Ensign Calls Senate Armed Services Committee Report A ‘Democrat Partisan’ Document
Ensign Calls Senate Armed Services Committee Report A ‘Democrat Partisan’ Document
Today, Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) went on MSNBC to attack the Senate Armed Services Committee report on the Bush administration’s treatment of detainees. When host Chris Matthews asked Ensign whether he was shocked that our interrogation practices were based on those used by Chinese Communists to elicit false information from U.S. troops, the senator criticized him for being “inflammatory.”
When Matthews insisted that he wasn’t being inflammatory because he was reading directly from the report, Ensign tried to discredit the entire document by saying it was a “Democrat partisan” report:
ENSIGN: Chris, the reason I said it is because you didn’t preface that with saying that was a Democrat report. That was a Democrat partisan report. And you have to understand where the people who were doing that report — where their ideology comes from.
MATTHEWS: Well, apparently, Sen. John McCain is part of what you call a “Democrat report.” It’s the full committee report. … [I]t’s the Armed Services Committee report. It went through three months of review by the Defense Department, until its final release just yesterday. It seems to me this was vetted, sir. And you say this was some Democrat report.
ENSIGN: The Democrats are in control of all of the committees. This was a Democrat majority report. This was not with the participation of the minority where the minority signed it, “Yes, we agree with these views.”
Watch it:
Ensign is right that there are often committee reports produced and released by only the minority or the majority. This report, however, was not one of them. The first page of the detainee report makes it clear that it is a document from the “Committee on Armed Services, United States Senate.” ThinkProgress spoke with a committee spokesman who confirmed that the full, unanimous committee released the report. When talking with Levin today, MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell noted that Republican Sens. John McCain and Lindsey Graham also endorsed the report.
Additionally, documents clearly show that the Bush administration’s interrogation program was based on the U.S. military program known as Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE), which is used to train U.S. troops if they are ever tortured by an enemy that doesn’t adhere to the Geneva Conventions. As the report notes, SERE techniques “were based, in part, on Chinese Communist techniques used during the Korean War to elicit false confessions.”
Transcript:
MATTHEWS: I was stunned, senator, to read — again, people have read it before — the ideas for how to use things like torture techniques or coercive techniques like waterboarding and all the rest of it, came from our study in preparation for our GIs going into North Korea and facing the Chinese Communists who were notoriously quite ready to use these kinds of techniques with regard to their purposes — which was to get our troops to lie and say things that weren’t true. Our purpose is to protect our country by getting people to tell the truth. But doesn’t it shock you that we went and studied the tactics of the Chi Comms?
ENSIGN: Well, Chris, I think that you’re making some pretty inflammatory statements.
MATTHEWS: Which one? Which one?
ENSIGN: Because you’re comparing — the part about studying what the North Koreans, for instance, used –
MATTHEWS: No, the Chinese Communists in North Korea used.
ENSIGN: Okay, and the Chinese Communists. They didn’t just use things like waterboarding. They went way beyond that, and it’s just like the North Vietnamese. They went way beyond what most Americans would agree is torture.
But when you look at the reports that actually were released —
MATTHEWS: No, don’t call me inflammatory. I’m quoting from the committee report of Carl Levin. If he’s inflammatory, say that.
ENSIGN: But that’s a Democrat report. That’s Democrat committee report. That is a partisan committee report. [...]
MATTHEWS: Okay, let me show you on camera what I’m looking at. This is the Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody. Now let me read you what you said I was being inflammatory. Let me read to you directly from this report — the primary document here.
“The abuse of detainees in U.S. custody cannot simply be attributed to the actions of ‘a few bad apples’ acting on their own.” This is the report of the committee — the full committee. “The fact is that senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees. Those efforts damaged our ability to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority.”
Well, I don’t know how you can accuse me of being inflammatory when I’m reading directly from the committee report, and they particularly talked to the Abu Ghraib situation — the “few bad apples” — the language you just used.
ENSIGN: Chris, the reason I said it is because you didn’t preface that with saying that was a Democrat report. That was a Democrat partisan report. And you have to understand where the people who were doing that report — where their ideology comes from.
MATTHEWS: Well, apparently, Sen. John McCain is part of what you call a “Democrat report.” It’s the full committee report. So why do you keep saying “Democrat” — using that adjective?
ENSIGN: Because it was a Democrat report.
MATTHEWS: What do you mean by that? Because it’s the Armed Services Committee report. It went through three months of review by the Defense Department, until its final release just yesterday. It seems to me this was vetted, sir. And you say this was some Democrat report.
ENSIGN: The Democrats are in control of all of the committees. This was a Democrat majority report. This was not with the participation of the minority where the minority signed it, “Yes, we agree with these views.”
MATTHEWS: Well, Kelly O’Donnell of NBC News has reported that John McCain, Armed Services ranking member, has signed off on the document I’m reading from.
ENSIGN: Well, I disagree with you. We had a discussion at lunch about this and many members of the intel committee and armed services committee completely disagreed with the report. That’s why I said it was a Democrat partisan report.
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Soon 99% of everything in the world will be partisan Democrat. That rock, that tree, the air we breathe…
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:53 pmIt is becoming increasingly frightening that a growing number of “democratically” elected members of congress (Ensign, Vitter, Cantor, Boehner,to name a few) are so disconnected from objectivity and so narrowly biased that they are, well, DANGEROUS.
