FLASH: Just received from Congressman John Campbell.———————————————————————————–
From Congressman John Campbell’s laptop to yours:
Friday, August 3, 2007
Breaking News – “L’État, c’est moi” – “I am the State” – Louis XIV: Last night, Republicans walked off the House Floor after Democrats changed the outcome of a vote after the final tally had been called. And this was not just any vote. The vote would have barred illegal immigrants from receiving food stamps and subsidized housing. Republicans had just enough votes to pass the motion, and we won the final vote 215-213.
That should have been the end of it. But not under the Pelosi Congress.
After the gavel had fallen, Stockton, California Freshman Democrat Jerry McNerney (CA-11) changed his vote to oppose the motion, and even though the vote was closed, they allowed the outcome to go the other way.
Last night’s walk-out didn’t happen just because of this one vote. The Democrat’s agenda is so liberal and so out of touch with the American people, that all year, they have not permitted debate or objections on legislation because they don’t want the American people to see what they’re doing. Nancy Pelosi believes that the politics of San Francisco and America are the same. They are not.
As the Majority party, they have the right to pass legislation. But they don’t have the right to suppress differing opinions and disregard the outcome of elections. That’s un-American, un-democratic, and just plain wrong.
The House is currently shut down. I will keep you posted.
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Juice readers. I’m done. Now it’s your turn to speak out.
How do YOU feel after learning about this infraction?
Should we RECALL Nancy Pelosi for allowing this abuse to occur?
What message does this illegal act send to our school children who follow the news?
Does CSPAN have a video of it? That should help stoke the (needed) outrage.
Anonymous. 10:26 AM
In an off-line exchange with Claudio I made that same suggestion. Further, I just spoke to my Congressman’s local Chief of Staff who confirms Congressman Campbell’s facts and announcement.
Larry,
as a former staffer of an elected official, if a staffer directly contradicts their boss, they would be fired. Do you really believe his Chief of Staff was going to tell you something different? He probably wrote the press release.
I am hearing a completely different account, that he voted just before the roll closed and Campbell is a complete and total liar. The man has a habit is changing his views and stories, so I am giving my source the benefit of the doubt until I see the proof.
No floor debates? Yes, and I see the Republicans just want endless floor debates and no voting – like on Iraq – the #1 issue.
There’s no news of this. This would be a newsworthy item, if it were true. It does look like the democrats are disappointed in this guy’s performance.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/localnews/ci_6514973
Sorry to tell you fellas and gals..
this goes on retroactively….all
the time.
They have full time consultants
telling electeds which votes to
change before their next election. Sorry again, the Emperor walks in his skivvies!
Needed to add ONE thing…both
sides pull this nonsense!
Sorry to remind all the right-wingers out there, but this is turn-about. Any stunt the Dems can pull is peanuts compared to the hijacking of the Constitution that Cheney/Bush have engineered. The yearly KOS convention is the most important political story happening now- get ready for a groundswell electoral change, Derechistas!
Switching votes is not the concern in this particular case.
Once the clerk tallies the vote … it is final vote count with regards to a particular measure.
What happened last night is totally different than just someone “switching” votes. It is like voting on a Weds to change an outcome on a Tues and that is what the Dems have done.
Yes … you can say Reps prolonged the final tallying of votes to push a measure through, but they did not break any house rules.
In this case, they did break the rules.
Claudio.
to set the record straight.
My call, as referenced above, did NOT go to Congressman Campbell’s office. Our Mission Viejo Congressman is Gary Miller who has his own local staff.
Just found on the Drudge Report:
Take special note of the 2nd reader comment which relates to this post.
August 03, 2007
Busted computer hamstrings House
A busted computer system hamstrung the House of Representatives for at least 45 minutes Friday on one of the tensest legislative days of the year.
The House’s electronic voting system malfunctioned at approximately 2pm as lawmakers began a vote on a procedural motion sponsored by Rep. Heather Wilson (R-N.M.). Projectors that usually display how each member voted and show a tally of votes were not working, although votes were still being recorded on computers at various locations in the House chamber.
The mishap came during the final two days of legislative activity before a month-long recess, a time when tensions run high as lawmakers grind out last-minute agreements on a bevy of bills. Many lawmakers were already agitated from a rancorous episode last night when Rep. Michael R. McNulty (D-N.Y.) gaveled closed a vote before the tally was clear. McNulty apologized to his colleagues this morning.
The broken computers prompted protracted squabbles among lawmakers Friday afternoon. Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) questioned how they could vote if they were unable to see the usual tally .
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said he had consulted with a House technical expert who advised that the system be taken down for 30 minutes to fix the problem. He suggested vacating the vote and revoting once the system was fixed. Dreier and Rep. Jeff Sessions (R-Texas) would not agree to this plan.
Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) stepped in and suggested that lawmakers simply compare the vote tallies from the computers posted around the chamber and if they all agreed, finish the vote.
“We know that we’re gonna get beat!” he exclaimed, clearly exasperated at the length (and basically pointless) debate.
At last, House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) stepped in and agreed to vacate the vote while technicians powered down the system. The House now stands in recess. Phew!
Comments
putting the blame on the “Technicians” for the failed vote tally board, Is like puting the blame on the dog for the smell. And this thing smells
Posted By: Scot | August 03, 2007 at 03:14 PM
REPORT ABUSE
I think the Dems broke the computer after last night’s fiasco where they started changing the votes counts when they lost the vote on denying government benefits to illegal immigrants. They shut it off to keep the Republicans from running away with their proposals which had bipartisan support. No wonder the Dems are so concerned about “voting machines”. They see how easy it is to “cheat” and change the actual vote count! I think we need to House to return to “paper ballots”. That will ensure a fair vote!
