Last night was 'open mic night' in the House

[Rose Siding]

There are times set aside when a member can get 5 minutes to speak to an issue not on the regular schedule in the House of Reps and I tuned in to c-span for a few last night.

You woudn't believe the variation between what the Dems have to use the time for (because they have no power to bring their issues to the floor at more significant times) and what the repubs choose to discuss.

One woman (D-OH) talked about BBV as though she was reading straight from DU, -with passion and urgency, using specifics about OH but also addressing the fact that the everyone is under the impression that the Help America Vote Act money HAS to be spent before the '04 election, so they are rushing to buy systems that aren't secure, when there IS no such restriction in the bill!

Then a repub- Some kind of tribute to Will Rogers.

Next, Jim McDermott (D-WA) spoke with PAIN of the latest stories of war wounded soldiers not being able to get Dr appts for weeks at a time.- Of reservists affected with bizarre and untreated symptoms. You had to get a migraine just watching such a mild mannered and committed man (he treated returning soldiers during Vietnam for psycholical issues) and the weight of the argument he made so helplessly.

Repub up. This one's tough. He spoke in recognition of something- a local group or a monument. The subject, relative to what the Dems had covered, was forgettable.

That's all I could take. Sometimes when I see something on c-span, I'm afraid no one else in the world has seen it, but a couple of issues, about which I have concern, were on the radar last night.

[Bozita]

1. I think that the Ohio woman was Marcy Kaptor

D-Toledo

[Kolesar]

4. Marcy Kaptur hosted a BBV forum a few months ago

She is one of the longest-serving members of Congress. She was a leader in the fight against NAFTA.

[AWD]

5. She's also on my election team

...providing TONS of stuff for my campaign.

[BattyDem]

2. Last night was great!

I got bored with Everybody Loves Raymond (it stunk last night), so I switched over to c-span to see if there was anything good on ... and was there ever! I got to see Jim McDermott, Max Sandlin, Jan Schakowsky and Frank Pallone NAIL Tom DeLay over and over again! They called him a hypocrite for criticizing Clinton during the Kosovo war and blasting Dems for criticizing Bush now. They kept quoting DeLay and throwing his words right back in his face. It was awesome! They brought visual displays with DeLay's quotes on them - and they had a nice big, picture of his face right next to them so there would be no doubt who they were talking about! :evilgrin:

By the way, party_line is absolutely right ... the Repugs were pathetic. They spoke about meaningless crap. If you know anyone who doubts that the Dems care about people and the Repugs don't, just have them watch one of these sessions. The contrast between the two parties is shockingly eye-opening!

[Rose Siding]

6. That's what I was hoping to hear

You saw them too! That's exactly how I usually see it. I quit taping the few shows I watch so I can flip during commercials.

With repub control, they completely determine the House calendar so these are the only time the Dems have to hit back. They're just floor speeches so they don't lead to any legislative action and get NO coverage.

I do sometimes make a call of appreciation, just to offer support to the Reps. I can't imagine how frustrating it must be for them. I wish they'd get radical enough to do something to get media attention but you never really know how that would play out.

[plurality]

3. yet for some reason people still listen to the ABCNNBC crap

that refuses to cover any of this. It's especially funny when they listen to the media that tell's them which candidates are 'electable'.