The attempted coup against the Speaker

In the run up to the Florida primary, there were many references to the attempt to remove the then-Speaker Newt Gingrich in July 1997. Bob Cusack of The Hill explains the background in the video below.



The Hill article is available here. The Conspirators were an interesting bunch. A key player was Tom DeLay the Majority Whip. John Boehner, now the Speaker himself was involved (his role is the subject of some dispute). Others were Dick Armey (now they key player in the influential "Freedom Works"), but then House Majority Leader - Deputy to the Speaker; Bill Paxon; Steve Largent; Mark Souder; Lindsey Graham (now Senator for South Carolina). Armey is believed to have told his Chief of Staff to warn Gingrich.

An article by then Time Reporter, now White House Press Secretary, Jay Carney is accessible here.

Morning Hour

A bit of a misnomer - this may occur after noon, and it isn't for a period of an hour. An explanation of the practice is -

"the House of Representatives meets earlier than the hour established for that day’s session for a period called “morning hour debates” (also known as “morning hour speeches”). This period provides a rare opportunity for non-legislative debate in the House; remarks in the House are usually limited to pending legislative business. During morning hour debates, individual Members deliver speeches on topics of their choice for up to five minutes.


The majority and minority leaders give the Speaker a list showing how each party’s time for morning hour debates will be allocated among its Members. The chair follows this list in recognizing Members for morning hour debates. At the conclusion of morning hour debates, the House recesses until the starting time for that day’s session."

In the video below, a message is received from the Speaker, appointing Chip Cravaack, a freshman from the 8th District of Minnesota, to act as Speaker pro tempore. The "morning hour debates" are then commenced

What's the point of Government?

Watch the video from The West Wing - http://youtu.be/XyygC0VN9vU. The key dialogue is -

BARTLET: [sits] What's on your mind?

TOBY: [reading from the draft 'State of the Union Speeech'] "The era of big government is over".

BARTLET: You want to cut the line?

TOBY: I want to change the sentiment. We're running away from ourselves, and I know we can score
points that way. I was the principle architect in that campaign strategy, right along with you, Josh. But we're here now. Tomorrow night, we do an immense thing. We have to say what we feel. That government, no matter what its failures are in the past, and in times to come, for that matter, the government can be a place where people come together and where no one gets left behind. No one... gets left behind, an instrument of... good. [pause] I have no trouble understanding why the line tested well, Josh, but I don't think that means we should say it. I think that means we should... change it.

As the preamble to the US Constitution says -

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." - some compelling reasons for establishing a Government.

The States

The Federal Government gets a lot of international coverage. Congress is worth following (as I write this I am listening in to C-SPAN on my computer - http://www.c-span.org/Live-Video/C-SPAN/) & this blog has one of its objectives to discuss practice and procedure in the Federal legislature. The Presidency (and every four years the election process) dominate world news. Even the Supreme Court is regularly mentioned in news and fiction.

But there is more to the USA than the Federal Government. The 'United States' is just that - a nation crafted of the States which created it. In Britain, the Scottish Parliament; the National Assembly for Wales; the Northern Ireland Assembly; and local councils are the creation of the Westminster Parliament. They derive their powers from Westminster - and could be abolished by it. However in the USA it is the States who are the source of Federal authority. The Constitution protects that power. So following what is happening in the 50 individual states is important for a true understanding of 'America'.

Each State has its own structure of government - for example Michigan has a Governor (head of the Executive branch); a bicameral legislature -  with a Michigan House of Representatives and a Michigan Senate; and a State Supreme Court. The Michigan constitution can be accessed here.

Useful Websites

The Council of State Governments - a nonpartisan non-profit organization in the United States serving the state governments (all branches)
Stateline - news site 
The Pew Center on the States
National Conference of State Legislatures

The French Presidential Election

While most of the British and US media have concentrated on the US Presidential Election, this blog is also following the French presidential election (and the legislative elections - to the Assemblee nationale, which will follow).

Francois Hollande was selected as the Parti Socialiste candidate last year. His website can be found at http://francoishollande.fr/

His books include

"La Gauche Bouge", Jean-Claude Lattès, 1985.
"L'Heure des choix. Pour une économique politique", with Pierre Moscovici, 1991.
"L'Idée socialiste aujourd'hui", Omnibus, 2001.
"Devoirs de vérité", interviews with Edwy Plenel, éd. Stock, 2007.


"Droit d'inventaires", interviews with Pierre Favier, Le Seuil, 2009.
"Le rêve français" (The French Dream), Privat, August 2011.


"Un destin pour la France" (A Destiny for France), Fayard, January 2012


President Sarkozy has been a prolific writer too. His Fabebook site can be accessed here.