Plunderbund

In all the hubbub over Dann - I guess it’s good to be focusing on more local issues for a change - we’ve overlooked the fact that John Boehner has been doing a heck of a job gumming up the works in the House, even getting the Republicans to vote against motherhood.

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, “Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother’s Day,” when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

“Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote,” he announced.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt’s request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.

While these kinds of bills are rather silly and pointless, why the heck would Republicans vote for it, before voting against it? Purely to cause procedural delay.

House Democrats have been passing their agenda with little thought for Republican preferences. “The majority has taken, once again, their go-it-alone policy,” Boehner lamented yesterday. “It’s time for Democrats and Republicans to work together.”

To induce this working together, Boehner decided to stop the House from working at all. As House Democrats tried to pass legislation to ease the mortgage crisis on Wednesday, Republicans served up hours of procedural delays, demanding a score of roll call votes: 10 motions to adjourn, half a dozen motions to reconsider, various and sundry amendments, a motion to approve the daily journal, a motion to instruct and a “motion to rise.”

The high point came just after 6 p.m., when, after one of the motions to adjourn, 61 members lined up to change their votes, one by one. Forty-six went from aye to no, while 15 changed from no to aye. The maneuver ate up 28 minutes in all — and caused an eruption by Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, who accused the minority of a “filibuster by vote changing.”

“I know that probably all of you did polls on that and focus groups on whether or not you should vote aye or nay,” Hoyer mocked. “What just happened is not appropriate for the House for either side, to simply use a device of changing votes, of voting late, of lining up in the aisle and coming down every 30 seconds or so with one more vote.”

28 minutes to slog thru a motion to adjourn. TWENTY EIGHT MINUTES. This is what Republicans do best - waste your tax dollars ensuring the government is not doing anything productive for the taxpayer.

Bravo, Boehner. Bravo. I’m sure your mother would be proud.