Speaker Walks Off Floor as Whip Hoyer Calls On GOP For Payroll Tax Cut Vote [View all]

[Bolo Boffin]

Last edited Wed Dec 21, 2011, 01:41 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/HouseProFormaSession

The speaker pro tem was in town to do a pro forma session, and pro forma was what was happening. He opened the session, called for a prayer, had Chris Van Hollen do the pledge, and then adjourned while Steny Hoyer, Minority Whip, tried to bring up a vote on the truly bipartisan Senate bill on the payroll tax cut, unemployment insurance extension, and Medicare doc fix.

"You're walking away just as so many Republicans have walked away from middle class taxpayers..."

Epic stuff. He passed the microphone to Chris Van Hollen, but then they cut the microphones. That's not C-SPAN's doing, by the way. The House and Senate cameras and microphones are controlled by the separate chambers. C-SPAN simply broadcasts the feed given to them by the Houses of Congress.

ETA: Think Progress got the relevant part at YouTube so I can embed it -- hattip to ProSense who posted the Think Progress post.

You can hear Hoyer trying to be heard well before the Speaker pro tem gets to saying the House is adjourned. The camera never cuts to him. It's just amazing how foolish the House Republicans look as this fellow just bows his head and slinks away.