Unbelievably Lame

The Washington Post is reporting that a handful of vulnerable Congressional freshmen are voting against minor procedural motions in an effort to look independent of Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership.

Powerline Blog is reporting that one the top 6 perpetrators of this ruse is Harry Mitchell.  In fact, Mitchell takes the con a step further by voting against approving the previous day's journal nearly two thirds of the time.

Remember that the next time you see Harry talk about how independent he is. 

Here's part of the Post article.

Half a dozen freshman Democrats took to the House floor one late-October morning to cast their lot with Republicans.

Their actions went unpunished by the Democratic leadership that day, as they have on many other occasions in recent weeks. The symbolic gesture -- casting nay votes on approving the House Journal, essentially the minutes of the previous day -- would have no bearing on the leadership's agenda.

While they overwhelmingly support that agenda, the bloc of freshmen has begun casting votes against such minor procedural motions in an effort, Democratic sources and Republican critics say, to demonstrate their independence from their leadership. The number of votes that the potentially vulnerable newcomers to Capitol Hill cast against House leaders is tallied and watched closely by interest groups and political foes.

Comments

[Travis]

It is part of the history of Harry Mitchell that he does not lead - he simply does whatever it takes to keep his seat. The danger of electing weak candidates such as Mitchell is that they are being told what to do by powerful unelected forces and therefore his constituents are under those influences too. If you ask anyone to name a specific thing that Harry has done under his own steam, the list will be short and lacking any real substance. In addition, his constituents cannot count on Harry to help them. He is beholden to those who paid for his election. Because the election that brought Harry to Congress was not about wanting Harry, but about taking out his opponent, Harry must now remain loyal, not to the voters, but to the machine that took out Hayworth. Those of us that have tried to get help from Mitchell, but are not part of the powerful liberal Democrat machine know that well.