Democrats Are Learning You Have To Do Ridiculous Things To Deal With Ridiculous Republicans

When House Democrats began an hours-long sit-in on the House floor Wednesday to force a vote on a gun bill, it was the latest in a series of recent stunts meant to highlight the obstructionist stance of House Republicans.

Many, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) have pointed out that the sit-in was just a stunt, meant to grab attention but not actually change anything. The gun bill lawmakers were taking a stand on isn't even that great. But as the minority party in a chamber in a body that seems determined to do nothing, Democrats are using stunts on the House floor -- a space usually resigned to a certain kind of decorum -- to force people to pay attention to what Republicans are doing.

Democratic representatives did this last month when they shouted "Shame!" on the House floor as Republicans quietly used a procedural tactic to save an anti-LGBT provision in a bill. Last week, after a moment of silence for victims of the Orlando shooting, Democrats began shouting "no leadership" and "where's the bill?" to pressure Ryan to hold a vote on gun control. Senate Democrats also pulled a stunt of their own Thursday and called on the GOP team in the Congressional baseball game to only have eight players. The number symbolizes the eight justices who have been serving on the Supreme Court while Republicans refuse to hold a confirmation for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama's nominee to replace the late Antonin Scalia.

Several aides and lawmakers told The Huffington Post on Wednesday that Democrats have more up their sleeve. We're in for a wild ride.