollars......
well any sign of spine is welcome :-)

Msongs
www.msongs.com/liberaltshirts.htm