Senate Conservatives Uses Rare Maneuver To Try To Close Down A Hearing On Torture
Senate Conservatives Uses Rare Maneuver To Try To Close Down A Hearing On Torture
Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the use of coercive interrogation techniques. Among other witnesses, the committee heard from the FBI’s general counsel and a former FBI special agent, both of whom decried torture as ineffective and impermissible.
Halfway through the hearing, the testimony of international lawyer Philippe Sands — who chronicled the Bush administration’s approval of torture in his book Torture Team — was suddenly interrupted, when Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) used an objection to force the Senate into recess and disrupt the hearing. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), who were leading the hearing, were perplexed about the disruption:
FEINSTEIN: I must interrupt you. Apparently the Republican leader has just objected to committee’s proceeding. So for the moment, we will have to stop. And we will know as soon as it’s acceptable to go ahead. … Clearly, somebody doesn’t want this to go ahead.
WHITEHOUSE: So it would seem.
FEINSTEIN: It would.
WHITEHOUSE: I’m new here. I’ve only been here a year and a half. I’ve never seen this happen before. I’ve never seen a hearing interrupted by minority leadership.
FEINSTEIN: Very, very unusual.
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) took to the Senate floor to denounce the conservatives’ obstructionist tactics. Watch it:
Reid blasted Senate conservatives for using the “very rare” objection, and called the tactics “part of a pattern of obstruction.” In fact, just today, they blocked a measure taxing Big Oil’s windfall profits and another that would have extended tax credits for renewable energy sources.
Announcing he would call the Senate into recess in order to continue the hearing, Reid said, “Republicans may not want these abuses to come to light, but I think the American people have the right to know.”
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Announcing he would call the Senate into recess in order to continue the hearing, Reid said,
If he does that, won’t that give Bush the opportunity to appoint more extremely awful people to recess appointments?
June 10th, 2008 at 7:25 pmRIP - GOP
They’re showing how lowbrow and undeserving of being in public office they really are. This fool Cochran needs to be summarily unseated for this juvenile and counterproductive tactic.
This illustrates precisely how totally desperate the GOP and all of it’s criminals are becoming.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:26 pmI say: Let these thugs hang themselves. Their classless behavior only proves what Americans already know. They all a bunch of undeserving fools.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:27 pmDoes anyone else find it eerily suspect that no msm outlet is discussing the 35 articles of impeachment brought by Kucinich last evening against Herr Bush? Just goes to show ‘ya in whose pocket these propagandists in the msm are!
June 10th, 2008 at 7:28 pmToday we discover “suspicious” circumstances surrounding Kucinich’s malfunctioning website immediately following his presentation of the impeachment articles. This needs further exploration.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:30 pmuh oh… now the repuglies know they have another tool in their arsenal…
jeesusss h. …
why are the dems so g-damned accomodating and polite…?
June 10th, 2008 at 7:33 pmI bet the good sheeple of Mississippi are SOOO proud of their little wanker, Thaddy boy. Heh Heh.
Gotta love the assklowns that still represent the 23%ers!
June 10th, 2008 at 7:33 pmsatirev Says:
Today we discover “suspicious” circumstances surrounding Kucinich’s malfunctioning website immediately following his presentation of the impeachment articles. This needs further exploration.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
______
Really? What happened? The server was slow this afternoon, but I assumed it was just a high traffic issue…
June 10th, 2008 at 7:33 pmI guess we can now officially announce the changing of the name of the republic party to the Obstructionist Party.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:35 pmHow many ways can the GOP keep the picnic cloth on that 800 lbs. gorilla known as “COVER-UP”?
June 10th, 2008 at 7:38 pmthose little slimy weasels,
June 10th, 2008 at 7:42 pmoh well, it’s gonna be like Raid on roaches- they can run but they can’t hide for long!
Even in a minority, the Republicans still control the senate. The Democrats disgust me, weaklings letting the country go down the drain over their fear of daddy.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:43 pmCochran on McCain, from Wikipedia:
With no intention of defending McCrazy, I say SPEAK FOR YOURSELF.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:45 pmThis is just a sample of what’s to come until the current crop of Republicriminals is dragged out of office in Jan. They will continually come up with new ways to obstruct everything.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:47 pmI would like congress to give the media, live, to use coercive techniques to stem the flow of politically misleading vernacular which is parroted by the media.
June 10th, 2008 at 7:50 pmWhy is it that the Democrats don’t use this tactic once in a while? I’m sure they could have used it to, oh, I don’t know…stop some of the most ridiculous bills passed in the last eight or so years?
Jay-sus, Mary and Joseph…
June 10th, 2008 at 7:56 pmSure looks like Newt is back at work destroying everything he touches. They must really getting desperate because the “wind of change” are reaching gale force and no one can take much more of what these crooks are doing to our country.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:00 pmWhy didn’t the Dems do this more?
