What a steaming load of crap this is.

A letter, circulated by several Republican members of the House of Representatives, essentially whining that they're going to be minority members, and pushing to pass a "House Minority Bill of Rights" measure before they are.

So far, so good. In fact, the text of the bill is essentially the same as one proposed by Rep. Pelosi over two years ago. They even say so in their letter.

So why do I call it a steaming load of crap?

Because none of these same members gave a damn about this legislation in 2004, when they all still believed in the "permanent Republican majority". While Tom Delay and the rest of the Republican leadership in the House was systematically and unprecedentedly dismantling the time honored traditions of the House and effectively castrating the minority Democrats, no one cared about this legislation at all.

But now, now when it's their turn, now when the Democrats wouldn't actually have to CHANGE anything in order to stick it to the Republicans, when the Democrats could simply keep in place the rules by which the Republican led house has increasingly run since they took power, now this letter goes around.

But the part that really galls me is the hypocrisy of pointing out Democratic abuses of majority status, which according to everything I've read were positively bi-partisan compared to what Delay and Hastert and Boehner hath wraught. Not even out of power yet, and they're already trying to set themselves up as the whipped and abused victims of a power mad Democratic majority.

Further proof that the Republican party doesn't care a whit about truth. It's all message and spin. Get this message out there, imply (without ever stating it) that Democrats are the only ones (or the most heinous ones) with a history of abuse of majority status, get people already starting to think of Republicans as the victims.

For the record, (and subject to the specifics, which I have not read) I support the legislation or at least the idea behind it. I called for something like it when the "Nuclear Option" was all being lobbied about in the Senate, and when report after report came out about the ways in which the normal order of the Congress was being twisted into a new and much more partisan shape. I supported it when Nancy Pelosi suggested it in 2004. And I support it now.

I've said as recently as a couple of months ago that since elections are rarely won by landslides any more (in terms of popular vote count) that the power shouldn't be entirely on one side. I hope the Congress passes this, and does it in such a way as to make it difficult for a future Congress (of either party) to toss aside when it suits them to stick it to their across-the-aisle opponents.

But the raw hubris in positioning themselves as the victims before there's been any chance to see how the new leadership will behave, the pure political machinations behind looking past 12 years of roaring white water to point out the babbling brook of historic Democratic abuse, these just make me sick.

And again, where were these Representatives when their own party was doing the dominating? Sitting there smug in their belief that they'd never again be a minority.

Liam.