When a bill strengthening the independence of the inspectors general offices of the executive branch flew through the House last week by a vote of 404-11, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, was one of the 11 “nay” votes.
She later inserted into the Congressional Record a brief statement indicating that she had meant to vote “aye.”
Her brief statement, which you’ll find at the bottom of page H11203 of the Congressional Record, reads:
“Mrs. Bachmann: Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 937, I was recorded as “nay.” It was my intention to have voted “yea.” I would like the RECORD to reflect my support of H.R. 928.”
Whoops. I guess those damn voting machines can be confusing, with their three buttons and all.
Black has contacted the Kissymonster’s office to find out what caused her to change her mind after the vote, but my guess is that he’ll never hear back. Those of us with long memories recall that Bachmann’s current Press Secretary, Heidi Fredrickson, instituted a ban on communication with Black when he was at the Strib and she was working for Mark Kennedy.
Anyway, I have my own theory as to why Bachmann changed her vote. Its all part of her secret plan…
…and Keith Ellison still violated campaign finance laws and failed to pay parking tickets.
Why is this newsworthy? You worked at the Legislature, right? Surely, you can remember a few times when members had their votes changed by the Speaker after the vote was closed. This is, in essence, the same thing.
I’m curious how often this happens in Congress. If it happens a lot, then this isn’t a big deal. If it happens infrequently, it might be kind of humorous. If it never happens, it’s downright hilarious.
Care to give some context?
I’m surprised it doesn’t happen more often. Members are called from whatever they are doing in their office — meeting with constituents, doing committeework, giving a presentation, etc, have 10 minutes to scramble from their office to the House floor across the street, so they can vote on 5-7 consecutive bills, none of which any of them have actually read (Bachmann or the other 434)
Bachmann’s staffers need to create a system so this doesn’t happen - I’m guessing most Congresspeople have a system or cheatsheet to make sure they don’t mess up.
To quote the great philopher Buggus Bunnyous, “Whatta Maroon.”
This article shows that Michele’s opposition has truly been relegated to grasping at straws! I mean c’mon, the last few “stories” on Bachmann have been…shall we say….a stretch at best??? Listen, we get the point that you hate her. But your “articles” are becoming less indicative about her anitcs and more a reflection of your desperation! With opposition like this, Michele Bachmann is a shoe in for congress!
not a whole lot of there, there