Monday, March 19th, 2007...7:19 am
I Guess If Democrats Are the “Mommy” Party, It Would Make Sense to Have a “Baby” Party
Many of you probably know that most parliaments and congresses have rules against directly insulting members. Attempts of people to not quite break the rules can often have amusing results. I once caught a debate of the Australian Parliament on CSPAN where then-Prime Minister Paul Keating said “Unfortunately, I cannot think of any reason for an honorable member to support a bill such as this except for total cerebral meltdown.” I suppose that this didn’t count because he didn’t pick out a particular “honorable member.”
We have a rule in our own legislature against “impugning” a fellow legislator in debates. A legislator that “impugns” another member must apologize and can be sanctioned (or even thrown out) if he or she refuses to do so.
A few Democratic members have told me of statements by Republicans on the floor and in committee that seem to me to be “impugning,” but no action seems to be taken. It is becoming obvious that the Democrats just need to be more careful when addressing Republicans: they are naturally more sensitive and vulnerable.
Last week, David Schapira called a bill “terrible” and was told that he needed to be more “civil” by Bob Robson. You see, Republicans are a very fragile species. Pointing out the flaws in the legislation they present (whether they have read it or not) wounds them in a deep way that we Democrats just can’t understand. Republican legislators feel deeply about doing the bidding of the far right and just can’t handle criticism. Folks like Schapira need to be more sensitive. When Robson or his buddies introduce a bill that punishes teachers or cuts off health care to small businessmen, it is just another sign that they are caring and sensitive. When the Republicans introduce “terrible” legislation, what they really need is a hug. And yes, Shapira, that big fluffy teddy bear, is the one to do it. In fact, Schapira should cross the mall and give Senator Ron Gould a big hug. Let him feel the unconditional love; he needs it.
And, Democrats shouldn’t complain when insults fly the other way. For example, Robson’s statement quoted in the Republic toward Steve Gallardo that basically called him either dumb or a liar is not impugning. We know that it can’t be impugning, since no action was taken. The reason is simple, we all know that Gallardo, as a Democrat, is naturally tougher and can handle such things. When Democratic members have insults hurled toward them, such as, I don’t know, a member calling another member’s military service “not honorable,” Democrats should let it roll off of their backs because they know that they can handle it, and the Republicans are hurting deep inside.
6 Comments
March 19th, 2007 at 7:49 am
it is high quality satire like this that makes this blog worth reading.
*laughs*
March 19th, 2007 at 7:51 am
haha!!!
March 19th, 2007 at 11:41 am
Like I’ve always said, the cons can dish it out, but they can’t take it. They’re a bunch of whiny little titty babies.
March 19th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
So what. What really needs to be the natural outcome of this supposed thicker skin of democrats is a campaign of major ass-whoopin. Especially in congress. I really don’t give a rat’s ass if Dems can take an insult, what I care about is whether the Dems have the cajones to kick ass and take names.
March 19th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
God bless you for calling David Schapira a “big fluffy teddy bear”
March 20th, 2007 at 7:38 am
[…] recieved a missive from an individual who took issue with my post on the rhubarb between David Schapira and Bob Robson. Well, they only took issue with one […]
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