Why would House Republicans schedule a vote on a culture war issue, which is pretty obviously unconstitutional and which has no chance at passing the Senate? Because they needed campaign fodder.
Republican strategists are targeting vulnerable House Democrats who voted against legislation that would strip courts of their jurisdiction to review cases involving the Pledge of Allegiance.
Calling it “an issue voters understand and respond to on a visceral level,” the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) launched a coordinated effort last week attacking select Democrats for voting against the Pledge Protection Act.
The Hill was provided a list of 10 Democratic incumbents the NRCC is targeting on the pledge bill, including Reps. Dennis Moore (Kan.), Baron Hill (Ind.) and Michael Michaud (Maine).
House Republicans decided they’d ignore intelligence reform measures, appropriations bills, and the federal budget to spend time on a measure to strip the federal courts’ ability to hear challenges to the Pledge. To no one’s surprise, the measure passed, but it was a pointless exercise since it stood no chance of becoming law. Pointless, that is, as a matter of policy, not politics.
“The only reason [House Republicans] did this is so they could run 30-second ads on it,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). “I don’t think the NRCC cares a thing about this vote actually passing. They just hoped their Democratic opponents would vote against it so they could attack them.”
I think that’s absolutely right. Sure, there are a handful of fringe ideologues who actually believe Congress has the ability to reshuffle the separation of powers by majority vote, but most Republicans, I suspect, went along with this cheap stunt to get a vote they could manipulate to make Dems appear anti-Pledge and anti-God.
“What this [bill] purports to do is to say that the federal courts don’t have the power to interpret the law relative to the U.S. Constitution,” Lofgren said. “Furthermore, that this would be utilized for political purposes — saying those who vote against protecting the pledge are against God — is stunning.”
Surprise, surprise — the GOP majority would rather play campaign games than govern. Who knew? Oh right, everyone knew.