Eric Black finds a mystery inside of a riddle inside the enigma that is the Congresswoman from Minnesota's 6th Congressional District:
Oops. Michele Bachmann asks for a do-over
When a bill strengthening the independence of the inspectors general offices of the executive branch flew through the House last week by a vote of 404-11, U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-MN, was one of the 11 “nay” votes.
She later inserted into the Congressional Record a brief statement indicating that she had meant to vote “aye.”
Her brief statement, which you’ll find at the bottom of page H11203 of the Congressional Record, reads:
Mrs. Bachmann: Mr. Speaker, on rollcall vote 937, I was recorded as “nay.” It was my intention to have voted “yea.” I would like the RECORD to reflect my support of H.R. 928.
The bill, which was clearly motivated by a concern that inspector generalships have been politicized to avoid finding things embarrassing to the Bush administration, strengthens the offices in several ways. It provides that the IGs serve seven-year terms, can be removed only for cause, and their budget requests must be forwarded to Congress with or without the White House’s stamp of approval.
I inquired by email of Bachmann’s spokester whether Rep. Bachmann was saying she had accidentally pushed the wrong button on the voting machine or claiming machine error or what? I haven’t heard back but will update you if I do hear. It’s not unprecedented for members discover they didn’t vote the way they intended and to place their regrets into the Congressional Record. So perhaps this is just that.
But perhaps not. The plot thickens slightly when we learn that the Bush White House strongly opposes the bill, and has threatened to veto it. Bachmann is considered to be a pretty rabid fan of the president. Has she ever voted in favor of anything that Bush was threatening to veto?
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