File In This Under "Well Gee, Who Could Have Guessed?" Or "NO SHIT SHERLOCK!"

[Beetwasher]

Remember how yesterday it was being reported that there was a set back on reconciliation due to a ruling by the parliamentarian? Remember how it was based on Republican aides? Well, guess what?! They LIED! *GASP* *THUNK*

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2010/3/12/845463/-Update-on-reconciliation

--snip--

Republican aides, reporting the decision, interpreted it to mean the House would have to clear the Senate bill and President Obama would have to sign it before the reconciliation bill could be passed. House leaders had been hoping that the two bills could be passed almost simultaneously.

The parliamentarian, however, later reportedly clarified his position to Senate aides, saying that the reconciliation bill could be written in a way that would not require Obama to sign the Senate bill into law before the reconciliation bill is voted on.

--snip--

[kirby]

1. I was not confused...

I thought the story yesterday was pretty clear. The parliamentarian simply stated that the House was not allowed to wait for the Senate to pass the 'fixes' before they pass the Senates version of the bill in whole. Many in the House are not trusting that the Senate will be able to pass the fixes so they wanted the Senate to pass it first. That is not possible so they will have to come to some other type of agreement including getting an agreement that Obama will veto the Senate bill if the fixes are not passed.

And since when is Republican lying anything new?

[mrcheerful]

2. Gee a republicon lied hold the presses

:sarcasm:

[hfojvt]

3. who the heck is "the parliamentarian"?

Is that like the Meringovian, the architect, the Trainman or something? The Czar of Robert's Rules of Order?

I don't remember hearing about this parliamentarian before, either here or in civics classes. Who is this person and where does he or she come from? Elected? Appointed?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliamentarian_of_the_United_States_Senate

and what kind of a name is Frumin?

I say we appoint someone who will "suggest" that Lieberman be suppressed. As in Alice in Wonderland

"Here one of the guinea-pigs cheered, and was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court. (As that is rather a hard word, I will just explain to you how it was done. They had a large canvas bag, which tied up at the mouth with strings: into this they slipped the guinea-pig, head first, and then sat upon it.)

`I'm glad I've seen that done,' thought Alice. `I've so often read in the newspapers, at the end of trials, "There was some attempts at applause, which was immediately suppressed by the officers of the court," and I never understood what it meant till now.'"

http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rgs/alice-XI.html

[LibertyLover]

5. The Parliamentarians of the House and the Senate

"The Senate Parliamentarian serves at the pleasure of the Senate Majority Leader, and functions under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate as a non-partisan employee of the Senate. The House Parliamentarian serves with the consent of the Speaker of the House, also in a non-partisan capacity, advising Members of both parties. The complexity of the job requires years of apprenticeship, and the leaders of both chambers have respected the institutional experience necessary to perform the job well. Sitting Parliamentarians hire their own assistants, and for decades, those assistants have advanced to the position of Parliamentarian when a vacancy has occurred.

The Parliamentarians in both chambers have as their key responsibility advising the Member of Congress presiding over the floor throughout a day's session. The Parliamentarian guides the Chair in formulating his responses to parliamentary inquiries and his rulings on points of order. In the House, the Parliamentarian on duty stands to the right of the Chair or sits very close by on the rostrum. In the Senate, the Parliamentarian sits on the lower tier of the rostrum just below the presiding officer. He is frequently seen swiveling around in his chair, which faces the Senate floor, to address the Senator presiding behind him. While the Member of Congress presiding is free to take or ignore the advice of the Parliamentarian, most abide by his guidance. Few Members have the independent body of knowledge regarding the chamber's procedures necessary to preside on their own. In the Senate, the Parliamentarian, and in the House, the Parliamentarian's Clerk, also keep track of the time when Members are allotted a specific number of minutes to speak.

The Parliamentarians also answer questions from individual Members and congressional staff on a wide variety of subjects, and on a confidential basis. For example, the Parliamentarians are asked to review drafts of bills prior to their introduction and drafts of amendments to ascertain they conform to the rules of the body. They help formulate points of order for Members wishing to mount a floor challenge. Perhaps the most time-consuming element of the job is to review all proposed bills and, based on their content, refer them to the appropriate committee of jurisdiction for legislative consideration. The parliamentarians also assist committees in preparing for and conducting hearings and mark-ups of legislation.

The Office of the Parliamentarian is also responsible for compiling and publishing at the start of each new Congress any changes to the rules of the chamber. They also compile and maintain the parliamentary precedents of the chamber."

[kentuck]

4. Why do you think they call it reconciliation, kid?

Because it has to be "reconciled".