The dems are incompetent.
House forced to revote farm bill
By Stephen Dinan and Jon Ward
May 22, 2008
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Jim Nussle criticized Congress for sticking by the farm bill, saying, "Congress has basically decided to thumb their nose at us." (Associated Press)
Hours after voting to approve just the second veto override of President Bush's tenure on the massive farm bill, a colossal blunder means the House will have to have a do-over and repass the entire bill anew.
A clerical error meant the version of the bill that Mr. Bush vetoed yesterday differed from the version passed last week by Congress, and House Democrats said they will have to go through the whole vote process again.
The flub turned a Democratic political victory into a major — albeit likely temporary — embarrassment, and gave Republican opponents more time to rally opposition and an excuse to crow about majority party incompetence.
The vote was 316-108, with 100 Republicans joining 216 Democrats to override the presidential veto, while 14 Democrats and 94 Republicans voted to uphold it. The Senate had passed the original bill by a veto-proof 81-15 margin.
Those margins left conservative leaders to ponder what happened to the fiscal conservative message that used to be the backbone of Republican election victories.
"The fact that the numbers are that bad demonstrates to me how seriously the Republican Party is lacking vision in the House," said former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, an architect of the 1994 Republican revolution who accused his party of buying into pork-barrel parochial politics. "It's probably a microscopic picture of how badly Republicans have lost their way."
But such angst was forgotten last night as Democrats scrambled to rework their calendar, vowing to pass the entire bill, again, through both chambers of Congress. That version then would be sent to Mr. Bush for another expected veto and another override attempt. Congress also will have to extend the current farm law, which expires tomorrow.
"We will have to repass the whole thing, as will the Senate," said Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, New York Democrat. "We can't let the farm bill just die." |
