(Cutting) Taxation without Representation

Readers of this blog who have Republican representatives in the House already know that they have been effectively disenfranchised from the American lawmaking process. Those who, like me, have Democratic representatives, realize that on highly partisan issues they also have lost their say. But WIIIAI points out that we learned this week that we have had our franchise stolen even on issues that don't follow party lines:

[T]his week Hastert killed the intelligence bill (whose worth I’m still agnostic on, by the way), refusing to allow a vote on it because although it would have passed with the support of D’s & R’s, it did not have a majority of Republicans. Commanding the support of a majority of Congress is no longer enough, for Hastert. The corollary of this is that Democratic lawmakers can just stay home, their opinions no longer count. This is a new reading of the constitution, a small but significant revolution.