Rep. Van Hollen on House Rule Change on Shutdown Vote: “Democracy has been Suspended!”

Juan Cole 10/15/2013

Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-Md) went viral in a YouTube video he released of his parliamentary inquiries on a change in House rules that forbade individual members to initiate a motion to open the Federal government. Only the Speaker of the House can now do so, in a highly undemocratic step.

Here is the Van Hollen inquiry:

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment and Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan. Follow him at @jricole