Tag: House of Representatives

There’s a New Rule Just for Lauren Boebert

Buck Banks

“We have a new rule in the Rules Committee. If you’re batshit crazy, you’re not getting an amendment. I’m sorry. We’re not doing this. We’re not doing this. I’m not going down that road. I’m not going to be part of any effort to legitimize people who are f**king lunatics.”

— House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA), who created a “new rule” on his committee for people like Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Insider reports. When one of her “flurry of nonsensical amendments turned out to be reasonable,” McGovern blocked it from going to the House floor and a Republican committee member wanted to know why, according to Robert Draper’s new book, “Weapons of Mass Delusion.”

If Republicans Take Control of the House …

Buck Banks

“Look, back before we had all the crazies here, just some crazies. You know, every vote we took, we had to somehow defund Obamacare… That’s going to look like child’s play in terms of what Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to demand of Kevin McCarthy. They’re going to demand an impeachment vote on President Biden every week. They’re going to demand things like, you know, let’s make abortion illegal in all circumstances.”

— Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), in a CNN interview, on what will happen if Republicans take control of the House.

House Moves to Boost Security, Keep Out Guns

Buck Banks

“The House took an unprecedented step Tuesday night, voting to levy hefty fines against colleagues who bypass the recently installed metal detectors that surround the chamber. The reason is simple but speaks to the new reality: lawmakers are afraid of being injured, or worse, by colleagues trying to sneak weapons on to the House floor.”

— Politico

Republicans Just Missed Winning the House in 2020

Buck Banks

31,751

Inside Elections: “Republicans needed a net gain of 17 seats. They won 10, and may net another two (Iowa’s 2nd and New York’s 22nd), where their candidates cling to slim leads but are fending off challenges from their Democratic opponents. … If those results stand, Republicans will be five seats shy of a majority. In the five closest races won by Democrats, the Republican candidates lost by a combined 31,751 votes.”

2020 Census Promises Big Congressional Changes

Buck Banks

15

Number of states that will likely gain or lose House seats after the 2020 census, the Wall Street Journal reports, according to a new U.S. Census release of state-by-state population changes. “If those trends hold up, 15 states would gain or lose districts after the 2020 census. The biggest gains would come to Texas, which is projected to clinch three more House seats, and Florida, a gainer of two seats. Arizona, North Carolina, Colorado and are all poised to grab one seat after 2020. … Nine states are projected to lose districts: Alabama, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.”

Democrats Ahead in Fundraising Efforts

Buck Banks

$42.3 million

Amount the top Democratic candidates in the 52 most competitive House races reported raising in 2013, topping the $34.8 million for the top GOP candidates in those races,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Democrats in the most competitive races reported they had a total of $30.9 million to spend on their campaigns at the end of 2013. That was $6.3 million more than the top Republicans in those races.”

Cook: Where’s the Adult Behavior and Respect for Office?

Buck Banks

Increasingly we are seeing more members, in both chambers and both parties, leadership as well as rank and file, who seem to have little sense of customs, traditions, and responsibilities of the institutions that they have been given the honor or privilege to serve. We are seeing more and more behavior and tactics that truly bring disgrace on the institution. Much of the same can be said about this White House as well …. There is nothing new about divided government; it has been the rule more than the exception for much of modern history. But how it is handled has changed — we aren’t seeing adult behavior from any of the three corners of this House-Senate-White House triumvirate.

— Pundit Charlie Cook.

Twitter Is the Best Predictor of Congressional Races

Buck Banks

404 of 406

Number of House races correctly predicted by Twitter in the 2010 midterm elections, according to National Journal: “The key measure, researchers from Indiana University found, was a candidate’s ‘tweet share,’ the percentage of total tweets about a race that mention them. The more often a candidate is mentioned on Twitter relative to their opponent, the study reported, the greater their chance for victory.”