Again and again and again, the leadership in the House of Representatives shows itself willing to break any rule, wrench any arm and offer any enticement to jam through its agenda.
In a replay of the debacle that led to the passage of the budget-busting Medicare drug benefit, the Central America Free Trade Agreement was passed in the dead of night.
With a controversial bill headed for a close vote, they changed the rules in the middle of the game to secure a narrow victory. Time and again, Speaker Dennis Hastert and Majority Leader Tom DeLay have shown themselves adept at applying enough pressure and breaking enough rules to deliver victory from defeat.
Just after midnight Thursday, Hastert and DeLay delivered a victory for the supporters of the CAFTA trade agreement, which will liberalize trade between the United States and several Central American countries.
It was a close vote that took every ounce of cajoling. The yeas carried the day, 217-215, with both of Maine’s congressmen voting no. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins opposed the measure in the Senate, where it nonetheless passed, 54-45.
“The administration may have won the vote last night, but it was at great political cost with intense arm twisting and backroom deal making,” Rep. Michael Michaud said in a release about CAFTA.
“CAFTA passed last night with just a two-vote margin, and that was after the vote was held open for more than 90 minutes. Democrats and Republicans alike voted no. Rural and urban members alike voted no. Labor and business supporters alike voted no.”
Arguments for and against the measure weren’t nearly as important as the promises of federal spending used to convince fence-straddling members to play ball.
Normally, voting on a bill in the House is held open for 15 minutes. When time was up on CAFTA, the no votes were winning, 180 to 175. Instead of accepting defeat, House Republican leaders kept the clock running. The Washington Post described the scene as reminiscent of the wheeling and dealing on a used car lot, as members of Congress angled for fund-raising help from Vice President Cheney and pork spending tucked inside the energy and highway bills.
In the end, winning by any means was more important than the substance of the trade agreement, or the arguments for or against it. It was power politics in its basest form. No wonder they held the vote in the middle of the night, hoping that no one would see.
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