It took a special House committee more than a year of investigating, at a cost of $500,000, to validate GOP claims that majority Democrats made the wrong call on a contested vote one late night in the summer of 2007. The dispute fed into the highly partisan atmosphere on Capitol Hill that continues to this day.
“One fact is indisputable,” according to the report Thursday by the six-member bipartisan panel. The final vote was “incorrect” on a procedural motion by Republicans intended to ensure illegal immigrants would not get certain benefits from an agriculture spending bill.
A “black eye” for Democrats, said Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio. “When the Democratic leadership rigged the process to reverse the vote, they believed they would never get caught.”
Rep. Michael McNulty, D-N.Y., was running things in the House on Aug. 2, 2007. He first declared the vote over when it was a 214-214 tie, a victory for the Democrats. An instant later the electronic voting board showed a 215-213 tally, making Republicans the winners.
“Shame, shame, shame,” Republicans shouted before walking out when McNulty held the vote open for about seven more minutes — time for several Democrats to change their vote and provide their party with a clearer margin.
AP
9/25/8
Magnolia Tribune
