GOPers Obstruct Congress to Attend Big-Money 'Beach Party' Fundraiser

Posted by Lee Fang, Think Progress at 9:40 AM on July 24, 2009.

Yesterday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) took the unusual step of requesting the House clerk to read aloud a 55-page motion to recommit, a process that took over 40 minutes. The obstructionist tactic, the Politico’s Glenn Thrush reports, appears to have been orchestrated by the GOP in order to delay House proceedings so Republicans could attend the annual “Boehner Beach Party” fundraising event at the Cantina Marina, a D.C. restaurant near the waterfront. Party Time, a blog maintained by the Sunlight Foundation, obtained a copy of the invite for Rep. John Boehner’s (R-OH) event. View it below:

Boehner’s spokesman has claimed that the stalling was part of a “protest” against Democrats.

However, after Democratic aides pointed out that members seemed to be leaving for Boehner’s party, Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA) sheepishly returned to the floor to apologize to his colleagues for the “delay here.” CQ reported that while the House clerk labored to finish a task that is typically dispensed with in seconds by unanimous consent, a Boehner spokesman sent an e-mail saying that he was “headed down now” to the party.

Tagged as: gop, boehner