{"id":2325528,"date":"2024-08-16T06:57:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-16T10:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-used-heavy-handed-tactics-in-infamous-disputed-election-fight-party-lawyer-says-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2024-08-16T07:03:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T11:03:34","slug":"house-democrats-used-heavy-handed-tactics-in-infamous-disputed-election-fight-party-lawyer-says-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/house-democrats-used-heavy-handed-tactics-in-infamous-disputed-election-fight-party-lawyer-says-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"House Democrats used heavy-handed tactics in infamous disputed election fight, party lawyer says &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fhouse-democrats-used-heavy-handed-tactics-in-infamous-disputed-election-fight-party-lawyer-says-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2325528&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the controversial 1985 recount battle for Indiana&#8217;s 8th Congressional District, known as &#8220;The Bloody Eighth,&#8221; \u2064which continues to evoke strong partisan feelings nearly four decades later. A Democratic lawyer\u2063 involved in the dispute, Bob Bauer, reflects \u2062on the events in his new book, highlighting the growing partisan tensions of the time. The recount was triggered by an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/blockbuster-j6-committee-expose-mike-lee-and-chip-roy-love-the-constitution\/\" title=\"Blockbuster J6 Committee Expose: Mike Lee And Chip Roy Love The Constitution\">extremely close election<\/a> between Democrat Frank McCloskey and Republican Rick McIntyre, which led to accusations of election fraud and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-taps-u-s-attorney-opposed-to-prosecution-of-drug-dealers-and-thieves\/\" title=\"Biden Taps U.S. Attorney Opposed to Prosecution of Drug Dealers and Thieves\">heavy-handed tactics<\/a> by Democrats. <\/p>\n<p>Bauer acknowledges the anger expressed \u2064by Republicans \u200bfollowing the Democratic-led\u2063 House&#8217;s decision\u200c to seat\u2064 McCloskey despite\u2062 claims of misconduct. At the time, Democrats held a significant majority in\u200c the House, and the \u200ccontroversy symbolizes the power struggles and divisive politics that have persisted in American political discourse. The \u200barticle also compares the conduct \u200cof the Democrats \u200cduring this \u2062period\u2062 to\u200c a more congenial political climate under President Reagan, \u2063hinting at how the dynamics \u200dof political competition have evolved over time. the\u200b recount episode\u2063 serves as a historical example of how political\u2064 passions can exacerbate divisions that resonate\u200c in contemporary politics.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-sacff-txt\">Magazine &#8211; Washington Briefing <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">House Democrats used heavy-handed tactics in infamous disputed election fight, party lawyer says<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1535147\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Former members of Congress generally emphasize their bipartisan credentials. Instead of discussing pitched battles of years past pitting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Democrats<\/a> against <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/republicans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Republicans<\/a> and vice versa, they&rsquo;re prone to reminisce instead about legislation they sponsored, foreign travel with lawmakers from the opposition party, and other efforts to work across the aisle.<\/p>\n<p>But ask any House Republican who was in office during a winter-to-spring 1985 recount fight for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/indiana\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Indiana&rsquo;s<\/a> 8th<sup> <\/sup>Congressional District, and they&rsquo;re likely to get their partisan dander up. The episode remains a source of partisan rage nearly 40 years later, with Republicans contending Democrats stole a House seat rightfully won by the GOP candidate.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then-Rep. Frank McCloskey. (John Duricka\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Now, a Democratic lawyer involved in that fight says Republicans had a right to be angry &mdash; over political optics, if not the facts of the case. Bob Bauer, a longtime, leading Democratic lawyer who was former President Barack Obama&rsquo;s White House counsel and is President Joe Biden&rsquo;s personal attorney, reflects on the long-ago &ldquo;Bloody Eighth&rdquo; political brawl, which took place halfway through former President Ronald Reagan&rsquo;s eight-year White House tenure, in his new book, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Books-Bob-Bauer\/s?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_27%3ABob+Bauer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><em>The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis<\/em>.<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">&lsquo;The Bloody Eighth&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>As Bauer&rsquo;s book title suggests, in hindsight, not every pitched Washington battle was a political hill to die on. Bauer&rsquo;s nuanced, reflective look at increasing partisan tensions extends to the January-May 1985 fight over who won the southern Indiana House district in dispute &mdash; then-first-term Rep. Frank McCloskey, 45, or his Republican rival Rick McIntyre, then a 28-year-old state representative and GOP rising star.<\/p>\n<p>The then-lopsided Democratic House majority eventually declared McCloskey the winner &mdash; the result, Republicans howled, of deception and outright theft. Bauer doesn&rsquo;t say seating McCloskey was the wrong outcome but acknowledges House Republicans had reasons to be angry about the process and that the episode helped contribute to the nation&rsquo;s deep political divisions today.<\/p>\n<p>The fight is &ldquo;an example of how partisan passions unleashed might overcome better judgment,&rdquo; Bauer writes.