GOP moves to censure Pete StarkRavingMad; Update: Stark “apologizes” IF you were offended; Update: Roll call vote added
Update 11:54am Eastern: Here’s the roll call vote.
***
Via MSNBC, GOP House leader John Boehner this morning moved to censure Rep. Pete StarkRavingMad for his odious diatribe against President Bush on the floor last week during the S-CHIP debate:
House Republican leader John Boehner just stood up on the House floor to put forward a motion to censure Rep. Pete Stark (D) over the congressman’s “heads blown off for the president’s amusement” remark on the House floor last week.
Democrats will move to table — or kill — the motion. They will likely succeed. A vote is being taken on the tabling motion now.
StarkRavingMad obviously has no plans to apologize:
Stark has not responded to Pelosi’s statement, nor did his spokesman return calls seeking comment. But in a statement issued Thursday in response to the Republican criticism, he showed no signs of backing down.
Instead, he called opponents of children’s healthcare “chickenhawks,” a term often applied to avid supporters of the war who avoided military service. And he said it was Boehner who should apologize for opposing the children’s healthcare bill.
Update: For what it’s worth, Stark apologizes first to his colleagues and then to everyone else who may have found offense in his remarks…
Democratic Rep. Fortney “Pete” Stark of California apologized Tuesday for comments he made last week suggesting President Bush was sending troops to Iraq to get their “heads blown off for his amusement.”
The apology came after the House voted 196-173 with eight members voting present to table a resolution introduced by House Minority Leader John Boehner censuring Stark. Though the motion amounts to a failed vote, Stark addressed fellow lawmakers afterward to apologize.
“I want to apologize first of all to my colleagues, many of whom I have offended, to the president. his family, to the troops that may have found (offense) in my remarks as were suggested in the motion that we just voted on, and I do apologize. … With this apology I will become as insignificant as I should be and we can return to the issues that do divide us but that we can resolve,” Stark said to applause.
Stark’s turnaround was in direct contrast to his position last week, outlined in the eight-paragraph resolution that claimed his “personally abusive language” impugned the president’s and Congress’ motives and dishonored the troops.
The resolution quoted Stark and then concluded that “Mr. Stark, by his despicable conduct, has dishonored himself and brought discredit to the House and merits the censure of the House for the same. Resolved, that the member from California, Mr. Stark, is hereby so censured.”
What a sorry excuse for a congressman.
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More:
epublicans failed in an effort Tuesday to have the House censure Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., who said in a congressional speech last week that U.S. troops are being sent to Iraq “to get their heads blown off for the president’s amusement.”
Without debate, the House voted 196-173 to kill the proposal to censure Stark for “his despicable conduct.” The vote was mostly along party lines, with all 168 Republicans on hand supporting the measure offered by Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. Five Democrats joined them.
***
Review: Stark raving mad: Diary of an unhinged Democrat
Allahpundit waits for outrageously outraged nutroots blowback.
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- Stark Finally Apologizes to President : The American Pundit
- Yes I was offended and NO I don’t accept your apology. | BitsBlog
- Neocon News » Stark forced to apologize! Look for the left to seethe.
- The American Street » Blog Archive » Reasoned Discourse (cough) From The Reich wing
- CALIFORNIA YANKEE
- Take Our Country Back
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I remember this clown Stark from the 80s - Fortney “Pete” Stark he would be referred to -, pushing Medicare regs & laws, as well as other regs & laws, that, although I cannot recall chapter & verse in the Congressional Record, I do recall as doing nothing but essentially further screwing doctors.
How unbecoming of a U.S. Congressman! Doesn’t seem to be unbecoming of a democrat, though. Why is that?!
Heaven forbid that they allow someone to be called out for what they said. If it had been a Republican saying that, well, we know how it would be treated.
He is an angry man with no manners.
Looks like Stark-Raving-Mad may of apologized after all… just in on Fox…
With this apology I will become as insignificant as I should be…That would require what you should do: RESIGN IN DISGRACE!
Too little too late
Saying one is sorry if someone else had been offended is not an apology.
It’s no more of an apology than saying one is sorry…that one got caught.
