Posted on 07/25/2015 6:35:52 PM PDT by Isara
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Senators generally refrain from impugning their colleagues on the floor, a practice codified in Senate Rule XIX: “No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”
The penalty for breaching that rule is to be ordered to take one’s seat — in effect, to sit down and shut up. But no senator rose to make a point of order before Cruz left the floor.
“It’s unusual, certainly,” Betty K. Koed, the Senate’s official historian, said of Cruz’s remarks. “The Senate prides itself on being an environment of polite, respectful decorum, but this happens from time to time.”
In a 1995 speech on Senate decorum, Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) denounced senators who accuse their colleagues of dissembling: “The use of such maledicent language on the Senate floor is quite out of place, and to accuse other senators of being liars is to skate on very, very thin ice, indeed.”
Rule XIX was nearly invoked in 1988 after Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Tex.) accused Sen. H. John Heinz III (R-Pa.) and others of being “spokesmen” for “special interest groups.” But after Heinz rose in protest, Gramm withdrew his remarks.
Cruz’s statement would seem to be a more serious breach of floor comity than Gramm’s. But they both fall well short of other, more distant floor antics — such as the time, during debate on the Compromise of 1850, that Henry S. Foote of Mississippi pulled a pistol on fellow Democrat Thomas Hart Benton of Missouri, or the 1902 fistfight between South Carolina Democrats Benjamin R. Tillman and John L. McLaurin.
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(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
God Bless Ted.
He has Huevos the size of Texas
No response from McConnell?
I would ask of Betty Koed to note that Mr Cruz was polite and did not lie.
McConnell spokesman Don Stewart declined to comment.
Yeah that Robert Bird guy quy a pinnacle that we should all behold... /s
McConnell is a piece of excrement. I never thought I’d say that.
**** Senate Rule XIX!!!
the Vichy GOP begins the purge
# XIX? thats alot of asshole roman rules
Go Ted Go!
Trump give me cover!
“no senator rose to make a point of order before Cruz left the floor. “
Beautiful
I do like Cruz. Good man in the evil world of politicians. McConnel is Reid’s finger puppet and obamanaions boy toy, is my guess. I do not know about Boehner, but he should stand on the republican party planks lest he go over to the dark side like McConnell, the regime finger puppet.
"to accuse other senators of being liars is to skate on very, very thin ice, indeed.”
I do not believe they have jack squat on Cruz
[Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) denounced senators who accuse their colleagues of dissembling: “The use of such maledicent language on the Senate floor is quite out of place, and to accuse other senators of being liars is to skate on very, very thin ice, indeed.”]
The old and dead racist senator byrd man mocking freedom of speech. Those old fools know how to shut down free speech and push unconstitutional laws through the worthless Congress of today.
He has bells the size of churchballs.
Ding Dong, there is no hiding it.
God Bless Ted Cruz, he is fearless and he is smart.
He will walk them into their own barrels
Does Betty Koed have lips of red for Cornell?
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