Any Congressional Scholars or even Poli-Sci experts on here?

[Yellow Horse]

Is it common for a bill to have nearly 220 co-sponsors, widespread support by large groups like MoveOn and Common Cause, get voted out of committee --- and then be gutted in secret behind closed doors and sent to the House floor?

That is what "our" Democratic House Majority Leader is doing to HR 811, the one bill that has a remote chance of passing and getting our 2008 at least partially protected with voter-verified paper ballots and audits.

Hoyer is caving in to special interest groups from the "disabilities" community (some of these groups have taken a millions dollar$ from Diebold in the past). He has apparently locked everyone out except these "disabilities" advocates and election officials who are also under the thrall of voting machine corporations.

Word is that he will bring his "amended" bill to the floor, perhaps with no warning to the election integrity advocates who have worked hard to get this bill passed over the last three Congresses. No one from the election integrity side can even get a copy to see what kind of crap he is planning.

My question from you Congressional scholar / poli sci types -- how common is this on bills, that the Majority Leader just rewrites the whole thing to his own liking (and his special interest buddies) in secret at the last second?

[Hippo_Tron]

1. Very common in the previous Congress...

Unfortunately, the House places a huge amount of power in the leadership's hands. Nobody is really in a position to stop Hoyer from doing this, except the one person that outranks him, which is Pelosi.

Your best bet is that someone in the Senate raises hell about this.

[UnitedVoters]

5. Hoyer has been power-grabbing from Pelosi from day one.

She supports this legislation (as it came out of Committee.) She took a hit when Murtha lost the Majority Leader position, but Murtha would have been SO much better than Hoyer!

[newyawker99]

7. Hi UnitedVoters!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[sandnsea]

2. Some activists now oppose it

and are working for its defeat. Maybe Hoyer is attempting to avoid those people, not the ones who have you mention in your first sentence. I don't know. Just a thought.

[Yellow Horse]

3. They are fools.

They want the "perfect" bill, and won't "settle" for incremental change. They demand all-or-nothing, and they are going to get nothing.

And, BTW, these "activists" are not the ones on Steny Hoyer's radar. He's caving to big-money groups, Diebold-funded groups.

HR 811 is the ONE bill that has a chance to pass. It's a good start and would have done a lot to protect our elections. Well, if we lose again in another "anomaly-filled" election, we'll know who to blame.

[sandnsea]

4. The disabled?

They're the Diebold funded groups you speak of?

[UnitedVoters]

6. Yes. Jim Dickson, advocate for "the blind" -- AND DIEBOLD

Here is a link from BradBlog:

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4851

(Although please note Brad Friedman, in his unrealistic demands for his own "perfect" language in the bill, has done his share to hurt this cause and help ensure that we will have paperless electronic voting in 2008 even though Steny Hoyer probably doesn't have a clue who "BradBlog" is -- Hoyer apparently listens only to money.)

[sandnsea]

8. *sigh*

It's not possible an advocate for the blind is just that, advocating for the blind???

[UnitedVoters]

9. Not THIS advocate. Jim Dickson is are real piece of work.

He fits in just great with Doug Lewis and the rest of the pro-DRE, pro-vendor lobbyists.