Many hope that during the lame duck session of Congress, we can accomplish some of the things that America needs. It is historically a good time to take up controversial issues, because it is the furthest gap there is until the next election, but not if Republicans have their way.
Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., won his last election on Nov. 3, 1998. Not enough of his fellow Republicans came with him. Gingrich’s party lost five seats in the House of Representatives after a year exploring impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton. Gingrich, who was House speaker, acknowledged the unexpected setback by announcing his resignation. His final act of power was to call a lame-duck session of Congress to deal with the impeachment.
Democrats were horrified and helpless. As far as they were concerned, the election had been a referendum on impeachment, and the Republicans had lost it. Republicans who were retiring or being replaced by Democrats were going to provide votes for impeachment that wouldn’t be there when the new, Gingrich-free Congress took over in January. "Listen to the American people," said Democratic investigative counsel Abbe Lowell, one of many members of his party who spent weeks wringing hands, pointing at polls, and watching the impeachment train chug along.
One week before Christmas the majority party held votes on four articles of impeachment, passing two of them. Gingrich cast his final votes in the House for all four articles. Two weeks later, he departed.
This is well-remembered Washington history, and it wraps plenty of yellow "CAUTION" tape around Gingrich’s newest cause. His latest petition [Newt delinked]—a sequel and supplement to campaigns by the Tea Party groups FreedomWorks [Tebaggers delinked] and Americans for Prosperity [Teabaggers delinked]—asks conservatives to send the following pledge to their members of Congress.
I, undersigned Member of the 111th Congress, pledge to the citizens of the State of _____________ I will not participate in a Lame Duck session of Congress. I believe reconvening the Congress after the November 2nd election and prior to the seating of the new 112th Congress, smacks of the worst kind of political corruption. Attempting to pass unpopular legislation subverts the will of the American people and is an abusive power grab.
Twelve years after leaving office, Gingrich sounds like the Democrats who wondered why defeated Republicans like New Jersey’s Mike Pappas and Mississippi’s Mike Parker were allowed to impeach Bill Clinton, when their Democratic successors won by promising not to. Gingrich’s spokesman Tim Cameron told me that the situations are not really comparable… [emphasis added]
Inserted from <Slate Magazine>
Frankly we need all the time we can get, because Republicans have done nothing but obstruct for the last two years. If Republicans choose not to attend, so much the better. Republican hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Every Republican in office is one Republican too many!
10 Responses to “Lame Duck Hypocrisy”
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Is it my imagination or am i the only one who remembers the CONSTANT obstructionist strategy played out when they held the house & senate during the Clinton years. 104th and 105th congress. This is just a harder rehash of the same shit but Clinton fought back unlike President Intellect.
It was there Mark, but to far less a degree. Most of Clintons appointments were confirmed. Republicans have filibustered more times in the last two yeears than they did in all eight years of Clinton’s presidency. Their tactic against him was their continual attempts to impeach him.
It’s actually to bad. The Republican party has gone off the deep end. They’re the Party of Wing Nuts.
In my mind the Democrats are to blame. Why? Because we allowed it to happen. We sit quietly by the sideline.
When nonsense is spoken, we say Tish,Tish and go about our business. Groin kickers like Rush and Beck, we let carry on with only mild repose. Asleep at the wheel. We’re polite. Last year when all the teabuggery was going on and town Halls became shouting Matches. We withered. Oh my, people are shouting. Since the days of the jelly bean President, we have been silent for the most part. Except for a few, like this blogger’s Author and some others. In response to the Tea Party we come up with a coffee party. They discuss. How’s that going for ya. At some time we need a little well placed anger. Wiener was a perfect example of that. Maybe that’s what we need.
Tim, I fully agree with the need for some well placed anger, but we need to pick our battles and manifest it with some care. Were we to adopt Republican tactics, we’d end up becoming Republicans.
It’s not like they are participating anyway, so let them take the pledge.
I agree. We’d be far more efficient if they didn’t show up.
TC
Yeah that’s why I said well placed. Perhaps I should have said measured. What ever we call it , we must call them out. Just ignoring the problem is not working. We have a voice,and as many we have a bigger voice.
Most of the time, I find I’m preaching to the choir. I think somehow we need organize and start letting Politicians know our feelings. Sorry I should have been clearer.
I fully agree, Tim. I call them out daily in strong terms. I think we feel like we’re preaching to the choir, because we forget how far we reach. Here at PP we had 9,367 unique visitors last month, but only a few dozen comment. The one’s that are, except for the occasional troll, are the choir. 🙂
Gingrich is even more schizoid than the rest of the Republicans, and that’s saying a lot. It makes perfect sense for the impeachment ringleader, who got the impeachment votes during a lameduck session, to now be pushing for a “pledge” to not hold votes during the upcoming lameduck session. After all, this is the same dildo who preached about Family Values while he was serving divorce papers on his wife when she was in the hospital.
Tom, Gingrich is certainly a piece of work, but a pantsload of Republicans fit that description.