It was very difficult to miss yesterday's "Super Bowl of Freedom", what with the anti-communist factions using government transportation to gather on governemnt land, and a few of them even needing government health care to even survive. The House GOP leadershp was out in full force, white hoods and all. According to TPM, they put their bigotry ahead of our security.
At the same time of the Klan rally, the House Judiciary Committee held votes on Republican-sponsored ammendments to the re-authorization of the Patriot Act, a piece of legislation we would all die without. The details from TPM:
Those votes took place, a committee staffer confirmed, between noon and two -- the very time when Republican lawmakers were rallying the Tea Party troops on the Capitol steps.
The absent teabaggers were: Steve King, Trent Franks, Randy Forbes, Jim Jordan, Louie Gohmert, and Ted Poe. Now, maybe the votes weren't close, you say. Maybe the teabag coalition wouldn't have made a difference, you say. Well, here's the thing:
One measure, offered by Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, the ranking Republican on the committee, failed to pass by a single vote, 15-15. Reps. King and Gohmert were absent.
Another, offered by Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-CA), failed by a vote of 11 to 8. Reps. King, Gohmert, Jordan, and Poe were all missing.
And a third, brought by Rep. Tom Rooney (R-FL), which would have bolstered the ability of local law enforcement to use a device that records phone numbers from a particular phone, failed by 12 to 10, with King, Gohmert, Jordan, Poe, and Franks all absent. (A subsequent amendment that did essentially the same thing later passed, it's worth noting.)
Of course, Republicans claim that the votes were largely irrelevant. The legislation will destroy freedom, after all. Their amendments would only slow the destruction. But to be clear, the GOP amendments would have made a difference:
But a Hill aide confirmed that all three Republican measures would have shifted the bill toward increasing the power of law enforcement to fight terror, and away from civil liberties -- an approach that Republicans have long argued is crucial to national security.
As if we didn't know already, the GOP cares nothing about governing. Their sole focus now is on theatrics and grand, empty gestures. If I were a teabagger, I would have one serious question: if you won't fight for your principles in the halls of congress, why should I send you to Washington?