In a dramatic turn of events, House Republicans shifted their votes en masse on a privileged resolution brought by Ohio Democrat Dennis Kucinich. The representative and presidential candidate has tried to differentiate himself from the field by introducing a bill to impeach Vice President Dick Cheney.
Earlier this afternoon, Kucinich offered a "privileged" resolution calling for impeachment of Cheney. When a vote on whether to proceed with impeachment was held Republicans first voted against proceeding. Late in the vote, however, Republicans began to change their vote. The 15 minute vote was then held open for nearly an hour while Democrats struggled with whether to have the House debate impeachment.
Eventually another procedural vote was held and the resolution was sent to a committee where it will probably not be seriously considered. The basic Republican strategy appeared to be that the far left Democrat members would embarrass themselves by making outrageous charges against Cheney. Which begs the question: do the Republicans get positive PR by letting certain Democrats make fools of themselves or do they get negative PR from trying to defend Dick Cheney, the most unpopular VP in recent history?
Personally, I think it's mostly a wash. Like a lot of House floor rhetoric, it would invigorate the partisans on both sides but probably turn off a lot of middle America. This incident will probably contribute to Congress's increasingly low approval ratings. It does, however, show that the Republicans can successfully throw wrenches into the legislative process and embarrass Democratic leadership.
The whole incident does illustrate a PR tactic that is seldom used but can be quite effective. If your opponent is willing to hang themselves, lend them a rope.
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