[geezerwheezer]

I know there is the law as you wrote, but I also think the law can be an ass sometimes too, as Shakesphere wrote. (pardon the paraphrasing, but I'm trying to make a valid point here) :0 )

[bondjamesbond]

Oh, I think Article 1, Section 6 makes a lot of sense. If it did not exist, you could have unscrupulous local governments effecting votes in Congress by keeping Members from attending. Congressmen have to be allowed to vote.

But you would hope that your Congressman would respect the law enough to not abuse the privileges granted to him. But we're talking about Patches here, so that obviously is just not going to happen.

[Sacajaweau]

The law may exist but there are also all kinds of precedents attached to it.

The Capitol Police can make those quick phone calls to verify the "working" status of little Pat. It was the call to the right "party" that caused the getaway.

It's like "Are you related to the Kennedy family?" "Yes, Teddy is my uncle"." Would you like to call him" before I call this in".

Bet there's a time lapse between the time he was stopped and the time it was called in. I'd guess 5 minutes.