McHenry still the go-to bully boy for inaccurate but entertaining (and blaming) quotes

When Republicans want to pretend they had nothing to do with the destruction of our infrastructure, they find other ways to criticize Democrats on hot button topics like abortion, gay marriage, and . . . ta-da! Immigration.

And the Politico's Crypt is now turning to McHenry regularly to "splain" what he understands but wants to pretend he don't. Of course, the explanation Cryptoid (is he related to Novak?) prints doesn't have to be anything like accurate. Like me (who admits it) the Crypt just wants people to read his free rag.

Last night things got testy over immigration (who would have guessed?)

Details remain fuzzy, but numerous Republicans argued afterward that they had secured a 215-213 win on their motion to bar undocumented immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance.

Democrats, however, argued the measure was deadlocked at 214-214 and failed, members and aides on both sides of the aisle said afterward.One GOP aide saw McNulty gavel the vote to a close after receiving a signal from his leaders – but before reading the official tally. And votes continued to shift even after he closed the roll call - a strange development in itself.

Whatever the final tally, acrimony quickly exploded between lawmakers on either side of the aisle as Democratic leaders tried to plot a solution, while parliamentarians on either side argued over protocol.

Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) eventually offered a motion to reconsider, according to floor staff on either side, ostensibly giving members a chance to recast their votes. But the maneuver sparked a chorus of angry protests from the Republicans, yelling “shame” on Democrats, while they returned fire with angry volleys of their own.

When Democrats finally moved to consider the spending bill as the last vote of the night, furious Republicans left the chamber en masse to protest the maneuver. The House eventually recessed at 11:18 p.m. But Republicans quickly discovered that there was no longer any record of the controversial vote and immediately charged Democrats with erasing the bad result.

“Obviously, the Democrats don’t want to stand up against illegal immigration – so much so that they’re willing to cheat in order to win a vote,” Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) said in an e-mail. “They’re desperate – and it shows.”

The official House website did not show a record of the vote as of 1 a.m. Friday.

I wonder how much The Crypt turned to the minority Democrats in the last few years, like when they tried to hold hearings and the Republicans turned off the power and locked the doors. But I guess that's not "cheating."

Deiphilus is posting the video of McHenry's one-minute comment on the floor today so I'll have that up when it's ready.