[Principled]

Yes but they’d been doing so well and gaining. They also know that we’re paying very close attention and this wouldn’t go unnoticed. So I discount your assertion and wonder why the change.

Is there a budget rule or something?

[mrsmith]

Suspension is the ‘expeditious’ way of getting votes taken.
I assume there was political PR impact considered too.
There are more of these votes coming.

[srmorton]

This was explained on Hannity this afternoon. I do not usually listen to his entire show, but I was working in my office while listening to Rush and left the radio on. One of the congressmen who called in during the program mentioned that the only way the House could bring up these items was to used a procedural tool that requires a 2/3 vote for passage. The idea was to bring up items that would be very hard for the Democrats to vote against. If they voted for the measures, all well and good. If they voted no, it could be used against them in 2014.

[RKBA Democrat]

“Is there a budget rule or something?”

Maybe. We don’t get many real-time glimpses behind the curtain.

Are we to ascribe this apparent failure to incompetence or malevolence...or perhaps a finer but as yet undiscernable goal?

Based on too recent history, we’ve seen that the first instinct of the House leadership is to roll over or cut and run at the first opportunity. Is this setting up a sort of straw man to show that us that they “just can’t win” ?

I don’t know. I smell a rat. The problem is in that sort of company, it would be very difficult NOT to smell a rat.