WASHINGTON, SOONER THAN YOU THINK – At least five people were injured, two of them seriously, when a fight broke out last night on the floor of the House of Representatives. Capitol police had to be called in to halt the melee, which spilled into the House galleries and brought a premature end to a day of intense legislative maneuvering.
According to witnesses, the conflict began when House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) shoved his Democratic counterpart, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during debate on the reform of U.S. intelligence services. But it quickly escalated into a full-scale brawl after DeLay was showered with criticism from the press galleries that overlook the House floor.
DeLay responded by climbing into the galleries and pummeling several reporters and television correspondents. He was joined, observers said, by as many as four of his fellow Republicans, who delivered powerful blows of their own.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said a veteran reporter for a major metropolitan daily newspaper, who wished to remain anonymous because of fears for his personal security. “It was really scary up there.”
Police said that one man in an adjoining gallery was knocked unconscious when he was struck by a copy of the Congressional Record. He is said to be in stable condition at George Washington University Hospital.
This is not the first incident involving DeLay, who has had anger-management issues in the past, and whose highly combative style has earned him the nickname “The Hammer.” DeLay’s supporters, meanwhile, claimed that he had been provoked.
“The guy’s minding his business same as always,” said one, “when he gets absolutely soaked by the media. What’s he supposed to do, shrug it off?” This supporter, who asked for anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, insisted that a majority leader who “lets people push him around” would soon find himself incapable of exerting influence.
“It’s all about respect,” he said.
Meanwhile, long-time observers of Capitol Hill were saddened by this latest round of violence – but not terribly surprised. In recent years, the tone of Congressional deliberations has grown increasingly negative. Bipartisanship has all but vanished, particularly in the House, which operates, many feel, in a constant state of war.
Adding to the problem: the growing number of members who join their caucuses from carefully drawn, and essentially one-party, districts, where the pressures to appeal to their party’s most active – and extreme – elements can be intense. As a result, many members now hit the big time unschooled in the subtleties of the political process the way their elders were.
“All they know is showing how tough they are,” said Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute. “The preening, the woofing, the whole nine yards. Tom DeLay is really the poster boy for that approach.”
Republican gains in both the House and Senate during the recent elections, Ornstein suggested, have only led to greater muscle flexing on the part of the GOP, and greater frustration for the Democrats.
Still, while an explosion may have been inevitable, the extent of the fighting – and in particular, the breaching of the traditional wall between the “players” and those who report on them – had many concerned for the future of the institution. Congress has long encouraged the notion that its stars are close enough to touch; it remains to be seen how the public will react to discovering that the reverse is also true.
A spokesman for DeLay said that the congressman would have no comment on the fight or its implications, and dismissed rumors of a possible DeLay apology as “absurd.”
House Republicans, meanwhile, amended their party’s rules to allow members convicted of assault to retain their leadership positions.
Said House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), “It’s the least we can do for our good friend Tom.”
Rick Horowitz is a nationally syndicated columnist. Contact him by writing to rickhoro@execpc.com.
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