Chaos as House Republicans Twist Arms to Defeat LGBT Amendment

When the vote clock ticked down to 0:00, this was the vote count: 216-209. Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney’s amendment had passed.

The amendment would have protected an Obama administration prohibition on the federal government or federally-funded entities doing business with contractors that discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.

But for six long minutes after the vote was technically over, votes kept changing. House Majority Leader made the rounds, cajoling Republicans – a process known as “whipping” in congressional parlance – to vote against the measure. Republicans Darrell Issa, David Valadao, Jeff Denham, and Mimi Walters of California, along with Greg Walden of Oregon, David Yong of Iowa, and Bruce Poliquin of Maine changed their votes after the vote clock.

Calls by Democrats for “regular order” deepened into boos, which morphed into a steady chant of “Shame! Shame! Shame!”

The whole debacle is an advanced course in How a Bill Becomes a Law, for cynics. Watch it for yourself.

Photo from Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) via Twitter.