phill4paul
07-17-2019, 04:11 PM
This guy is brilliant. Lol.
House Votes To Condemn Trump's 'Racist Comments'
The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening condemning the president for a series of racist tweets about four Democratic lawmakers.
The vote was mostly along party lines, as the House split 240-187, with four Republicans supporting the nonbinding measure.
Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas joined with Democrats to rebuke the president, as did Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent.
The House was paralyzed for a substantial portion of the afternoon over legislative procedure. Republicans sought a ruling on the question: Does calling the president's tweets "racist" violate the rules of decorum established in the House?
So an already heated debate turned to farce as the House voted on whether to sanction House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for characterizing the president's remarks as "racist," as part of a debate on a resolution that also calls the president's remarks "racist."
At issue was the phrasing of Pelosi as she spoke in favor of the resolution.
"Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president's racist tweets," she said. "To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people."
GOP Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, objected to the language, calling it "unparliamentary," and called for her comments to be "taken down" — officially removed from the record. When that happens, the lawmaker is no longer allowed to speak on the House floor for the remainder of the day.
House rules prohibit impugning the motives of a person during legislative debate. There is no explicit rule that states that lawmakers cannot call comments "racist," but there is precedent for declaring these sorts of characterizations out of bounds. The rules and precedents are outlined in Jefferson's Manual, which lays out parliamentary procedures.
As House staff and lawmakers huddled to sort out what to do and expected a decision, the presiding chair of the House, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., unexpectedly dropped his gavel and declared that he was "abandoning the chair."
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer later delivered the ruling that Pelosi's words were not in order, but Democrats defeated a vote to strike them from the official congressional record.
Both the attempted sanctioning of the speaker of the House and Cleaver's decision to walk off the floor and leave the House without a presiding officer are highly unusual developments in the House.
The resolution states that the House "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color."
The president's weekend comments about four female members of Congress have done what Trump's remarks so often do: take control of the agenda in Washington, D.C.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742236610/condemnation-of-president-delayed-by-debate-can-lawmakers-call-trump-tweets-raci
House Votes To Condemn Trump's 'Racist Comments'
The House of Representatives approved a resolution Tuesday evening condemning the president for a series of racist tweets about four Democratic lawmakers.
The vote was mostly along party lines, as the House split 240-187, with four Republicans supporting the nonbinding measure.
Republican Reps. Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas joined with Democrats to rebuke the president, as did Michigan Rep. Justin Amash, who recently left the Republican Party to become an independent.
The House was paralyzed for a substantial portion of the afternoon over legislative procedure. Republicans sought a ruling on the question: Does calling the president's tweets "racist" violate the rules of decorum established in the House?
So an already heated debate turned to farce as the House voted on whether to sanction House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for characterizing the president's remarks as "racist," as part of a debate on a resolution that also calls the president's remarks "racist."
At issue was the phrasing of Pelosi as she spoke in favor of the resolution.
"Every single member of this institution, Democratic and Republican, should join us in condemning the president's racist tweets," she said. "To do anything less would be a shocking rejection of our values and a shameful abdication of our oath of office to protect the American people."
GOP Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, objected to the language, calling it "unparliamentary," and called for her comments to be "taken down" — officially removed from the record. When that happens, the lawmaker is no longer allowed to speak on the House floor for the remainder of the day.
House rules prohibit impugning the motives of a person during legislative debate. There is no explicit rule that states that lawmakers cannot call comments "racist," but there is precedent for declaring these sorts of characterizations out of bounds. The rules and precedents are outlined in Jefferson's Manual, which lays out parliamentary procedures.
As House staff and lawmakers huddled to sort out what to do and expected a decision, the presiding chair of the House, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., unexpectedly dropped his gavel and declared that he was "abandoning the chair."
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer later delivered the ruling that Pelosi's words were not in order, but Democrats defeated a vote to strike them from the official congressional record.
Both the attempted sanctioning of the speaker of the House and Cleaver's decision to walk off the floor and leave the House without a presiding officer are highly unusual developments in the House.
The resolution states that the House "strongly condemns President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color."
The president's weekend comments about four female members of Congress have done what Trump's remarks so often do: take control of the agenda in Washington, D.C.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/16/742236610/condemnation-of-president-delayed-by-debate-can-lawmakers-call-trump-tweets-raci