Because, when these types of blatant stalling tactics were used by minority Democrats the “liberal media” would dissect them and make reelection difficult if not impossible.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:11 pmIn less than a year, the conservatives will have NO options! Can’t wait to here the crying and whining from them.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:23 pmsatirev Says:
Does anyone else find it eerily suspect that no msm outlet is discussing the 35 articles of impeachment brought by Kucinich last evening against Herr Bush? Just goes to show ‘ya in whose pocket these propagandists in the msm are!
Also, the fact that today there is a co-sponsor, Robert Wexler who is going to try to secure impeachment hearings in the Judiciary Committee, of which he is a senior member.
New petition is up at WexlerWantsHearings.com
And call your representative. Demand that he/she also become a co-sponsor.
BTW, KO is covering the impeachment tonight on Countdown. (Hint TP Hint)
June 10th, 2008 at 8:24 pmKeith was pretty frank about key Democrats “protecting” Bush.
I believe it was Bob(?) Klein who said that “impeachment isn’t the cause of a constitutional crisis, it’s the cure”.
Thats’ the message the congress critters need to receive.
June 10th, 2008 at 8:57 pmIf Reid calls the Senate into recess to continue the hearings, will the President then make some recess appointments?
June 10th, 2008 at 9:10 pmJinJin:
June 10th, 2008 at 9:13 pmAgain, I offer an easy solution. You shut the hell up and I will toss your leper ass a few cyber nickels and dimes. Otherwise this is gonna end ugly I assure you…
I see that comment #1, posted by Wayne A. Schneider, echoes my fear expressed at #23. Sorry I didn’t read any of the comments before posting my own.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:15 pmThe DNC needs to keep the pressure on. The voters can’t be allowed to forget the Republicans’ repeated use of dirty tricks to keep the voters — their bosses — from finding out what they’re up to. Keep this in the press (ok, not the lapdog MSM, but out there) so, come November, the voters remember whose side the Republicans are on. Namely, not us.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:37 pmYou know what? F**K EM…They shouldn’t have closed down the hearing, but the Democrats always cave in. If the RETHUGLICANS were in their shoes, they would have turned off the mics…
June 10th, 2008 at 9:40 pmNEVER mind post 27…
The Democrats shouldn’t cave in to the Republicans, period.
June 10th, 2008 at 9:44 pmWhile I certainly object to the Repugs use of such measures to disrupt this very important hearing, it would do well for the Democrats to observe what the use of raw political power looks like. Our Democratic leadership is an embarrassment and could use a few lessons in how flex their muscles.
June 10th, 2008 at 10:24 pmThey did it because they are all in this with the Shrub and Dick and won`t let their crooked, corrupt leader go down with the ship that they all (re-pukes) are on, these morons don`t have enough brains to know that SHRUB and DICK will throw them off the sinking ship.
June 10th, 2008 at 11:34 pm.
R E M E M B E R:
THEY(sic) HATE US FOR OUR FREEDOMS…
… And so THEY(sic) obstruct hearings investigating the infringement on our FREEDOMS.
… And so THEY(sic) lobby and debate the merits to violating our FREEDOMS.
… And so THEY(sic) craft legislation in an attempt to usurp our FREEDOMS.
WHY DOES CONGRESS HATE US FOR OUR FREEDOMS?
.
June 11th, 2008 at 1:05 amWhy isn’t our MSN all over this? This “cover up” is a far greater threat to Democracy than ANY BJ . . .
June 11th, 2008 at 2:28 amYou must remember this, JW, anything that Clinton did was wrong: good economy - wrong, no loss of life in foreign wars - wrong, no scandal in Whitewater - wrong. I’m sure that you can add more to the list. On the other hand, everything that went badly in w’s time was Clinton’s fault. How it was Clinton’s fault doesn’t matter, it can always be traced back to him. w, by his own admission, can not think of any mistakes he made as President.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:56 amThere is something pathetic about Harry Reid timidly admitting his Big Tool of Coercion is to tell the American people that ‘they’ are being mean. Sniff, sniff. Can you image past Majority Leader armtwisters like Lyndon Johnson or Tip O’Neill taking that kind of crap from them without extracting a BIIIIGGGGG penalty, or there being hell to pay somehow. It’s easy for me to say Dump Harry Reid, but frankly no one in the Dems is any better. Pathetic.
June 11th, 2008 at 10:44 amIf all this was covered by the MSM I’d bet not one Republican would get reelected in November.
June 11th, 2008 at 11:22 amIt seems that technically he could.
There’s nothing in The Constitution about the length of the recess but it’s been generally accepted that a minimum of 3 or 4 days days recess is required.
June 11th, 2008 at 7:03 pm