The local elections Tuesday overshadowed an interesting vote in Congress. Why were the Republicans in North Carolina's delegation* voting to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney?
Because Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) went around the committee process to introduce the bill, and by gum, the Republicans wanted to be sure the Democrats gave it a good, serious airing on the floor. Even when they desparately wanted it to go away.
The vote to kill Kucinch’s privileged resolution began as a largely party-line affair, but halfway through the vote, Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) persuaded Republican leaders to get rank-and-file GOP lawmakers to change their votes to force the debate.
At one point, the vote to table the motion stood at 246-165. Once Republicans began switching their votes, momentum swung the other way. When the vote stood at 205-206, some Democrats began switching their votes.
The vote to kill Kucinich’s resolution finally failed 162-251, giving Republicans the opportunity to watch Democrats debate whether to impeach Cheney — a debate in which many liberal Democrats were more than willing to engage. House Republicans clearly enjoyed watching Democratic leaders squirm during the series of votes, which lasted more than one hour. ... Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), accused Republicans of “wasting time.” (From The Hill - emphasis added)
HT: Rick Moran, American Thinker
* Except for Walter Jones (R-NC3)
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