By Katherine Rizzo, CQ Staff

From Political Perceptions on WSJ.com

You’d think that Democrats on Capitol Hill would feel like they’re on top of the world. The money’s rolling in, poll numbers are still tilting their way and they’re in charge.

But they act like they’re surrounded.

The reason: House Republicans have become adept at a form of guerrilla warfare that uses the rules to torment the party in control.

For instance, if they think Democrats are getting too big for their britches, the Republicans will give them something of a parliamentary wedgie moving to adjourn for the day.

That forces the House to stop what it’s doing and vote.

It’s childish and pointless because the adjournment gets voted down every time, but that doesn’t stop anybody. Last year, the Republicans yanked on the brake cord 23 times, and so far this year they’ve done it 16 times.

It drives the Democrats crazy because the only way to make the House work is to keep it to a schedule.

Really Rattling the Democrats

However, what gets the Democrats really rattled is when the Republicans back them into a corner and force the majority to choose between voting in favor of something they totally hate or voting against something they really, really like. Whatever they choose, a vote is a vote, and fair game for footnoted literature or attack ads with grainy pictures and spooky music.

It’s the kind of trick that can cause some of the weaker members of the herd to lose an election. Or as Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the No. 2 House GOP leader put it, the kind of choice that “better defines the debate and the individual members.”

On April 15, Democrats marked the tax deadline by bringing a tax bill to the floor. The timing was a gimme, and the bill was very popular with the majority party — it would order the Internal Revenue Service to stop paying private tax collectors (HR 5719).

Republicans forced an add-on vote that turned the tax question into a taxes-and-immigration question. The add-on portion sought to penalize so-called sanctuary cities, the ones that don’t tell the feds about illegal immigrants. It was a big in-your-face for those who represent sanctuary cities or who sympathize with undocumented migrants. And it pit the Democrats from more liberal districts against the ones who were put into office by swing voters — voters they all hope won’t swing the other way in November.