'Frank' Democrats censor GOP mail (OneNewsNow.com)

'Frank' Democrats censor GOP mail

Jim Brown - OneNewsNow - 8/25/2009 8:00:00 AM

Mailbox An Arizona congressman says liberals on the "Franking Commission" have deliberately tried to censor mail that conservative Republican House members are attempting to send out to their constituents.

Democrats on the bipartisan Commission on Congressional Mailing Standards have been blocking Republicans from sending out franked mailings to constituents that refer to the cap-and-trade bill as "cap and tax," the stimulus bill as the "so-called stimulus," and the healthcare reform bill as "socialized medicine."

Representative Trent Franks (R-Arizona) says the Franking Commission even told him to stop using the phrase "Democratic majority" in his newsletters, and to use "majority" instead.

"For instance, I can say 'the Speaker,' but I can't say 'Speaker Pelosi' because that's too inflammatory. Well, you know, I understand their problem -- they don't want people to really identify the Democratic Party with Nancy Pelosi," he notes. "But the point is, we are forced to change our vernacular and how we say things in order to comport with their attitudes and their way of believing [how] we should say it."

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ)

Another Republican member of the House, John Carter of Texas, told Human Events last month the Franking Commission informed him he could not say: "House Democrats unveiled a government-run healthcare plan" -- but instead must use: "The House majority unveiled a public option healthcare plan." That, stated Carter, is "Pelosi-speak."

According to Franks, an honest and open debate would put Democrats' agenda "in dire straits."

"Ironically, we found franked mail sent from Nancy Pelosi that has exactly the same phrases in it, only from the Democrat side when she was in the minority -- exactly the same that she never was censored for," he adds. "But now that they're in the majority, they're censoring the Republican mail."

Franks says for the first time in decades, Republicans have not been able to offer amendments to some of the most critical bills being considered. He points out that Democrats are even trying to create a rule on appropriations bills that would prevent Republicans from offering their amendments.