Rep. Slaughter - Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy

[paineinthearse]

I am sickened by the death of the democratic deliberative process. Worthy bills are buried in committee. Promises made in committee to allow amendments on the floor are renegged. This gives me resolve to work even harder to win back the House and Senate in 2006!

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



March 8, 2005
Broken Promises: The Death of Deliberative Democracy

A Congressional Report on the Unprecedented Erosion of the Democratic Process in the 108th Congress

Prepared by Rep. Louise Slaughter, ranking member, House Rules Committee

To learn more about Rep. Slaughter, go to http://democrats.house.gov/about/representative_detail.cfm?rep_id=202

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

When they took control of the House after the 1994 elections, Republicans vowed they would be different than previous Congresses. They promised they would manage the House in a way that fostered what they called "deliberative democracy," which they defined as "the full and free airing of conflicting opinions through hearings, debates, and amendments for the purpose of developing and improving legislation deserving of the respect and support of the people."

This report documents how, ten years after their "revolution," House Republicans have completely abandoned this standard of deliberative democracy they set for themselves. Furthermore, they have abandoned any other principle of procedural fairness or democratic accountability. In the opinion of many non-partisan observers of Congress, the 108th Congress not only matched the worst abuses of earlier Congresses; it set a whole new benchmark.

This report examines in detail how, over the past two years, the Republican leadership ignored the House Rules and the basic standards of legislative fairness and regular order with an impunity that is unprecedented in the history of the House of Representatives.

To read the entire report (pdf), go to http://www.democrats.house.gov/docs/brokenpromises.pdf

[paineinthearse]

1. Apparently

...nobody agrees that Louise rocks.

Oh well.

[johnaries]

2. I'll agree! 147 pages. I 've only read the summary....

if we could get people just to read that part (2 out of 3 seesions "naming post offices", blanket waivers for reports so members don't get a chance to read them, constant "emergency" meetings") maybe we could get more people questioning what's going on. Then again, some people may just see it as "politics". But I'm glad to see her speaking out on this and Gannongate!

[Habibi]

3. Louise does rock!

And she's my rep, too!

[earthboundmisfit]

4. Please STAY LOUD, Rep. Slaughter!

Keep beating the drum! Sooner or later surely it will be heard! Please DO NOT GIVE UP.

[paineinthearse]

5. Her local newspaper rocks, too

If you think back to the day Guckertgate broke, it was the Niagra Falls Journal that wrote the open letter to Rep. Slaughter that urged her to investigate. Now this could have been coordinated, but it seemed to be effective. Not all media is evil or has drunk the kool-aid.