This is how weak the GOP is today: for some, Virginia Foxx, GOP Hero
Virginia Foxx is decent church-goin’ woman with a mean, pinched, bitter evil face and she is the GOP’s parliamentary superstar, handling the Rules Committee and the familes of hate crimes victims with the same grace.
The Rules Committee is one of the most important committees in Congress. It decides amendments, debate length, and basically determines when and how bills get to the floor. So Virginia Foxx’s role, as a member of the minority party, is to be as big a pain in the ass as possible. Which is why she keeps making other members cry!
In January, Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) was testifying on the stimulus bill but left the committee room and did not return after Foxx drew a comparison between his handling of the bill and his habit of fiddling with a pencil.
Now this is not too terrible, because Dave Obey can be kind of a dick himself.
But:
She has also been an effective attack dog on the House floor. In March, Foxx caused freshman Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D-Ohio) to become so flustered after an exchange about Kilroy’s vote on the American International Group Inc. bailout that Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) soon held a parliamentary boot camp for Democratic freshmen to avoid future incidents.
Once again, not too bad. Parliamentary dickery is a time-honored House tradition, and the Dems could probably use a toughening up.
But where is the anecdote that basically proves that this is a small-minded, hateful, simplistic, miserable excuse for an elected official? Oh, here it is:
Foxx’s most public gaffe came last week during debate over the hate crimes bill. One of the pieces of the bill is named for Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old man murdered in 1998 because of his sexual orientation. Foxx said naming the bill for Shepard was a “hoax” because his murder “wasn’t because he was gay.”
It should be noted that Foxx said this while Matthew Shepard’s mother sat a couple feet away from her. It should also be noted that Matthew Shepard was, in fact, tortured and murdered because he was gay.
See Virginia Foxx, GOP Hero Gawker
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How low will the GOP Go? They Accuse Dems Of Using Hate Crime Bill To Protect Pedophiles (VIDEO)
The new, new thing in criticizing Hate Crimes legislation is to pretend that the Democrats have gone and given a whole bunch of special considerations or legal protections to pedophiles. That’s the case that Representative Peter Steve King made to a suppliant Sean Hannity yesterday:
HANNITY: We’re running out of time. Is it safe to say that Democrats were willing to protect pedophiles but not offer the same protection to servicemen and women? Is that an accurate statement?
KING: Sean, it is a matter of congressional record. Absolutely true — beyond any doubt whatsoever. The recorded votes are there to prove just what you’ve said. They — and on top of that, [Rep.] Alcee Hastings [D] from Florida, that spoke on the rules debate, and he read a list of about 30 different paraphilias — proclivities, I call them — including pedophiles, necrophilia, and a number of things that I wouldn’t say on this program or any other. And he said I think all philias whatsoever should be protected by this law. That means every perversion that you can imagine would be special protected status under the Democrats’ bill that passed off the — floor of the House of Representatives.
OK, in the first place, Representative King needs to get his head examined, brusquely, by some sort of pneumatic hammer. Ryan Grim made note of Alcee Hastings’ little bit of Congressional theater, which was done to demonstrate that “every perversion that you can imagine” WOULD NOT BE PROTECTED BY THE HATE CRIMES ACT.
See Democrats Accused Of Using Hate Crime Bill To Protect Pedophiles (VIDEO)
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Specter to quit GOP for Dems
(Washington) Veteran Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania disclosed plans Tuesday to switch parties, a move intended to boost his chances of winning re-election next year that also will push Democrats within one seat of a 60-vote filibuster-resistant majority.
“I now find my political philosophy more in line with Democrats than …
Vermont Dems pledge gay marriage bill passage
(Montpelier, Vermont) The state leaders of the House and Senate have announced they will begin work on passing a marriage equality bill when the Legislature returns March 16.
At a joint news conference at the State House Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin (D) and Speaker of the House Shap Smith …