<\/p>\n<p>After all, back then, the Republicans and Democrats never did agree on who won the first bitterly contested fight for the Evansville-area district, across the Ohio River from northern Kentucky. The rural Indiana district had long been one of the most evenly split in the House and was dubbed the &ldquo;Bloody Eighth&rdquo; for its tradition of hard-fought, close contests. Voters here were divided between rural populists, and city-dwellers and academics in Bloomington, home to Indiana University. By spring 1985, the district had elected five different congressmen over the previous decade, representing both parties.<\/p>\n<p>The 1984 contest, one of the closest congressional races in history, ended up in a virtual tie that came down to whether local election officials would validate a handful of ballots, out of about 233,000 cast. McIntyre was first declared the winner by Indiana&rsquo;s Republican secretary of state, but Democrats cried foul, and the Democratic-controlled House refused to seat him.<\/p>\n<p>For a time, both McIntyre and McCloskey drew congressional pay, but neither was officially seated. Finally, after months of ballot recounts, the House voted in May 1985, to declare McCloskey the winner, approving the recommendation of a Democratic-controlled House task force sent to Indiana to examine vote-counting procedures.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Then-Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-GA). (Robin Nelson\/Zuma Press)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Republicans were outraged by what they claimed was the theft of the seat, and the House GOP delegation walked out of the Capitol when McCloskey was finally sworn into office. A leader in that effort was a then-backbench Republican from Georgia, Rep. Newt Gingrich, who a decade later became a national figure as the first GOP House speaker in more than 40 years.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Political tyranny of a decadeslong Democratic majority?<\/h2>\n<p>While Democrats won the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-deeper-danger-of-political-hypocrisy\/\" title=\"The Deeper Danger Of Political Hypocrisy\">political battle<\/a> for Indiana&rsquo;s 8th Congressional District, eventually, Republicans were victorious in the larger war. GOP lawmakers complained about that recount for years, pointing to it as a sign of House Democrats&rsquo; heavy-handed tactics to keep their long-standing majority.<\/p>\n<p>By spring 1985, after all, Democrats had held the majority for 30 years, in a fraying coalition of liberals from the Northeast and other regions and southern moderates and conservatives dating back to the New Deal era in the 1930s.<\/p>\n<p>House Republicans&rsquo; seemingly &ldquo;permanent minority&rdquo; status was exemplified by their agreeable, often-smiling leader, Rep. Bob Michel of Illinois. Michael became minority leader in January 1981 and had been in the House since 1957 &mdash; including the party&rsquo;s low points after the 1964 and 1976 elections, when Democrats held majorities of 2-1 over Republicans, with more than 290 seats in the 435-member chamber.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout Michel&rsquo;s time in leadership, he remained committed to legislative compromise in the practical view that, so long as his caucus had fewer votes than the Democrats, appealing to the spirit of bipartisanship was the best way for his side to lay claim to a few crumbs off the negotiating table.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;When you&rsquo;re in the minority,&rdquo; Michel once said, &ldquo;you&rsquo;ve got to make up your mind: Are you going to be a player or are you just going to be a constant carping critic?&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>By the mid-1980s, though, it was clear the House Republican Conference had become dominated by younger members, such as Gingrich, who favored much more confrontational conservatism and much less Midwestern amiability.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, House Democrats by the 1980s, convinced that Republicans would be forever in the minority, regularly abused their majority power. Democrats denied minority legislators adequate staff, excluded them from committee deliberations, gerrymandered their districts, and even, Republicans were convinced, stole elections.<\/p>\n<p>When it came to the recount in Indiana&rsquo;s 8th Congressional District, what ticked off Republicans was that Democrats didn&rsquo;t even need the seat to keep their firm control of the House, because they had a commanding 258-177 majority. Democrats, in their view, just stole the seat because they could.<\/p>\n<p>It was, in this view, a stark departure from the magnanimity that Reagan, months earlier, had shown his battered 1984 presidential rival, former Vice President Walter Mondale. Reagan won 49 out of 50 states, with Mondale claiming only the Democratic stronghold of Washington, D.C., and his home state of Minnesota. Though Mondale barely eked out a Gopher State win, emerging the victor with 49.72% over the vote to Reagan&rsquo;s 49.54% &mdash; a difference of 3,761 votes out of more than 2 million cast. Reagan didn&rsquo;t visit Minnesota until near the campaign&rsquo;s end, and a more concerted effort there likely would have won him the state, considering his popularity nationally.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats did not lose control of the House until the 1994 midterm elections, by which time Republicans had been in the minority for 40 years. McCloskey was among the Democratic House members washed out in that year&rsquo;s Republican Revolution, losing to a GOP first-time candidate. McCloskey was one of 34 Democratic incumbents unseated. Since then, Republicans have had the upper hand in House elections &mdash; at the end of the 118th Congress in January 2025, they&rsquo;ll have held majorities for 22 of the previous 30 years.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Which points to Bauer&rsquo;s book warnings about unceasing partisan battles. Either side can end up on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/breaking-exclusive-evidence-china-was-colluding-with-the-bidens-and-providing-information-on-how-to-defeat-president-trump-in-the-2020-election\/\" title=\"BREAKING EXCLUSIVE: Evidence China Was Colluding with the Bidens and Providing Information on How to Defeat President Trump in the 2020 Election\">top eventually<\/a>. Rank-and-file Republicans, Bauer writes, and not necessarily fans of former President Donald Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee, reasonably &ldquo;seek some recognition that over that time that American political polarization has generated intensifying conflict over the results of elections, Democrats have played their part.