By now, you know that late last week, the US House of Representatives melted down when the Democratic leadership overruled a clear Republican victory on an amendment.

What you may not know is that it was Harry Mitchell's last minute vote switch that instigated the confrontation. Mitchell originally voted with the Republicans to bar illegal immigrants from receiving any federal funds apportioned in the agricultural spending bill for employment or rental assistance. However, when it became clear that the Republicans were actually going to prevail, Mitchell went to the well of the House and changed his vote.

Here's how the non-partisan Congressional Quarterly covered it:

The floor confusion arose when, with the tally tied at 214-214, two politically vulnerable Democrats, Nick Lampson of Texas and Harry E. Mitchell of Arizona, went to the well of the chamber to switch their votes to “no.” The buddy system would prevent Democrats who voted “no” from being targeted as the deciding vote in future campaign ads.

The "buddy system" isn't going to work in this case because the C-SPAN video clearly shows Mitchell's vote to be the last one cast.

Take a minute and watch the video. Harry Mitchell clearly casts the deciding vote to kill the Republican amendment that would have prevented illegal aliens from profiting off of the farm bill.

What is Mitchell thinking? He cast the deciding vote to kill an amendment that would have prevented illegal aliens from getting government benefits. Similar measures on the Arizona ballot passed with nearly 75% support. Mitchell had the chance to side with the voters of his district, or with the Democratic Leadership. He was with the voters initially, but when it became clear that his vote was actually going to matter, he jumped back into Nancy Pelosi's arms.

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