http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41482485/ns/politics-capitol_hill/
The House of Representatives failed Tuesday to extend the life of three surveillance tools that are crucial to the United States' post-Sept. 11 anti-terror law, a slipup for the new Republican leaders who miscalculated the level of opposition.
The House voted 277-148 to keep the three provisions of the USA Patriot Act on the books until Dec. 8. Republicans brought up the bill under a special expedited procedure that required a two-thirds majority, and the vote was seven short of reaching that level.
They expected this one to be a slam-dunk, and it wasn't. Several Republicans voted against it, basically on the grounds that the Patriot Act provisions extended the government's power without sufficient oversight or safeguards. Roby voted in favor of this extension bill.
But those of you cheering this event, don't get too excited.
You see, some form of extension WILL pass the House. The same bill can be brought up again under normal rules that require only a majority vote, and that is what will likely happen. If it doesn't, however, there are also bills filed to extend the provisions until 2013 AND to make them permanent. So you see, ONE of these bills will pass with a majority vote.
The only thing that really happened here is that Boehner just proved he couldn't count votes... and that's a mistake that Pelosi seldom made. It makes him and the Republicans look clumsy by comparison.
Now don't get me wrong, I think bills should be voted on even if the majority leader thinks they don't have enough votes to pass, but many people will not view it that way. They will see this, compare it to Pelosi, and conclude that the Republicans really don't know what they're doing.
Pity...
I don't think it was a fumble. I'm more likely to believe they knew the votes weren't there and this was done in the middle of the week to avoid letting it be a major topic on the weekend talk circuit.
ReplyDeleteSome things do come with experience. With most of the old GOP leadership gone, contrary to popular belief, it does take some time to actually learn the process of governing. This type of thing is normal and I wouldn't think to be of any major concern. It is also possible that the GOP just anticipated passage and didn't count votes. Regardless, I enjoyed the outcome, even if it is temporary.
ReplyDelete