House Democrats muzzle GOP on sensitive issues

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WASHINGTON (AP) - In their zeal to protect their members from politically hazardous votes on issues such as gay marriage and gun control, Democrats running the House of Representatives are taking extraordinary steps to muzzle Republicans in this summer's debates on spending bills.

On Thursday, for example, Republicans had hoped to force debates on abortion, school vouchers and medical marijuana, as well as gay marriage and gun control, as part of House consideration of the federal government's contribution to the District of Columbia's city budget.

No way, Democrats said... [snip]

For decades, bills have come to the floor under an open process that allows any member to try to amend them. The tradition has often meant laborious debates. But it has allowed lawmakers with little seniority to have their say on doling out the one-third of the federal budget passed by Congress each year.

It was a right the Democrats zealously defended when they were the minority party from 1995 through 2006... [snip]

"What they want to do is they want to avoid tough votes on appropriations bills,"

said Rep. David Dreier of California, senior Republican on the Rules Committee. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., himself acknowledged in a brief interview that one reason for restricting amendments is to save members of his party from having to cast 'politically painful' votes.

Republicans complain that unless a member of their party is one of the 60 members of the Appropriations Committee, he is essentially blocked from having any say in shaping the budget...

['Democracy' according to Democrats.]

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