Against Mothers

The Washington Post headline read Republicans Vote Against Moms; No Word Yet on Puppies, Kittens. And I thought wow, can Republicans really be that stupid? Well, yes, they are stupid, but no, not quite that stupid.

The WaPo article stated:

On Wednesday afternoon, the House had just voted, 412 to 0, to pass H. Res. 1113, "Celebrating the role of mothers in the United States and supporting the goals and ideals of Mother's Day," when Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), rose in protest.

"Mr. Speaker, I move to reconsider the vote," he announced.

Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), who has two young daughters, moved to table Tiahrt's request, setting up a revote. This time, 178 Republicans cast their votes against mothers.

Well, that last statement is not accurate. The 178 nay votes were for a Table Motion to Reconsider H RES 1113. A motion to reconsider is a parliamentary practice that gives the House (or Senate) one opportunity to review its action on a motion, amendment, or measure. The actual H. Res. 1113 passed with 412 ayes and 0 nays.

There is a bigger story here, however. Republicans have been using these tactics all week to bring the House to a standstill because they don't want foreclosure-crisis and war-funding bills to pass.

So, yes, I conclude the House Republicans are stupid. They dug us into this hole in terms of economic, energy, and foreign policy, and now they simply have nothing to offer except pulling this shit and wasting valuable time and tax dollars. The party that claims that government doesn't work is determined to make it fail.