Waters points to Democrats in errant procedural votes

Frustration over House Democratic defections on procedural votes boiled over this week as several members pointedly challenged their leaders to do more to rein in errant votes.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) is incensed with Democratic leaders for allowing and even helping “organize” votes in favor of a recent GOP procedural motion on a bill allowing for debt relief for low-income countries around the world. That measure, known as a motion to recommit, would amend the bill to prevent debt relief from going to countries doing business with Iran.

{mosads}Republicans have successfully used motions to recommit to challenge Democratic priorities and delay their agenda or throw it off course. GOP leaders claim victory on 24 motions to recommit on the House floor, two of which were approved.

“As I watched Democratic Caucus leaders organize ‘yea’ voters on [the debt relief] motion, I was convinced that Democrats are traveling down a path of complicity on motions to recommit the likes of which we have never seen before,” Waters wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to every Democrat on Tuesday. “I cannot help but wonder if our caucus will be torn apart by frequent support for Republican motions to recommit. I find myself wondering, ‘Where will this end?’ ”

Waters urged the caucus to have a “discussion” on the topic as soon as possible, and singled out Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), who voted for the GOP motion, for particular scorn, calling into question his explanation that his vote was a mistake.

“I am also concerned that the chair of the Democratic Caucus was one of the members of the caucus who organized the ‘yea’ votes, despite the fact that an aide to the chair was quoted in The Hill as saying the chair voted ‘yea’ by mistake,” she wrote.

In fact, 97 Democrats, including four other members of the leadership team, voted in favor of the GOP motion, which passed 291-130.

Emanuel has repeatedly denied organizing votes in favor of that motion, which was fraught with confusion as 43 members changed their vote.

“Chairman Emanuel was not organizing members in support of the motion to recommit. His vote in favor of the motion was a simple mistake,” an Emanuel aide stressed.

Another senior Democratic leadership aide also spoke out in Emanuel’s defense.

“Rahm did not whip against us on this,” the staffer said. “My understanding is that he was in the cloakroom, walked out at the last second, checked the board, saw [Rep. Henry] Waxman [D-Calif.] and a few others, and voted.”

Others pointed out that Waters herself voted in favor of six motions to recommit in the first session of this Congress, including those that preceded votes on a Defense authorization bill, a Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act and three water quality measures.

In an interview, Waters explained that the vast majority of Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of those motions to recommit, indicating that members recognized a flaw in the writing of the bill and decided to send it back to committee. She said her concern is over the escalation of Democratic defections.

“I’m not saying that members should never vote for them,” she stressed.

The fiery Californian also noted that several Democrats have reached out to applaud her effort, including Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (Mass.); Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), one of three chief deputy whips who voted in favor of the GOP motion on the debt-relief bill; Alcee Hastings (Fla.); Lacy Clay (Mo.); and Bob Filner (Calif.).

Filner even advocated a return to the party discipline of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), whose bare-knuckle floor tactics, everyday threats and arm-twisting earned him the nickname “the Hammer.”

“We need to bring back the same mindset that Republicans effected with Tom DeLay,” he said. “I used to sit and watch him release vulnerable moderates strategically one at a time after all the Democrats voted. I told him at the time, he was an artiste.”

Filner also blamed Emanuel for the lax party discipline on procedural motions, arguing that as the former chairman of the Democrats’ reelection efforts, he is too concerned with allowing vulnerable members to vote against the leadership.

“Once you start down that path, it’s very hard to step back from it,” he said.

Whether the rest of the Democratic leadership team, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) or Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.), is allowing Emanuel to give some Democrats a pass on procedural motions, Filner said he didn’t know.

“I don’t know whether he was given the authority or just took it … it looks like a cowboy organization to me,” he remarked.

In her letter, Waters said she was particularly “distraught” that her Democratic colleagues voted in favor of the GOP motion to recommit without asking for her or Frank’s opinion about it.

Frank also was disappointed with the defections on that bill, although he said he had no evidence that Emanuel instigated it.

“A lot of people exaggerate their vulnerability,” he said.

Like Filner, Clay called for a return to the hard-nosed policy of the Republican majority — what he dubbed the DeLay-Hastert philosophy, after the tough Texan and former GOP Speaker from Illinois.

“They never brought a bill to the floor that they didn’t have the votes for,” he said. “There’s a lack of will. We need to show some backbone.”

Mike Soraghan contributed to this article.