Transparency And Ethics In Congress...Again

*sigh*

"Those who love sausage and respect the law should never watch either being made." — Unknown

For some reason, that phrase sticks in my head whenever we discuss Nancy Pelosi's House and Harry Reid's Senate.  Iain Murray at The Corner provides us with an inside look at sausage-making in the Most Transparent, Ethical Congress Evah:

Earlier this month, the House fell two votes shy of passing the bill under suspension of the rules, a maneuver that shields legislation from amendment or a motion to recommit but requires a two-thirds majority for passage. Senate leaders then devised a strategy to use a bill that had already passed the House — H.R. 146, a proposal to protect Revolutionary War battlefields — and strip its contents, replacing it with the omnibus lands bill.

Because the House already passed H.R. 146, the Rules Committee can approve a closed rule that would block a motion to recommit, eliminating the GOP's best procedural chance to stymie the bill. The chamber would only need a simple majority vote to concur with the Senate amendment.

In computer parlance, it's a Trojan Horse virus, intended to deliver bad legislation without giving its opponents any way to block it.  This process is the antithesis to openness and transparency.  Pelosi and Reid want to find new ways to gut the democratic (small d) process in order to impose unpopular legislation on America.

Last week, Pelosi had the nerve to say that enforcing laws passed by Congress is somehow un-American.  I'd say this reveals the truly un-American presence in politics.  This is a true abuse of power, and we need to call the Democrats on their underhanded tactics while leading the people's branch of government.

When is the GOP going to start hammering this message of Democrat corruption and dishonesty?  It's a no-brainer, since the list of infringements is long and getting longer by the week.  I know it may be hard for the GOP to get any message at all out through the mainstream media, but still...this is a gold-plated trophy for the 2010 election, and should be started NOW.  Every single one of them should be mentioning it in literally every interview from now on.

This is the kind of thing that really ticks off normal people who play by the rules (i.e. most Americans who aren't in government)...if they know about it.

There's my two cents.