Democrats thwarting democracy in new Congress

DC Examiner:

We know Democratic lawmakers have taken their bully-boy tactics too far when even The Washington Post worries about the lack of civility in the 111th Congress. As the Post notes, during the 110th Congress "Democrats brought more measures to the House floor under closed rules - permitting no amendments - than any of the six previous Republican-controlled congresses." Barring amendments to proposed legislation, of course, means take it or leave it, which renders floor debate all but meaningless. But then a meaningless floor debate is fitting since House members of both parties often don't even bother to read measures before voting on them.

Considering how Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are treating Republicans in the new Congress, the brazen muzzling of minority rights will continue. Take the pork-laden $10 billion public lands bill Reid ram-rodded over the weekend. It combined more than 160 discrete bills in one omnibus monstrosity, with no amendments permitted. In fact, it's been six months since Reid permitted Senate GOPers to offer amendments to any Democratic proposal in the Senate. By stifling GOP amendments, Reid is robbing millions of Americans of their right to be heard in the Senate. As Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, says: "Offering amendments is a right and responsibility of senators, not a special privilege or scheduling inconvenience."

On the House side, in addition to severely limiting the GOP's right to propose amendments from the floor, Pelosi has even gone after the hallowed minority prerogative of offering a motion to recommit a bill before a final vote on passage. Recommiting a bill sends it back to committee, which usually kills it. During their dozens years as a majority, House Republicans only rarely limited Democrats’ ability to offer recommit motions. Unless Pelosi relents, House Republicans and dissident Democrats will be all but shut out of the legislative process in 2009.

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Of course that is Pelosi's reason for changing the rules. Democracy is just too messy for these Democrats who want to exercise the tyranny of the majority. The hard work of persuasion is just too much for the Pelosi Reid Democrats.