Missourinet's Brent Martin breaks down yesterday's ethics debate circus in the House :
I’LL SEE YOUR DISCHARGE PETITION AND RAISE YOU ONE MASSIVE, UNCONSTITUTIONAL BILL
Ethics reform has sparked an all out political war in the Missouri House, no small achievement for a measure that stood on the doorstep of passage after clearing a House committee on a unanimous vote.
Debate Thursday on the House floor had nothing to do with ethics. It had everything to do with raw, political power...
The theatre fell flat. The politics were sharp edged...
The bill appears unconstitutional on its face, too many unrelated subjects and a provision calling for all lawmakers to undergo drug testing, which has been thrown out by the courts as an unconstitutional infringement on lawmakers’ rights....
The House talked about the measure for a little more than an hour and a half, talked about, because no debate was allowed. Speaker Richard refused to recognize any Democrats to offer amendments. Democrats only spoke when Republicans inquired of them. Republican leadership spared little in their remarks...
Emphasis added. Read the whole thing here.
Image credit: RonRichard.com
