By way of Hot Air, something that ought to royally piss you off:
Iain Murray at The Corner provides us with an inside look at sausage-making in the Most Transparent, Ethical Congress Evah:
Earlier this month, the House fell two votes shy of passing the bill under suspension of the rules, a maneuver that shields legislation from amendment or a motion to recommit but requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Senate leaders then devised a strategy to use a bill that had already passed the House — H.R. 146, a proposal to protect Revolutionary War battlefields — and strip its contents, replacing it with the omnibus lands bill.
Because the House already passed H.R. 146, the Rules Committee can approve a closed rule that would block a motion to recommit, eliminating the GOP’s best procedural chance to stymie the bill. The chamber would only need a simple majority vote to concur with the Senate amendment.
In computer parlance, it’s a Trojan Horse virus, intended to deliver bad legislation without giving its opponents any way to block it. This process is the antithesis to openness and transparency. Pelosi and Reid want to find new ways to gut the democratic (small d) process in order to impose unpopular legislation on America.
Have you called your Congressman or Senator yet on this one?
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