I can see how Neal enjoys his "sleight of hand" metaphor. It can be helpful in explaining legislative gambits. But Neal seems unaware that he is a victim of the earlier sleight of hand. In the dimly lit room, he did not see that McKelvey had swapped out a good bill for a bad, look-alike bill.

Having missed the first deception, he only saw the second deception, as was the magician's intention!

Angus inserted "poison pills" into the bill, features designed to cause the bill's defeat. He did this against the will of the bill's supporters. He expanded the bill beyond restricted use pesticides, added termite treatments, and greatly broadened the class of users who would be impacted.

He was engineering the bill's defeat, but so his colleagues would be blamed. His actions were secretive, hidden. But it the rest of the House who is accused of violating "transparency"? He thought he was being slick. They disagreed.

Neal is a classic victim of the misdirection he writes about here.