"What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”
Posted on 05/11/2014 10:12:27 AM PDT by jazusamo
A senior House Democrat said Sunday the party is ready to participate in the Benghazi select committee as long as the process is “fair, open and balanced.”
Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.), who as caucus chairman is the fourth-ranking House Democrat, would not commit to the party appointing members to the new House panel, but he said Democrats did not have specific demands like a requirement to sign off on the issuing of subpoenas. “If it’s a fair, open and balanced process then absolutely,” Becerra said on “Fox News Sunday” when asked if Democrats would participate in the select committee. “But we don’t want to see reckless irresponsible handling of an affair that took the lives of four brave Americans.”
“We’ve always said that we’re ready to participate,” he added. “We have an oversight responsibility in Congress. What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”
While Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has appointed all seven Republican members to the committee that the House voted to establish last week, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) left for the weekend without naming any Democrats to the panel. She told reporters the caucus is split on whether to participate, with some lawmakers urging a boycott on the grounds that the committee is politically motivated and unnecessary.
But on Sunday, Becerra said Democrats simply did not want to be “excluded” from key decisions.
“What we’re simply saying is 'make it a process where we can’t be excluded from the interviewing of witnesses, where we can’t be excluded when a decision is made to subpoena a witness,' ” he said. “'Make it so we’re all in the room when we’re reviewing the documents that are supposed to be evidence.' What we don’t want to be is excluded. We don’t want the American public to be shut out.”
Appearing on the same program, committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) sought to dispel Democratic concerns they would be shut out.
“I don’t run my committees the way that Democrats are fearful of,” he said. “I want everyone to say it was fair, it was exhaustive, and we knew more than we did when it started.”
Gowdy said Republicans would be “punished” if they overplay their hand in the probe of an attack that killed four Americans at the U.S. consulate on Sept. 11, 2012. And he repeated his call for the GOP to forbid fundraising pitches off the Benghazi select committee.
He said that while he wanted to ask former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton why the U.S. remained in Benghazi despite warnings of deteriorating security, the committee was not out to get her.
“I have no friends to reward and no foes to punish,” Gowdy said.
The rats are in the minority in the House but still think they’re entitled to call the shots. They need to have the uppity smacked out of them at every opportunity.
My rule of thumb is, the more the Democrats whine, the better chance America has of surviving.
Without any rat obstruction, the committee will be able to get to the truth in half the time. So, let the rats stay home...we don’t need to see their tears and hear their cries of “unfair”.
I’d tip the balance one member further every 48 hours until Nancy Pelosi either picks the remaining democrats or boycotts the investigation altogether.
Well said...Gowdy as the chair of this select committee is just the guy that can slap them down and they know it, I really believe it’s because of him that they’re having such a hissy fit.
"What we don’t want to see is reckless and irresponsible use of taxpayer money to do these witch hunts.”
DimocRATS will be on the committee—they’ve simply been playing a game with their participation.
A word of caution for ALL the Republicans on the select committee-—when the Dims say they want it to be “open” they mean they want to know, IN ADVANCE, what the Republicans’ questions will be. And they want to know that, of course, so they can feed those questions to any friendly (i.e., friendly to the DimocRATS and the statists) “witnesses” and others who will be coming in front of the committee. THE REPUBLICANS SHOULD COORDINATE THEIR QUESTIONS & STRATEGIES BUT THEY SHOULD NOT SHARE THOSE WITH THE DIMS IN ADVANCE-—THE DIMS’ ONLY INTEREST WILL BE TO SABOTAGE THE PROCEEDINGS.
Nobody gives a damn if the guilty group doesn’t want its representatives on the investigatory committee. Actually it’s better they’re not on it. America needs the truth uncovered and exposed, and there’s a much better chance we can achieve this without having the D foxes in the (hen)
House committee room.
I truly hope the Republicans don’t fold on this. In fact, as the Democrats get more and more frightened about what this committee will expose, the Republicans should keep adding demands, to do their level best to keep the Democrats out.
Harry Reid has a “unilateral” senate, and Obama has declared a “unilateral” presidency; so the Republicans truly need to show the Democrats the price of being unilateral, by making a Republican only committee to investigate Benghazi.
Fair is fair. The Democrats have thrown out the rulebook, so they have no, zero, right to demand that the Republicans play by the rules.
Agreed...In my view the Republicans won’t fold if it’s up to Trey Gowdy and it’s encouraging that Boehner selected him as chair, he finally did something right.
I’d like to think Boehner will act unilaterally on this if for nothing else just to see Pelosi and her lapdogs spit and sputter, we’ll soon see.
Sign off on subpoenas? Are you kidding? Now that they’re out, they are only trying to get in so that they can obfuscate and subvert he process of getting at the truth. Hell no!
The MSM won’t cover the investigation unless forced to. Let the committee quietly do its work without fanfare. If the smoking gun emerges, as long as it’s the real deal, the Dims will have nothing to say.
Meanwhile, the GOP should do there own obfuscating by slowly negotiating with the Dims as to the rules for participation, while the real work is getting done. Then, bring in the Dims at the end after the damage has been done.
We do not need a real man as speaker — we have a real prosecutor.
https://www.youtube.com/v/A1jeJmeeMjs
... i.e., Demmies will participate is Republicans run the show exactly the opposite of how things were run when Pelosi had the authority to call the shots.
Yo, dimwits, elections have consequences so quit your pathetic whining shut the hell up, and look out now because Truth is finally about to smack you squarely in your vacant-stare faces.
The only way the panel could be fair and balanced - no lying Democrats allowed.
Hillary in the witness chair answering (pretending to) Trey Gowdy’s questions are what has all the Dems in a panic. They are pinning their political futures to Hildabeast’s pantsuit leg and they’re all willing to look like fools to protect her.
Should be fun. “What difference does it make?” Won’t cut it this time around.
I agree, the integrity and determination of Trey Gowdy has them terrified.
He’ll shine the light of truth on them and they’ll try to scatter like cockroaches.
He’s not going to give them anywhere to run to, and nowhere to hide.
(sounds like a song)
https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/XxAJbGGf1xI
You’re right on the mark about Gowdy and the song is perfect.
Haven’t heard it for years and it brings back memories, good ones. Had forgotten about Martha and the Vandellas. :-)
Spring 1965, I was chasing surf bunnies at Virginia Beach when that song hit the top ten on the pop charts! LOL!!!
No one’s going to boycott the committee...The Democrats need to be there to block the investigation at every turn...
And no doubt in my mind that at crucial junctures, Boner will block Gowdy and the rest of the crew...Surely by now we know how they play the game...
LOL! In the Spring of 1965 my chasing days were over, I was getting ready to drive to your beautiful commonwealth of VA to marry Mrs. Jaz, it was a long drive but well worth it. ;-)
Becerra: Democrats will participate if Benghazi panel ‘fair, open and balanced’
Horse. Sh*t.
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