Voting for a “clean CR” and signing a discharge petition are two separate matters.
There is nothing inherently wrong in the ‘Rats trying to get floor votes this way; the GOP did the same thing when they were in the minority. It is not a dirty or underhanded trick per se.
There would be something inherently wrong in any of the GOPers signing such a petition. They need to stick together; no Benedict Arnolds.
Can one actually see, to name one, Rep. Frank Wolf of northern Virginia, signing a discharge petition? If he did, Boehner would remove him as Chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Justice, Commerce, Science and Related Agencies; he would probably remove him from the full committee; Wolf has been in the House 33 years and is the #3 man on the Committee behind Hal Rogers and C. W. “Bill” Young.
Likewise, Young and another senior GOPer rumored to be wobbly, Mike Simpson of Idaho, would get the boot if they defied Boehner.
Let’s just hope boehner doesn’t stick a knife in our rib cage. So far so good!