Legislative bodies vote for the passage of thousands of these types of resolutions all the time. Even in the House of Representatives. But in Georgia
March 20, 2009

Legislative bodies vote for the passage of thousands of these types of resolutions all the time. Even in the House of Representatives. But in Georgia they just couldn't do the honorable thing:

The Georgia House voted Thursday 70-68 to reject a resolution that would have honored President Barack Obama as a politician with an "unimpeachable reputation for integrity, vision and passion."

The vote by the Republican-controlled chamber infuriated members of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, who designed the proposal to make Obama an honorary member of the group. They said it would have been the first such proposal in the country.

"I've never seen this type of action taken on the floor of the House, said state Rep. Calvin Smyre, a Columbus Democrat and 35-year veteran of the Legislature who is president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators. "I'm appalled, I'm disappointed, I'm shocked. The fact of the matter is there's a dark cloud over Georgia."

{snip}

State Rep. Keith Heard, D-Athens, said in more than 16 years in office he has voted on thousands of such "privileged" resolutions, which are typically bundled in a package and adopted with no debate each legislative day.

He said he's held his nose and voted even for resolutions he doesn't support, such as a 2005 resolution commending President Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina, out of respect for the lawmaker supporting the measure.

But Scott, he said, broke an unwritten rule in the Georgia Capitol when he blocked the resolution.

I'm not a fan of such resolutions, but it's a very old practice in politics and it's a very sad day for the Big Peach to act this way just because there is a Democratic President (not to mention a black one) in office now. I'm not surprised, though.

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