poison pill amendment

Definition

An amendment deliberately added to a bill to make it unpalatable to supporters, forcing them to vote against their own legislation. Legislative sabotage disguised as participation.

Example Usage

Republicans added a poison pill amendment to the environmental bill requiring immediate closure of all national parks, ensuring Democrats would vote against it.

Origin

Borrowed from corporate finance where poison pills prevent hostile takeovers

Fun Fact

Poison pill amendments are often more about creating attack ads ('Senator X voted against protecting puppies!') than actually defeating legislation.

Source: Legislative strategy and parliamentary tactics

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