It was the kind of political maneuver that not even a mother could love.
But let’s be clear at the outset: House Republicans did not really vote against Mother’s Day this week. It just might appear that way.
So beware GOP lawmakers, including Reps. Sam Graves of Missouri and Todd Tiahrt of Kansas – especially Tiahrt, since he played a key role in what is possibly the mother of all knuckled-headed political moves.
What House Republicans did Wednesday was call for a second vote on a resolution honoring Mother’s Day that had already passed unanimously.
A reasonable person might ask, why?
Because Republicans were in a snit since Democrats wouldn’t let them in on the debate over the funding of troops in a supplemental spending bill. So how could the GOP get back at the Democrats and make their life a little miserable?
Brainstorm!
Delve into the arcane world of congressional procedure to gum up the works so nothing gets done.
No problem there. We are, after all, talking about the U.S. House of Representatives.
Anyway, Republican thinking was that if you vote on something once, that takes a little bit of time. But if you’re forced to vote two more times – the vote on the move to re-vote, and then, if successful, the re-vote itself – that can take a whole lot of time.
Man, the Democrats will be soooo mad!
So Republicans unleashed a flurry of procedural motions.
Slight problem, though. Among the tools available to slow things down was not some who-cares bill about naming a post office or commemorating the invention of the toenail clipper.
It was, and possibly to their undying regret – especially Tiahrt’s - a resolution to honor mom.
"Resolved, that the House of Representatives celebrates the role of mothers in the United States and supports the goals and ideals of Mother's Day."
But Tiahrt, as reported by The Washington Post, asked that the vote be reconsidered.
"What were they thinking?" said Danny Rotert, an aide Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Missouri Democrat.
Lest there be any confusion, Tiahrt Spokesman Sam Sackett today assured voters in Kansas’ Fourth Congressional District, "For the record, the congressman supports Mother’s Day."
And just to erase any doubt: "He supports Mother’s Day and Father’s Day."
Sackett did allow that "of all the bills to use as a means to raise attention to the unfair practices, this was an interesting choice."
House Minority Leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, tried to put the best face on the episode. With a smile, he told reporters Wednesday after the vote, "We just wanted to make sure that everyone was on record in support of Mother's Day."
Boehner Spokesman Kevin Smith emphasized that Republicans did not vote against Mother’s Day.
"Every Republican and Democrat supported the Motherhood resolution when it came up for a House vote, and they would have done so again had the ‘motion to reconsider’ passed to set up a re-vote," he said.
Smith said Republicans were just angry because they and some Democrats had been "shut out" of the debate over troop funding.
Still, Mother’s Day as a political weapon?
"I understand doing mindless things while in the minority," Rotert said. "We did it all the time. Perhaps the headline should read: ‘Blinded by rage, House Republicans turn on their Mothers.’"
