The Congressional Record does not really do it justice, you really do have to see it to appreciate it. But Lee Terry whined and moaned in an angry rant for 2 minutes on the House floor during debate on the rules package the House is set to pass – which includes a number of ethics reforms. If you’re familiar with Terry’s childish demeanor, this should be nothing new. But in the midst of a great day for Democrats, Terry’s rant provided some of the most unintentional comedy of the day. It would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad that this man is still representing us in Congress.

Madam Speaker, I too am deeply disappointed today. I think part of the message from the electorate was that they want us to work together, that they want us to cooperate for the greater good. And, yes, that people were, at least in Nebraska, very upset with the examples of those who violated the public’s trust.

Actually, Mr. Terry, the message from the American people was fairly clear: We want a change of course in Iraq, we want to clean up Congress, and we want an end to the toxic culture in Washington. But make no mistake: this was not a mandate for bipartisanship. This was a mandate for Democrats. Not a single Democratic incumbent lost. Not one. What does that tell you, Mr. Terry? Yes, the American people want Democrats and Republicans to work together. But they trust the Democrats to do that. They don’t trust you. And they shouldn’t.

We need to work together on an ethics plan. I am pleased that in this rule there are ethics measures that, by the way, the Republicans helped put together many months ago in reaction to the ethics violations we have seen from some of our colleagues.

So, Mr. Terry, you already offered your alternative. In fact, those rules passed by the 109th Congress were included in the rules package.

So, as the people want us to work together in a partnership and not in partisanship, what we received was a partisan slap across the face. It is the mismatch between words and actions of which we are speaking today.

Yes, the mismatch between words and actions, Mr. Terry. For example, the Congressman who gets on the floor of the House of Representatives, talking about a spirit of bipartisanship, while voting with his party and president 97% of the time? How about the Republican minority that now believes protecting the rights of the minority in Congress is important, when just two short years ago they did everything in their power to shut out minority opinion? This is a partisan slap in the face to them? We’re not holding votes open for hours to whip our conference to vote the party line. We’re not adding amendments in the dark, forcing votes on bills no one has had a chance to read. We’re not holding up the federal budget for partisan political purposes. You had 12 years to enact these reforms. You never did. Why?

I have had a bill that was incorporated into the ethics package that we passed last May that the Democrats almost en banc opposed because it wasn’t tough enough. The reality is that the package in today’s rule, which we had no participation in, is, in many ways, weaker. And one of the examples is the fact that, as I worked on with our Speaker, that if you have violated the rules of this House and the public trust and you took money, you found $90,000 of cold hard cash or you took limousines or whatever the violations were, that you shouldn’t be able to leave in the public disgust with the benefits of public service, i.e., a pension. That was in the ethics package passed months ago but isn’t in this one. So this is a weaker package.

Well, it wouldn’t be a Lee Terry rant without a mention of some piece of meaningless legislation that he couldn’t get passed. Terry makes it a point to mention William Jefferson, the – unfortunately – reelected Congressman from New Orleans, but tries to pretend all the dirty Republicans are gone. This was not about a few corrupt Congressman. This was about a corrupt establishment. A Republican leadership that is still very much the same Republican leadership you see today. Only, now, they have no power. One day in the minority, and they are already whining about perceived injustices. A slap in the face? The last twelve years of Republican rule in Congress have been a slap in the face to the American people. You want a voice in legislation? Come up with something that will actually reflect the will of the people. Maybe I shouldn’t be asking this of Lee Terry. It’s already clear that he is incapable of doing that. Or understanding basic concepts of law:

Mr. McGOVERN: Let me just educate the gentleman that the change that he is asking for requires a statutory change. Today we are dealing with the House rules. I will assure the gentleman and his constituents in Nebraska and people all over the United States who agree with him that we will have the opportunity to do that. We will go through House Administration and you will have the opportunity to do that. We will hopefully have a unanimous vote on that.