Once again, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is ruling her chamber with an iron fist and in the process silencing the voices of more than 100 million Americans by cutting out members of Congress they elected to represent them.
Like she did in the recent past when she crafted the latest coronavirus relief bill, the California Democrat introduced a ‘police reform bill’ on Monday with zero input from Republicans and absolutely no prior debate.
After kneeling for close to nine minutes before the cameras Monday morning, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the Justice in Policing Bill of 2020. Following bipartisan support for reforms, some including Black Caucus Chair Rep. Bass (D-Calif.), hoped for a cooperative tackling of the issue. First steps by Pelosi, however, suggest that this attempt is falling into the same partisan trap previous attempts at reform have. Rumors began swirling the morning of Pelosi’s announcement that Republicans had been blocked from contributing to the immense bill. Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) confirmed that was the case.
“As a Member of the Judiciary Committee, a lawyer, and former [military Judge Advocate General] Officer, I was not included in the drafting of this bill and neither were any of my Republican colleagues,” Steube told The Federalist in a statement. “This was a partisan attempt by House Democrats to message to their progressive base and not come up with bipartisan solutions that would actually help unify the country.”
Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), who is also a member of the Judiciary Committee, confirmed what Stuebe said, though Armstrong said walling off Republicans is par for the course in Pelosi’s House.
“From serving on the Judiciary Committee for 15 months, I would be surprised if it went any other way at this point. And I have to be clear that this isn’t all Democrats, not even all Democrats on the Committee, but it is the leadership,” he said, pointing the finger squarely at Pelosi.
Political hacks will argue that Pelosi doesn’t have to involve Republicans if she doesn’t want to because Democrats control the chamber and that’s just the way it goes.
But think about this: By crafting bills in secret and then convening the chamber just long enough to get an up-or-down vote not only denies a huge swath of the country any representation, it is the kind of strong-armed tactics used by authoritarians the world over.
It’s not as though Republicans would have had any real chance of blocking the bill’s introduction or its eventual passing. But by debating the bill publicly they actually get the opportunity to represent the people who sent them to Washington on their behalf, while getting their points and arguments for or against on record.
That’s the way a representative republic is supposed to function – not at the whim of Nancy Pelosi or, for that matter, any House Speaker from either party.
Because here’s the thing: Pelosi can force her legislation through on a majority vote in the House, but she’ll need Republican help in the Senate, which is controlled by the GOP, to get the final bill to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Bottom line: The introduction of a hugely partisan bill is nothing more than virtue signaling to the Democrat Party’s increasingly Leftist base, proving neither she nor her party are serious about ‘police reforms’ in the wake of George Floyd’s death.
Author: Jonathan Davis Source: Trending Politics: NOT 'bipartisan': GOP says Pelosi cut Republicans out of crafting police reform bill