What the hell were voters thinking when they elected Democrats to the majority in both houses, anyway?
What, “There, that’ll teach my face!” (with knife in one hand and bloody piece of nose in the other)?
Sheesh!
Stark doesn’t need to be censured or rebuked. He should be committed.
Maybe a Siamese straight jacket for “Fartney” Stark and “Tommy” Ried.
Granite is exactly right! I see 173 people didn’t think this was worth apologizing for. What’s wrong with these people? Yes, meanpieandtatters he should be committed!
They were sick of the corruption and unrestrained pork, I think. And they had forgotten just how bad the Democrats were. We really need a decent “loyal opposition” party.
“Stark Raving Mad” will be re-elected so he and his fellow donkeys can complete the terms of surreder.
I’d have applauded too, but for different reasons that Petey might think…
#12LarryD:
“They were sick of the corruption and unrestrained pork, I think. And they had forgotten just how bad the Democrats were.”
I think the voters forgot the admonition, “Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”
Or, perhaps in this case, the enemy of the less terrible.
Stark is a raving lunatic, we don’t need the House to pass a resolution how about they worry about passing some appropriations bills instead. That would really impress me.
In essence he is just saying:
‘I am sorry that I got called out on what I said and that I may get in trouble for it.’
Someone jam a fruitcake in his piehole.
AJ…
My friends and I have slightly less PC terms for “piehole”…
They both apply to this loon.
I was being polite.
#12LarryD:
Not that I necessarily think you are wrong.
However, a third party would essentially have to crush out of existence one of the two current parties, if it was to have any chance of meaningful electoral success.
We do not - repeat, do NOT - want to get into the brambles and fog of multiparty coalition governments.
One of the current parties (hopefully the socialists - er, Democrats) will have to go the way of our 1850s Whigs, or the way of the Brits’ 1920s Liberals.
But, somehow I think it might transpire that the socialist Democrats will become our version of Britain’s Labor, and that the current Republicans (essentially socialist “Lite”) will fade away, unless one or some of their leaders grow(s) a pair.
This clown has pulled off the trifecta of worthless apologies: insincere, misdirected and remorseless. He probably doesn’t even realize that going back to “insignificance” is actually an improvement for him.
Two words: TERM LIMITS
A phony apology from a phony human.
An apology to anyone who “may have been” offended isn’t an apology. Either he’s sorry or he’s not. And he does not appear to be.
As long as congressional districts are gerrymandered, we are going to have lowlifes like him as national legislators. This is what it has come down to: instead of voters choosing Representatives, the Representatives now choose the voters.
From the DemoCraps Dictionary:
Apology:
A group of meaningless words strung together in such a manner as to deflect the winds of criticism and further obfuscate a position by giving an appearance of remorse when in effect none exists.
Let’s see here…Stark is a democrap…and he is from Kallifornea…nuf said
Stark’s right about one thing, he is insignificant. One would think that an insignificant congressman would not be able to serve his constituents well, so he ought to be voted out for doing an admittedly lackluster job.
So he’s not sorry he said it, he’s sorry you were offended. Back when I was a teenager I remember Maxim saying that’s how you’re supposed to apologize to your wife/girlfriend, whe you’re not really sorry.
Unfortunately my district is probably stuck with Stark until he retires. I suppose we deserve it — after all, my fellow constituents keep returning him to Washington.
It’s strange, because you would expect Stark to represent a district like San Francisco or Berkeley or Santa Cruz. I would have thought we would have a Tom Lantos, who occasionally parts company with his Democratic colleagues.
[Sigh]
As a private citizen and a conservative…I wish I would have said it. I would be waiting by my mail box for the 2 million dollar letter
“Sorry excuse for a congressman”.No,sorry excuse for a man.
Of course,the apology(sort of),only after he’s caught with his d*** in his hand.How on earth anyone could vote for such despicable people as Stark,Reid Pelosi,etc. is beyond me.It is simply amazing that after all these years of failed liberal policies,that voters still accept the idiotic ideas these people try to represent as American ideals.Absolutely digusting.
I was offended. I was very offended, and I will never accept a token apology.