Posted on 06/10/2005 5:06:48 PM PDT by Pikamax
c By JIM ABRAMS, Associated Press Writer 32 minutes ago
The Republican chairman walked off with the gavel, leaving Democrats shouting into turned-off microphones at a raucous hearing Friday on the Patriot Act.
The House Judiciary Committee hearing, with the two sides accusing each other of being irresponsible and undemocratic, came as President Bush was urging Congress to renew those sections of the post-Sept. 11 counterterrorism law set to expire in September.
Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the panel, abruptly gaveled the meeting to an end and walked out, followed by other Republicans. Sensenbrenner declared that much of the testimony, which veered into debate over the detainees at Guantanamo Bay, was irrelevant.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (news, bio, voting record), D-N.Y., protested, raising his voice as his microphone went off, came back on, and went off again.
"We are not besmirching the honor of the United States, we are trying to uphold it," he said.
Democrats asked for the hearing, the 11th the committee has held on the act since April, saying past hearings had been too slanted toward witnesses who supported the law. The four witnesses were from groups, including Amnesty International USA and the American Immigration Lawyers Association, that have questioned the constitutionality of some aspects of the act, which allows law enforcement greater authority to investigate suspected terrorists.
Nadler said Sensenbrenner, one of the authors of the Patriot Act, was "rather rude, cutting everybody off in mid-sentence with an attitude of total hostility."
Tempers flared when Rep. Mike Pence (news, bio, voting record), R-Ind., accused Amnesty International of endangering the lives of Americans in uniform by referring to the prison at Guantanamo Bay as a "gulag." Sensenbrenner didn't allow the Amnesty representative, Chip Pitts, to respond until Nadler raised a "point of decency."
Sensenbrenner's spokesman, Jeff Lungren, said the hearing had lasted two hours and "the chairman was very accommodating, giving members extra time."
James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute, speaking immediately after Sensenbrenner left, voiced dismay over the proceedings. "I'm troubled about what kind of lesson this gives" to the rest of the world, he told the Democrats remaining in the room.
House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, in a statement, said the hearing was an example of Republican abuse of power and she would ask House Speaker Dennis Hastert to order an apology from Sensenbrenner.
___
That explains alot!
Did you watch it? Are you watching it?
Because if you haven't, you might no know that Sensenbrenner gives EVERY SINGLE representative that showed up, a chance to ask questions..
BUT, he stuck to time limits---and didn't let the dems interrupt him...
When all of the witnesses had their chance, when all of the dems that SHOWED UP had their chance---even the reps that came got a chance...
Sensenbrenner then made the decision that since it was obvious that the witnesses and dems were only going to address detainee abuse and NOT the Patriot Act, per se, he figured the didn't deserve a second round...
I don't call that being a poor sport--- I call it having the cajones to follow through on rules that he set down.
I doubt very seriously that the dems thought--na,na,boo,boo, we made you leave!!!
No, it was the dems that were mad!
Who plays Jabba the Nad?
Hmmmm...I'm thinking either Linda Rondstadt or Rosie O'Donnell. What say you? :D
ROFL! As we've all been saying. There is a reason Zogby's polls were skewed during the election. ;-)
This is the kind of ripe palaver I truly loathe. Sure. They are valiantly trying to uphold the honor of this administration, which is busy saving their sorry a$$es.
I voted in all his polls made a point of it! Next time we all need to hit them harder! He probably eliminates half the Republicans!
Are you watching on CSPAN 1???? I've got my Friday-night theatre on (watching DEMS blow their gaskets)
Yes, C-Span 1. :-)
This was another theatrical event staged by the Democrats. The questions and testimony is scripted and the gallery is usually packed with whacko activists that applaud and otherwise demonstrate their support for the Democrats. The Democrats have been using this trick for years to put their BS out to the media.
Three cheers for Mike Pence. He doesn't put up with all this anti-American slander.
Woman on tearing up that terrorists are dead.
I really wish Mike would have run against Evan Bayh last year! He'd have won I think!
You are right---I hadn't thought about that, but sure, since Conyers is the Rep. that is calling for hearings, and ultimately a reason to impeach Bush, of course he will use any bill to hold a hearing to set a path to the ultimate goal!!!
Well, I think they are the ones that, like you said, end up looking stupid...
There was a replay of the speech that Bush gave today re: the renewal of the Patriot Act, and you compare his speech to this circus, and you can tell who loves the country and wants to protect it...
and who hate the USA and wants to blame it for all of the world's ills...
come join the fun "ping"
That would have been great. Mike Pence has big things ahead of him.
From now on all potential Senators should be recruited from the House. Clearly they know how to govern as a Majority.
We need to send all these idiots to the Muslim country of their choice ripping their passports up of course!
I love how S. just stated she could conclude "briefly". LOL Is Conyers going to reject to the tone again?
alinsky was hillary clinton's mentor.
Here are eight of Alinsky's 13 Rules for Radicals. They take advantage of the patterns of weakness, arrogance, repeated mistakes, and miscalculations large organizations and their leadership make:
1. Power is not only what you have, but what the target thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the expertise of your people. Feeling secure stiffens the backbone.
3. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the target. Look for ways to increase insecurity, anxiety, and uncertainty.
4. Make the target live up to its own book of rules. If the rule is that every letter or E-mail gets a reply, send thousands.
5. Ridicule, especially against organizational leaders, is a potent weapon. There's no defense. It's irrational. It's infuriating. It also works as a key pressure point to force concessions.
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy. They'll keep doing it without urging and come back to do more. They'll even suggest better ones.
7. Keep the pressure on. Never let up. Keep trying new tactics to keep the opposition off balance. As the target masters one approach, hit them with something new.
8. Pick the target. Target an individual, personalize the attack, polarize and demoralize his/her supporters. Go after people, not institutions. Hurting, harassing, and humiliating individuals, especially leaders, causes more rapid organizational change.
This sampling of Alinsky's rules illustrates why opposition groups enjoy opposing and why corporations and institutions fail to win. Simply put, large organizations are never as committed to victory as their opposition is committed to defeating them. There are few surprises here, just unprepared organizations.
* Adapted from Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals by Saul D. Alinsky, copyright 1971, revised edition 1989, Vintage Books, New York
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