Sunday, May 25, 2014

Hastert Rule vs Boehner Rule

The perils of a Republican ruled House of Representatives?

Hastert Rule - also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House. Under the doctrine, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives will not allow a vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill.

Boehner Rule -  also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House. Under the doctrine, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives will not allow a vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party alone has enough votes to pass a bill.

Obviously, neither is an effective way to govern, especially when the other party controls the Senate.

I think that it's safe to say that neither is what the founding fathers had in mind.  

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