The House floor was the scene of some heated exchanges after Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) took the floor to address the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
While this is merely a heated and not offensive exchange. It is representative of the diminishing level of discourse in Congress on both sides. Congress is becoming the WWF without the folding chairs and pile drivers.
This is pretty obviously what the Democrats should have been doing all along; loudly and dramatically calling the Republican out on their obstructionism and never stopping. But they decided to try for “compromise” and “bipartisanship” and they got nailed every time.
“diminishing level of discourse in Congress on both sides.”
Really Johnathan? Reacting to the GOP’s attempts to play politics with aid to 9/11 rescue workers (many of whom live in Weiner’s district) with anger is “diminishing level of discourse”? Given the full context (which you do a poor job of presenting here) I would call it behaving like a human being.
What diminishes the level of discourse in Congress is having a Republican delegation lead by people who have gladly exploited 9/11 and its heroes for political gain but have turned their backs on them when it’s recognizing their sacrifices becomes the least bit inconvenient.
The problem with Congress isn’t a lack of civil discourse. It’s that frequently civil discourse is used as a cover for unconscionable acts, and anyone who dares stand up to it is belittled for breaking the false comity that shields the perpetrators of those acts from accountability.
Mike Appleton:
Wisdom and justice are never out of fashion except to despots and tyrants. It is important to pursue wisdom and justice. And the fact is that Protestants WERE pursuing them here before the Constitution was founded and did a bang up job of it. It is dishonest not to teach it.
And democrats don’t teach it because they are dishonest.
As much as you may wish for the revival of old fashioned despotism and Marxism, but I’m going to make sure they are not revived without my resistanc.
If you do not mind reviving the path of the despots who came before you, I do not see how you could chasten me for trying to revive the path of those before me who stopped despots.
Without what I am trying to revive, there is only despotism.
Mike A., Amen
Tootie, how can those historical issues be taught when the country is still stuck in the Bush, no child left behind fiasco? History isn’t even on the state tests and have you seen the history books coming out of Texas?
TraderB: Weiner understood the game King was playing; the latter’s aye vote was planned with the knowledge that there were insufficient votes for cloture. He was merely covering himself with his New York constituency.
Tootie: As much as you may wish for the return of 18th century Protestantism to its rightful place of primacy in this country, it is not going to happen.
Congress does not have this authority (unless it is willing to admit they are responsible for the attack). There is no federal power granted for this. No one twisted the arms of the rescuers to rescue, but who or what has twisted the minds of our leaders?
What we see in the video is a stark-raving loon standing up in congress screaming hysterically about right and wrong, when he is wrong himself.
This is typical of the self-righteous hypocrisy we get from Democrats. I wish a GOPer had asked him which power authorizes the taxation for this cause.
Unfortunately, this would trip-up the Republican too because he wouldn’t know how the Constitution (as it stands) forbids it. And he knows even less about what the Framers and the ratification members thought it meant.
This is by design.
Democrats have been horribly successful at intentionally hiding the history of our great Constitution from the whole of the American people by neglecting to teach it in the schools they run.
Generations haven’t studied The Federalist, Elliot’s Debates or Farrand’s Records. They are not schooled in the thinking of the founders and framers. The heritage surrounding how the rule of law was established in this country has been obliterated from the public schools.
They do not teach the Magna Carta, Lex Rex, Vindiciae Contra Tyrannos (a best seller during the founding era and promoted by John Adams). They refuse to teach about the influence of Calvin, Zwingli, and Knox.
Missing is the knowledge about the development of Anglo-Saxon law, arguably the greatest system of law ever to have developed. Missing is the knowledge of the Rights of Englishmen. Those rights being that which the founders and framers believed had been abused by King George.
All these should be the main focus of civics study for American students throughout their compulsory enslavement captivity to state run schools.
But no. If these things were taught while they were interred, they might learn they are free. They would learn they could nullify law. They would learn they would secede from despotic government. They would learn they have a right and duty to resist tyrants. They would learn that absolute power must never be arbitrary or it is abuse of power.
This sort of thing makes lawyers, judges, cops, and legislators (tax feeders) nervous. How will they make a honest living if the people learn that power rests in themselves?
You cannot have a despotic Marxist state if hundreds of millions of school children are adequately educated about the Constitution and what led to it.
That simply won’t be tolerated by the screamers among us.
rcampbell:
I don’t really know anything about him. You may want to comment at WaPo. Referring to his rant as superficial is not exactly a compliment from another Democrat.
“Thats’s hardly a groundbreaking point, obviously, but Dems need to stop responding superficially to Republican opposition….”
Trader B,
He was castigating King because King was standing up for the other Republicans who voted against it. He knows the game they are playing and he called them out on it.
rcampbell, I second your thoughts 100%. Weiner is a true progressive and he is fed up with anti-American crap that the Republicans have been spewing in order to try to stop the Dems agenda.
I, for one, do not believe this was theatrics in the least. In fact, I’m sure of it. Congressman Weiner is a good Democrat, a progressive Democrat. He’s not a moderate or a blue dog or a conservative or a corporate Democrat. As a progressive he is rightly frustrated by the tactics of the do-nothing-for-people-only-for-corporations Republicans. He called them out on their little game (I especially enjoyed the mocking Republicans when he said, “Oh, if only it were a different procedure……..”) and we should see much more of it. It’s about bloody time the conservatives were yelled at sa they most dserve to be. Gioven all the damage they’ve done to the economy, the national debt, the Comnstitution and the country at large, they should be happy they’re allowed to vote.
Pete,
The problem is that he was castigating King who had voted for the bill. Somehow, he was supposed to be responsible for the actions of all Republicans.
The CS Monitor is just the first one that came up on Google. If you want WaPo, it is here, but they are much harsher on Weiner:
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2010/07/anthony_weiners_rant_captures.html
wow, the christian science monitor doesn’t like something a democrat did. i’m shocked shocked i tells ya.
the republicans wanted to tack on amendments and the dem just wanted to vote on the bill.
It is all a bunch of theatrics.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/The-Vote/2010/0730/Anthony-Weiner-rant-reveals-why-nobody-likes-Congress
Blouise two days in a row, it first started with “The Look”
lol
AY,
No one pays attention to a poly green guy carrying a watermelon … they’ll never know who to bill …
… is it possible that all of you weren’t invited to the wedding? I stopped my monthly contribution to the DNC and the Clinton fund so I know that’s why my invitation never arrived ….
Yes Buddha and Blouise,
You both have valid points. But Buddha, if they know you did it, then you are responsible for the cost of clean up. Of course unless you are Haliburton then you just escape all liability, so far. Its safer with Fruits and Vegetables as they are biodegradable, the members are just degradable….
… we could call them a Gallagher Gathering bent on cleaning up our political environment
Ok. … that’s a problem … so let’s arm the citizens who have gathered around with raw eggs, tomatoes, and small watermelons in order to bring down the larger pollutants.
AY,
Fill out an EPA “impact” statement?
Or would that be an “on impact” statement?