Chad Pergram
FoxNews.com
2/8/2011
It was the Congressional version of never count your chickens before they’re hatched.
And when you do on Capitol Hill, you can sometimes lose a vote.
The newly-minted House Republican leadership botched a vote Tuesday night when it presumed it had the necessary support to reauthorize the Patriot Act, the anti-terrorism law imposed after September 11th.
The GOP expected little trouble with the bill. So Republicans brought the Patriot Act to the floor under a special procedure that requires a two-thirds vote for passage. It’s a maneuver that’s typically reserved for non-controversial legislation or bills that carry wide support.
Renewing that Patriot Act had certainly had wide support. 277 members voted in favor of the measure compared to just 148 nays.
But that’s short of the two-thirds supermajority. Which means the House defeated the bill.
With 425 members voting, 284 yea votes were necessary to cross the two-thirds threshold for passage. 26 Republicans voted against renewing the law.
Democrats opposed to the Patriot Act were gleeful at the GOP miscalculation.
“Look at the ‘Don’t Tread on Me flag.’ It doesn’t say don’t tread on me, but it’s okay if you spy,” said Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), one of the most ardent opponents of the Patriot Act. “What the Republican leadership didn’t count on is that they have some new members who are freshmen who are conservative, libertarian, who really do believe in civil liberties.”…
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