Rules ? We make ‘em up as we go along

South Florida’s  U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Miramar, is taking heat in the conservative blogosphere   for remarks at a Rules Committee hearing in which he defended a  controversial “deem and pass” strategy for approving health care overhaul that Democratic leaders ended up abandoning.

Hastings said:

"When the deal goes down, all this talk about rules, we make ‘em up as we go along. "
(Click here to see Hastings’ entire statement, which begins at 4:44 on the C-SPAN video.)

Hastings said Republicans often used the same tactic when they were in charge of the House from 1995 to 2007. Hastings said it was time to “stop all of the rhetoric and get to the business of what’s at hand. The fact of the matter is that a lot of our fellow Americans are hurting and they don’t have affordable health care and for the life of me I cannot understand why we all should not be willing to share in order to help the least of them.”

He was indicted for accepting a $150K bribe in 1981 (back when $150K was a lot of money) as a federal judge

He's right about one thing, a lot of Americans are hurting, but not the ones he cares about. I'ts understandable that Hastings would, being the 6th federal judge in history to be removed from the bench by the Senate, have a keen understanding of the flexibility of rules for the purpose of governing. According to a story in the Wall Street Journal, he spent $24,000 in taxpayer funds to lease a luxury Lexus hybrid car for himself. Another interesting little fact about “the honorable” Representative Hastings: one of his staffers is his long-time girlfriend (also a disbarred lawyer), whom he pays a salary of $160K annually — with taxpayer money, of course.

Hastings then added:

“I wish that I had been there when Thomas Edison made the remark that I think applies here: ‘There ain’t no rules around here — we’re trying to accomplish something.’ And therefore, when the deal goes down, all this talk about rules, we make ‘em up as we go along, and I’m here now 18 years, and a significant amount of that time here on this committee under the leadership of the Republicans…” Edison is widely quoted as saying “Hell, there are no rules here—we’re trying to accomplish something.”


He seems so happy now that he is surrounded by Democrats and doesn't have to be bothered with  silly annoyances like rules, or ethics.

Don't forget to vote to restore honor in November, so we don't need to explain to Mr. Hastings the difference between inventing light bulbs, and governing the people of the United States