Here is some more details on how the GOP used procedural tricks to defeat an attempt to role back part of the PATRIOT Act, which Lew and Daniel previously commented on:

Under section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, judges must automatically approve a request to search library records, thus the PATRIOT Act turns judges into rubber stamps instead of independent checks on federal law enforcement. Representatives Bernie Sanders, Ron Paul and others offered an amendment to the Commerce, Justice, and State Department Appropriations bill restoring the fourth amendment requirement that the government show probable cause and obtain a warrant from an independent judge before using taxpayer funds to search library and Internet records.

The amendment was debated yesterday afternoon and at 3:41 Congress began was was supposed to be a 15-minute vote on the amendment.
However, at the end of 15 minutes, the Sanders-Paul amendment was winning. So, instead of bringing down the gavel and ending the vote, leadership “kept the vote open” while it twisted arms to get Republicans to change their votes.

Like they did during the Medicare votes, the GOP leadership ordered the C-SPAN cameras to remain fixed on a wide shot of the House, so the American people could not see the House leadership browbeat members to abandon the Fourth Amendment and their constituents’ freedom “for the good of the party.”

While they could not see what was going on, the American people could hear Representative Sanders and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi inquire as to whether 15 minutes had passed and if so why the vote was still being held open. The official explanation from the GOP leadership was the vote would remain open for as long as members where waiting to vote. When the Democrats said they did not see any member waiting to vote and asked who these mysterious members waiting to vote where, they received no answer.

Finally, enough Republicans caved in that the leadership was able to get a tie vote, and since an amendment cannot pass on a tie, it was defeated. The leadership brought down the gavel on the 15-minute vote at 4:19 p.m.

Postscript– At least one member of the GOP House leadership has said they GOP has an “obligation” to push their agenda through the House, regardless of how many rules they have to “bend.”

After the vote one member pointed out that then-Rep. Richard Cheney called Speaker Jim Wright an S.O.B. for employing similar tactics in the eighties. In fact, Newt Gingrich and co. once promised the American people Republicans would end practices like that used to kill the Sanders-Paul amendment (and ram the PATRIOT Act and Medicare bill into law) once the Republicans took control of the House.

Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss.