This is how the Wall Street Journal portrayed what transpired in its 8/6/2007 "blast" e-mail.
Late
last week House Democrats pulled a stunt on the House floor that stunned even
veteran political watchers and led to accusations that Democrats "stole" a vote
in full view of the C-Span watching public.
Here's what happened: The House was voting on whether to send an agricultural bill back to committee so a provision could be added to deny certain federal benefits to illegal aliens. Republicans wanted the provision and appeared to win the vote by 215-213. The electronic "scoreboard" showed that they'd won and flashed the word "final." The speaker slammed the gavel down, ending the vote.
But then Democrats panicked and, even by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's own admission, made a "mistake." They rushed to reopen the vote, convinced three members to switch sides and ended up defeating the provision. In the process, they not only trampled House rules but a principle central to democracy -- that once a majority vote is cast in the House, the leadership respects it.
In the following two days, House Democrats ran roughshod over House rules on two more occasions. Though these violations were more arcane -- one involved whether to open debate on a Republican petition, another on whether there were enough Democrats on the floor to constitute a "quorum" -- the message was clear that Democrats plan to run the House like a one-party state.
"It really lit our members' hair on fire," a senior Republican staffer told me. It might also prove to be a political opportunity if the GOP can draw voters' attention to the leadership style and substance of the "Nancy Pelosi House."
-- Brendan Miniter