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Bauer adds that these good-faith Republicans &ldquo;cited the case of the Democratic House majority&rsquo;s refusal in 1985 to accept a Republican victory in Indiana&rsquo;s Eighth Congressional District.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1535147\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1535147\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>**Magazine &#8211; Washington Briefing**<\/p>\n<p>A Democratic attorney claims that House Democrats employed aggressive strategies during the notorious election dispute. Former Congress members typically highlight their bipartisan achievements, often reminiscing about legislation they introduced, international trips with opposing party lawmakers, and other collaborative efforts rather than revisiting past partisan conflicts. However, any House Republican who served during the contentious recount for Indiana&#8217;s 8th Congressional District in early 1985 is likely to feel a surge of partisanship. This incident continues to evoke strong emotions nearly four decades later, as Republicans assert that Democrats unlawfully seized a House seat rightfully won by their candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Bob Bauer, a prominent Democratic lawyer and former counsel for President Barack Obama who currently serves as President Joe Biden\u2019s personal attorney, reflects on this historical &#8220;Bloody Eighth&#8221; political clash in his new book titled *The Unraveling: Reflections on Politics without Ethics and Democracy in Crisis*. As suggested by the title of his book, not every fierce political battle was worth fighting over in hindsight. Bauer offers a thoughtful examination of rising partisan tensions surrounding the January-May 1985 conflict regarding whether first-term Rep. Frank McCloskey or his Republican opponent Rick McIntyre emerged victorious.<\/p>\n<p>Ultimately declared the winner by a Democratic-majority House after extensive recounts\u2014despite initial claims from Indiana&#8217;s Republican secretary of state favoring McIntyre\u2014Bauer acknowledges that while he does not contest McCloskey\u2019s victory itself, he understands why Republicans were frustrated with how the process unfolded. He argues that this episode exemplifies how unchecked partisan fervor can overshadow sound judgment.<\/p>\n<p>The district had historically been closely contested between both parties and was known for its competitive nature due to its mix of rural populists and urban residents from Bloomington. The 1984 election was one of the tightest congressional races ever recorded; it ended nearly tied after local officials had to validate just a few ballots out of approximately 233,000 cast.<\/p>\n<p>Following months filled with disputes over ballot counting procedures and congressional paychecks being drawn by both candidates without official seating status for either side, it wasn&#8217;t until May 1985 that McCloskey was finally recognized as the winner based on recommendations from an investigative task force sent by Democrats.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans expressed outrage at what they perceived as an unjust seizure of power when McCloskey took office; many walked out during his swearing-in ceremony led by then-backbench Congressman Newt Gingrich from Georgia\u2014a figure who would later rise to prominence as Speaker of the House.<\/p>\n<p>While Democrats triumphed politically in this instance within Indiana&#8217;s district race amidst their long-standing majority control since before Reagan\u2019s presidency began (having held power for three decades), Republicans continued to voice grievances about such tactics used against them throughout those years\u2014viewing it as indicative of broader abuses stemming from prolonged Democratic dominance which they believed undermined fair representation within Congress.<\/p>\n<p>By mid-1980s dynamics shifted significantly; younger GOP members like Gingrich began advocating more confrontational approaches compared to previous leaders like Bob Michel who favored compromise due largely because they remained consistently outnumbered within legislative discussions dominated heavily by Democrats confident they&#8217;d remain unchallenged indefinitely\u2014a belief reinforced through actions taken against minority legislators including inadequate staffing provisions or exclusionary practices during committee meetings leading up until then when accusations arose regarding electoral misconduct including alleged thefts occurring across various districts nationwide culminating ultimately into heightened polarization seen today according Bauer himself noting how these events have contributed towards ongoing divisions present now among American politics overall where each side may find themselves eventually facing similar challenges regardless if they&#8217;re currently positioned atop or below others involved therein moving forward into future elections ahead!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2695,"featured_media":2325529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/WB.Congress-082124.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[38320,38319,33723,38321,32076],"class_list":["post-2325528","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-disputed-election","tag-election-fight","tag-house-democrats","tag-party-tactics","tag-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/WB.Congress-082124.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325528","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2695"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2325528"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2325528\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2325529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2325528"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2325528"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2325528"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}