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Did Steny cover for Udall's broken promise?

Submitted by Soren Dayton on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 15:08
in

Last Monday, Mark Udall promised he would vote against adjournment to force Congress to deal with gas prices and the energy issue. The thing is, he didn't. He missed the vote and got totally slammed by his opponent Bob Schaffer. From the Denver Post:


"While Coloradans are paying $4 a gallon for gasoline, I guess it wasn't important enough for (Udall) to show up for work this week," said Dick Wadhams, the campaign manager for Republican Senate candidate Bob Schaffer. "He made a commitment Monday, he didn't even show up for work Tuesday and then he missed the vote today."

The Democrats won that vote 213-212. If Udall had been there, it would have been 213-213 and failed, because a tie-vote loses in the House.

In other words, Mark Udall broke his word. When it came down to him versus Nancy Pelosi's leadership, he chose Nancy. Now Udall, will tell you he didn't break his word. Read on to see the machinations that he and Steny Hoyer went through to give Udall cover.

So what happens? Steny Hoyer comes to the rescue to give Udall cover. He gets another roll call vote. Go check out the Congressional Record:

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 398, 110th Congress, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to adjourn. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.

In other words, on a voice vote, the adjournment motion passed. But there was a recorded vote. I did a partial survey of the 110th Congress, and this was on the only time that there was a recorded vote on both the adjournment resolution and motion.

And you might think that the vote was called by the Republicans. After all, they wanted to stay. Right? Nope:

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Steny did it. (note that the Majority gets right of recognition in this situation and, furthermore,  the person in the Chair is a Democrat) To provide CYA to his member who broke his word and didn't show up to work.

Mark Udall only seems to keep his promise when it doesn't matter. And where was he really when the vote was happening?

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Comments

Good job Schaffer

Submitted by BOVI on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 15:30.

I hope everyone has contacted their representatives to let them know aobut your support for what those representatives who have stayed on are doing.  I wrote my representative, Dean Heller (R-NV) expressing my disappointment that he was not one of those their fighting for the energy vote.

I have a questison

Submitted by curiousstranger on Mon, 08/04/2008 - 19:19.

Why didn't House Republican Whip Roy Blunt vote for adjournment? Why didn't he even show up to vote? He managed to show up for the next vote 10 minutes later. Isn't he, as Whip, supposed to be in charge of keeping track of these sorts of things? I mean, if he had voted, they would have had a tie vote. I assume you're similarly horrified by his behavior. Perhaps Hoyer had to call the vote because Blunt didn't show up?

Could Blunt, the House Republican leadership, and you just be playing games and providing CYA to Schaffer's campaign, which apparently can't land a punch without a strawman being set up for them?