Free Republic

An experiment in bipartisan government in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives is less than a week old, and cracks are beginning to appear. If the compromise falls apart, the chamber will be plunged into chaos. Republican and Democratic leaders, at Speaker Mark Rozzi’s request, must find a way to move forward together, if they plan to serve the people of Pennsylvania this session. It’s time for Mr. Rozzi to honor the commitments he made in accepting the role of speaker, especially his pledge to change his registration from Democrat to Independent as a symbol of unity. After last week’s display...

VIDEOElie Mystal had an hilarious reaction to the new GOP House rules which he expressed in his unique way in an MSNBC appearance with Chris Hayes. The weird thing is as Hayes even admitted is that the new House rules will make it harder to serve the interests of lobbyists and corporate America. I am old enough to remember a time when making the rules tougher for the interests of lobbyists and corporations was something that would be hailed by liberals. Now those rules seem to disturb them greatly.

Lawyers acting for constitutional law professor John Eastman have picked apart the raison d’etre for the January 6th Congressional committee, as well pointing out the potential for abuse of power and breaches of House rules. Eastman – a target of the commission – is held up as guilty of insurrection by the political left for having the constitutional opinion that Vice President Mike Pence had no obligation to count ballots for states where political and legal proceedings were underway regarding election fraud. The fisking of the committee will irk the already enfeebled group of Democrats, fresh off their latest round...

Progressive members from safe blue districts, egged on by celebrities, pundits, and academic coastal elites are ratcheting up the pressure to impeach President Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may cave to their demands but not because she is threatened with being ousted. The naive liberals in her caucus may have visions of pushing Pelosi even further to the left, especially on impeachment, but the speaker knows they can’t get rid of her. Unlike former Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who resigned the speakership under pressure from his right flank, Pelosi has no such worries. She saw what happened to Boehner...

In an effort to placate the party’s increasingly unhinged Left-wing base, Democrats in the House will hold what critics are calling “fake impeachment hearings” on Monday, though one Republican is reminding a powerful committee chairman of the chamber’s rules regarding the treatment of the president. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) will hold a hearing featuring Watergate-era stoolie and convict John Dean, reputed to be the one who brought down President Richard Nixon though in reality, it was a series of tapes in which Nixon discussed obstructing justice and other crimes that actually did him in. The hearing, “Lessons...

Earlier this week, House Republicans scored a second surprise victory on a 'motion to recommit,' one of the lower chamber minority's few procedural tactics. During a legislative battle over gun control legislation, more than two dozen Democrats backed a GOP proposal to require that ICE be notified whenever an illegal immigrant is flagged attempting to purchase a firearm. Republicans succeeded in another MTR gambit several weeks ago, adding language condemning anti-semitism to a foreign policy vote, a move clearly designed to isolate and shame Rep. Ilhan Omar . Following these losses, Democratic leadership is reeling, leading to a fiery...

A member of the Republican National Committee rules panel accused his own party leadership of “institutional tyranny” on Monday, another escalation in the growing internal battle over the party’s arcane parliamentary procedures. Solomon Yue, the Oregon committeeman and member of the RNC’s Rules Committee, sent a more than 1,300-word email, obtained by POLITICO, to members of the rules panel on Monday morning, charging that RNC Chairman Reince Priebus and his allies had improperly tried to scuttle Yue’s proposal to change the underlying rulebook for what could be the party’s first contested convention in 40 years this summer. Yue is the...

Coverage from the RNC Rules Committee, Hollywood Florida pre-convention advisement U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump on Thursday made inroads with the Republican Party by sending envoys to meet with congressional supporters in Washington and party leaders in Florida. Ted Cruz, John Kasich and a representative of front-runner Trump all made an intense push on Wednesday to curry favor.

There’s fallout from the July 27 Houston Chronicle exposé of a trip to Azerbaijan by 10 member of the House that violated House rules. The trip was ostensibly sponsored by nonprofit groups but was actually funded by oil companies BP, Conoco Phillips and SOCAR, the national oil company of Azerbaijan. According to the New York Post today: Rep. Gregory Meeks pushed to let an Iran-backed natural-gas project dodge US sanctions — after attending an illicit junket paid for by energy companies. Also from the Post: “Congressman Meeks went on a 2013 Congressional trip to Baku, Azerbaijan, subsidized in part...

The owners of a Christian guesthouse who were ordered to pay damages for turning away a gay couple have lost their UK Supreme Court fight. Hazelmary and Peter Bull refused to let civil partners Steven Preddy and Martyn Hall stay in a double room at Chymorvah House in Marazion in Cornwall in 2008. The couple, who had already lost cases at Bristol County Court and the Court of Appeal, said they were "saddened". Mr and Mrs Bull have said they regard any sex outside marriage as a "sin". Steven Preddy (l) and Martyn Hall Steven Preddy (l) and Martyn Hall...

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi calls for consideration of the Senate version of Obamacare sometime early this afternoon, it won't be under the now-infamous "deem and pass" procedure, but rather a highly restrictive "Supermax" rule that stifles debate and limits the minority's right to offer amendments.

NOW: Motion to Recommit to vote for Final Passage of HR 2419. I thought I was watching British Parliament. There was lots of booing and another source is BNA News re: the farm bill. This is a battle royale and partisan per BNA News, Derrick Cain. Taking money from farmers and transferring it to conservation. FV

Ok, I am arguing with some liberals who keep on insisting that Republicans are having more legal problems than Democrats could ever hope to. I remember reading stats on this somewhere, but I can't find them. Any help in smoking a lib would be much appreciated. Thanks

Just like soccer players who commit flagrant fouls on the field, lawmakers who break the House floor rules will now receive red cards barring them from the chamber. The “penalty” cards are part of an effort by Republican leaders to improve discipline within their caucus and shape up sloppy behavior on both sides of the aisle. A GOP leadership aide said the brightly colored cards will inform the offending lawmaker — and alert colleagues — that he or she is in violation of the rules and should step off the floor. Red cards will be given out for everything from...