Posted By: tehehehe | August 03, 2007 at 03:33 PM
someone once said, “all this site is out for is hits” I’m begining to believe it. May I suggest some research before posting garbage like this next time.
Email response from a friend:
“When Newt was the guy, did he do anything different?”
Anon 12:13
Did they really think they were getting a Paul Wellstone out of him in the 11th District. Whether the folks in Oakland and Castro Valley like it or not, there is a reason the Republicans still have an edge in registration. And there is a reason why he is voting from the Middle. It is a swing district, it is not Berkeley or San Francisco. It is a moderate district. Pombo went to far to the Right extremity and that is why he lost. Had McNerney behaved in the other direction, he would definitely lose in 2008.
pelosi . boxer . feinstein . this is what we have representing california . s.f values . when will the voters wake up . this gongess approval rating is right below bush . oops i almost forgot harry zzzzzzzzzzz reid .
I have to agree that this Congress is out of touch with the American voters… Otherwise funding for the ‘War’ on terrorism – in Iraq would be cut and Impeachment Hearings would be in full swing against Bush/Cheney.
Anonymous 1:21 PM
And your are reporting from the House floor??
You were there when this episode occured?
If you don’t like the selection of topics and facts that we present for discussion please tell me why you are reading AND posting anything on the juice blog?
If you don’t already have one, perhaps you should create your own blog to post the correct news as you interpret it.
Claudio et al.
As the saying goes “where there is smoke there is fire.”
I am pleased to see the following response to this posted report:
House Forms Special Panel Over Alleged Stolen Vote
GOP Assails Decision on Food Aid for Immigrants
By Jonathan Weisman and Elizabeth Williamson
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, August 4, 2007; A02
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. Even a temporary blackout of the House chamber’s vote tally board led to suspicions and accusations of skullduggery.
While Democratic leaders hoped to leave for their August recess on a wave of legislative successes, the House instead slowed to an acrimonious crawl that threatened to stretch the legislative session into next week.
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.”
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) accepted GOP calls for an investigation. “I do not believe there was any wrongdoing by any member of the House. I do believe a mistake was made,” he said. “And I regret it.”
“We are not irrelevant here,” said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). “Just because we are in the minority doesn’t mean we’re irrelevant.”
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 bill already would deny such benefits to illegal immigrants, and Democrats stressed that they won the vote fair and square. But a campaign has been launched, and the House has not fully recovered.
“Last night sent a clear message to the American people that there are people in this town who are willing to break rules and utilize extraordinary maneuvers just so that illegal immigrants can receive taxpayer-funded benefits,” said Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-Calif.).
Anger-driven delaying tactics threw into uncertainty an agenda that was to include important votes on a huge energy bill, a defense spending bill and a terrorism surveillance measure before Congress’s departure for its month-long summer recess.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of blatant obstructionism. “They’ve just been deluged by the success of the Democrats on behalf of the American people,” she said.
After Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) violated House rules by calling Democrats “cheaters” on the floor, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), a freshman and relative political neophyte, warned her colleagues that their mothers might be watching.
Even the House hardware contributed to the disarray. Republicans had at last been coaxed back to the House floor yesterday afternoon, when a lawmaker moved to adjourn the House, a favorite GOP delaying tactic. As the votes were coming in, the electronic tally board suddenly went blank, leading to a new round of recriminations and another House recess.
“I understand that everybody’s sensibilities are taut,” Hoyer pleaded, as Rep. David Dreier (R-Calif.) hinted darkly that perhaps the House had just voted to adjourn. “I regret what happened last night, but we do have business to do,” Hoyer said.
It started late Thursday, when GOP lawmakers moved to send the 2008 agriculture spending bill back to the House Appropriations Committee for members to add an explicit prohibition on illegal immigrants receiving food stamps. With so much on their plate, Democratic leaders were in no mood to comply.
Democrats appeared to have won the vote, but with the voting time apparently having expired, GOP leaders persuaded three Latino Republicans who had voted with the Democrats to change their votes. At the same time, Democrats say, five Democratic lawmakers who had voted with Republicans were scrambling to change their votes as well. With two of the GOP votes changed, Democrats gaveled the vote shut, 214 to 214, and declared that they had won. But the public tally showed that the Republicans had won, 215 to 213, just as the vote was declared for the Democrats. The official final tally was 216 to 212 in the Democrats’ favor.
But House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said there were no Democrats seeking to change their votes at the time. Moreover, he charged, Hoyer had told a protesting parliamentarian, “We control, not the parliamentarians.” And, he said, electronic records on the vote disappeared from the House’s voting system and on the House clerk’s Web site.
“Many of my colleagues and I feel as though the vote was taken from us,” Boehner said.
In a raucous protest, Republicans walked out of the House en masse.
Hoyer conceded that the gavel had fallen too quickly, but he said it had been an error. When he put the issue to a new vote, Republicans boycotted, demanding that their victorious tally stand.
Pelosi was unsympathetic.
“There was no mistake made last night,” she said. “Apologies were made for the early announcement of the vote,” but the early announcement would not have changed the outcome, she added.
The select committee, to be made up of three Democrats and three Republicans, will deliver an interim report by Sept. 30, with the final report due by Sept. 15, 2008.