Slowpoke_Rodrigo
New member
3:30 p.m. May 11 Neal Knox Report -- The Republican leadership
prevented today's planned votes on gun amendments to the education
bill, and the Democrats are fuming.
The leadership did allow a half-hour for Sens. Frank Lautenberg,
Charles Schumer and Barbara Boxer to rant, but denied them a vote
on a resolution to welcome the Million Mom Marchers -- one that
also called for the Congress to pass the gun amendments on last
year's Juvenile Justice bill by Memorial Day.
Schumer said the March was a watershed event which indicated
a shifting in the political tides for gun control.
Boxer had a series of graphics comparing NRA's Eddie Eagle
program to the tobacco industry's Joe Camel, failing to note that
Joe Camel was smoking a cigarette while Eddie was saying Don't
Touch a gun, Leave the Area.
Pathetically, not one pro-gun Senator was present to raise the
required objection to Lautenberg's unanimous consent request to
bring the Million Mom resolution to a vote -- although Lautenberg
delayed his request for several minutes until an opponent could get
to the floor. They stayed hidden.
The Republicans left it up to Colorado Senator Wayne Allard to
object while he was in the chair, a most unusual occurrence. With
Colorado nerves on edge as a result of Columbine, I'm sure that
objection will give him political grief that he didn't need.
Earlier in the day, the first time Lautenberg tried to get unanimous
consent to talk, for even longer, Larry Craig objected.
I've called Sen. Allard to thank him, but had a hard time getting through
to the Hill -- I suspect because of a flood of calls responding to
Lautenberg's denunciation of "the Republican objection to voting on
whether to welcome all these mothers."
It was all politics. And those Republicans shouldn't have
left Sen. Allard standing alone.
prevented today's planned votes on gun amendments to the education
bill, and the Democrats are fuming.
The leadership did allow a half-hour for Sens. Frank Lautenberg,
Charles Schumer and Barbara Boxer to rant, but denied them a vote
on a resolution to welcome the Million Mom Marchers -- one that
also called for the Congress to pass the gun amendments on last
year's Juvenile Justice bill by Memorial Day.
Schumer said the March was a watershed event which indicated
a shifting in the political tides for gun control.
Boxer had a series of graphics comparing NRA's Eddie Eagle
program to the tobacco industry's Joe Camel, failing to note that
Joe Camel was smoking a cigarette while Eddie was saying Don't
Touch a gun, Leave the Area.
Pathetically, not one pro-gun Senator was present to raise the
required objection to Lautenberg's unanimous consent request to
bring the Million Mom resolution to a vote -- although Lautenberg
delayed his request for several minutes until an opponent could get
to the floor. They stayed hidden.
The Republicans left it up to Colorado Senator Wayne Allard to
object while he was in the chair, a most unusual occurrence. With
Colorado nerves on edge as a result of Columbine, I'm sure that
objection will give him political grief that he didn't need.
Earlier in the day, the first time Lautenberg tried to get unanimous
consent to talk, for even longer, Larry Craig objected.
I've called Sen. Allard to thank him, but had a hard time getting through
to the Hill -- I suspect because of a flood of calls responding to
Lautenberg's denunciation of "the Republican objection to voting on
whether to welcome all these mothers."
It was all politics. And those Republicans shouldn't have
left Sen. Allard standing alone.
