Swearing-in gaffe sparks uproar
By: BILL DEVLIN
Bucks County Courier Times
Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick's taking the oath via TV apparently wasn't good enough. He and another congressman had to re-do it Thursday, to the delight of Democrats.
The hundreds of Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick supporters who made the trek to Washington Wednesday got an unexpected close-up of the Bucks legislator's swearing into office.
Or did they?
Fitzpatrick and Texas Republican Congressman Pete Sessions were at a reception for about 500 Fitzpatrick supporters in the Capitol Visitor Center when Speaker of the House John A. Boehner began administering the oath of office over on the House floor.
Seeing the swearing in taking place on TV, Fitzpatrick and Sessions raised their hands to take the oath. A Courier Times photographer's photo of the "long-distance" swearing in and the accompanying story in Thursday's paper created a buzz on Capitol Hill and, by the afternoon, House proceedings ground to a halt because of concerns the two congressmen weren't officially sworn in.
By that point, a half dozen votes had already taken place.
Fitzpatrick and Sessions were sworn in again by Boehner on Thursday about 3 p.m., but it made for an embarrassing first day for Fitzpatrick and the Republicans.
Adding to the red faces, the Republicans had House members reading the Constitution aloud Thursday, so that lawmakers would make sure that new legislation did not violate the nation's basic document. Article VI was read, the one that talks about the oath of office.
It says senators, representatives, state legislators, members of the executive branch and judicial officers are bound by their oath to support the Constitution.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee reveled in the Republican dilemma.
"Uh oh," began a statement from the campaign organization spokeswoman Jennifer Crider. "Despite being in Washington, Congressmen-elect Pete Sessions (Texas) and Mike Fitzpatrick (Pa.) missed being sworn into Congress yesterday. Not being sworn in and technically not being members of Congress didn't stop Pete Sessions or Mike Fitzpatrick from voting all day yesterday and today or participating in reading the U.S. Constitution on the House floor today."
Fitzpatrick spokesman Darren Smith said the congressman had been on the House floor, voted for Boehner as speaker and signed a written oath of office.
Because of what Smith called a "very fluid" schedule for the day's events, Fitzpatrick and Sessions left the House floor to go to the reception.
"At one point, Mike wanted to go over to see all those people who had traveled down to see the swearing in," Smith said.
Jordan Yeager, solicitor for the Bucks County Democratic Committee, called Fitzpatrick's gaffe "embarrassing."
"You have one main responsibility that day - to take the oath of office," said Yeager. "He shouldn't be raising money."
Some media reports referred to Fitzpatrick's reception as a fundraiser, something that is not allowed on Capitol grounds, but the congressman's spokesman emphatically disputed that characterization.
"It was absolutely not a fundraiser," said Smith. "It was open to anyone who walked in."
Fitzpatrick's staff did arrange buses to take supporters from Bucks County to Washington, D.C., and asked those riders to contribute $30 per person.
"The sole purpose (of the money) was to pay for the bus," said Smith. "There were 200 folks who came down to the reception and didn't take the bus. They didn't pay anything."
After Fitzpatrick and Sessions were sworn in, the Republicans needed to craft a way to fix the problem.
Their "fix" is to officially tag the two as the men who weren't there, through a resolution that will ask the House to nullify their votes - but not the voting results. The House, among other things, voted Wednesday to establish new rules for operating the chamber.
But the fix only will bring yet another embarrassment.
The resolution to correct the record is the same one that will set debate rules for the signature Republican legislation next week: repeal of the new law that changed health care insurance coverage in the nation. Democrats can now mix in the question of improper Republican voting with their vigorous opposition to the repeal.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
January 07, 2011 02:12 AM
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Bravo, 01-07-11, 5:26 am | Rate: Flag 0 Flag | Flag Report
Great, first day on the job and this guy is late.
Just_Saying, 01-07-11, 5:59 am | Rate: Flag 0 Flag | Flag Report
GOP Day 1 and Day 2:
1. Don't show up to be sworn in. Check
2. Break a promise about eliminating $100 billion from the budget. Check.
3. Deride the CBO for telling you AGAIN that repealing HCR will INCREASE the deficit. Check. Check. And Check.
4. Fail to goven, by failing to decide repeal HCR or reduce the deficit. Check
5. Engage in lavish spending with lobbyist. Check and Check.
6. Read the whole constitutio n, except the part about slavery. Check
7. Say they want transparency then vote to hide their receiving federal insurance. Check
8. Spend $1,000,000 to read the Constitution out loud. Check
9. Say reading the Constitution is important for all but leave before it is all read. Check
