By a vote of 269 to 161, the House of Representatives passed the debt ceiling bill compromise. Prior to the vote Monday evening, ugly partisan rhetoric was the name of the game.
The Vice President made an appearance on cable news shows thanks to his willingness to describe Tea Party Republicans as terrorists. Hey, where's the new tone, Joe? How can anyone expect party members to be civil if the top leadership is in the gutter?
Biden was agreeing with a line of argument made by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) at a two-hour, closed-door Democratic Caucus meeting.
“We have negotiated with terrorists,” an angry Doyle said, according to sources in the room. “This small group of terrorists have made it impossible to spend any money.”
Biden, driven by his Democratic allies’ misgivings about the debt-limit deal, responded: “They have acted like terrorists.”
In the midst of all the ugly talk, who returned to D.C. for a vote on the debt ceiling? Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords - the inspiration for all the "new tone" nonsense from Team Obama after she was shot by a lunatic as she met with constituents in Arizona last January.
To rapturous applause from both Republicans and Democrats, the convalescent congresswoman appeared in the House of Representatives with minutes left before the end of the vote, walking unsteadily and mouthing "thank you" to those who had leapt to their feet to welcome her back, including the Vice-President Joe Biden and the Tea Party favourite Michele Bachmann.
Such a show of unity had been rare in the weeks leading up to the vote, a fact Giffords, a Democrat, observed in a statement released afterwards.
"I have closely followed the debate over our debt ceiling and have been deeply disappointed at what's going on in Washington. I strongly believe that crossing the aisle for the good of the American people is more important than party politics," she said.
Good for you, Gabby. Continued success with your recovery.
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