I think that candidates for public office ,especially at such a visible level (not that that should make such a difference) be vetted more closely by something other than their checkbooks and campaign slogans. Ensign is so clearly off the mark here, as to be genuinely alarming.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:57 pmNote that Sen. Ensign is from Nevada, not Arizona. He is not very bright in either state.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 pmI note that Sen. Enisgn repeatedly used the childish “Democrat-as-adjective” construction.
They just can’t help themselves, can they?
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:59 pmAgain Republicans prove that Reality has a well known liberal bias.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:59 pmrepublicans are souless evil pigs who hate America.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:02 pmEnsign is a DOLT! My goodness the GOP is going down. I can’t wait for the prosecutions to begin.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:04 pmSoooooooooo, “bipartisan” means making the Republicans more representative than they are. Next they’ll be asking for two votes each.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:06 pmGo GOP – Just keep digging and digging that bottomless hole – keep apologizing for Torture.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:07 pmEnign is indeed a Nefarious Nevadan Nitwit.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:09 pmOff Topic:
Today I heard democratic senator Kent Conrad from North Dakota on the senate floor say that we need a bipartisan investigation into what caused the financial mess we are in today.
I say phuck an investigation and just overturn the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act Of 1999 and the Commodity Futures Modernization Act Of 2000 and reenact the Glass-Steagall Act.
Please call your representatives in the house and senate and ask them why NOBODY has suggested doing this. Those two bills are directly related to the mess we are in today yet politicians from both sides of the aisle ignore this fact yet claim they want to fix things.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pmEr, Ensign…Is he a low level naval officer/?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pmA$$clown Ensign said the latest report was a partisan report even though senator McCain was part of the report. These jokers still want to protect the evil bUSH administration, because they are also evil.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pmEnsign Calls Senate Armed Services Committee Report A ‘Democrat Partisan’ Document
That, of course, is a Republican partisan response.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pmEverybody repeat along with me:
Reality has a liberal bias.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:12 pmWhat’s with the media showing some spine these days? Actually asking follow-up questions? Standing up to blatant bullcrap? I might watch MSNBC more often.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:15 pmJust noticed this bit:
ENSIGN: Okay, and the Chinese Communists. They didn’t just use things like waterboarding. They went way beyond that, and it’s just like the North Vietnamese. They went way beyond what most Americans would agree is torture.
So if what we used to call “torture” is now “enhanced interrogation” when we do it to others, then what has been done to our soldiers in the past is “beyond torture” – perhaps a kind of “meta-torture,” if you will.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:21 pmensign knocks these liberals down every time. liberals use our official government functions to give an official aura to their insults, to individual groups in America and to all of America.
i must also note that via DoD public affairs, Marine Corps colonels slated this year for promotion to brigadier general. good work, men. you deserve it. thanks for coordinating the volunteer force.
Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates announced today that the President made the following nominations:
Marine Corps Col. John J. Broadmeadow has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Broadmeadow is currently serving as the commanding officer, Combat Logistics Regiment 17 in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Marine Corps Col. John W. Bullard Jr. has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Bullard is currently serving as head of aviation weapons requirements, Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, D.C.
Marine Corps Col. Steven W. Busby has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Busby is currently serving as the executive assistant to the deputy commandant for aviation in Washington, D.C.
Marine Corps Col. Herman S. Clardy III has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Clardy is currently serving as the director, Expeditionary Warfare School in Quantico, Va.
Marine Corps Col. Lewis A. Craparotta has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Craparotta is currently serving as the commanding officer, 1st Marine Regiment in Camp Pendleton, Calif.
Marine Corps Col. Robert F. Hedelund has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Hedelund is currently serving as the military assistant to the secretary of the Navy in Washington, D. C.
Marine Corps Col. Frederick M. Padilla has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Padilla is currently serving as the chief of staff, Marine Corps Combat Development Command in Quantico, Va.
Marine Corps Col. Michael A. Rocco has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Rocco is currently serving as the commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Group 39 in Miramar, Calif.
Marine Corps Col. Richard L. Simcock II has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Simcock is currently serving as the director, Tactical Training and Exercise Control Group in Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.
Marine Corps Col. Vincent R. Stewart has been nominated for appointment to the grade of brigadier general. Stewart is currently serving as the assistant chief of staff for intelligence, II Marine Expeditionary Force (forward) in Al Anbar, Iraq.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pmIs it at all possible for the GOP to simply tell the truth? And what the hell is a ‘democrat’ partisan report? It’s DEMOCRATIC, sir…Geez, always with the childish insults – just playground politics. Some folks should just STFU, already.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:22 pmhttp://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30335592/
The information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances, but there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means,” Admiral Blair said in a written statement issued last night.
Apparently Matthews has a different view than Obama’s national intelligence director.
“Those efforts damaged our ability to collect accurate intelligence that could save lives, strengthened the hand of our enemies, and compromised our moral authority.”
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:24 pmWouldn’t you think that a supposed terrorist who has been imprisoned for six months are longer would be considered out of the loop when it comes to possible future attacks by Al Qaida?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 pmHe couldn’t even establish that it was a democratic report. now, suppose he could have. so what?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 pmEverything that is not far right wing babble is labeled ” liberal/democrat bias ” by the rethugs. What a bunch of blind morons.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:28 pmAnd now to hear that we tortured some of these terrorists to build a case for invading Iraq. When does the madness of the bUSH administration end?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 pmIt appears to be shaping up as a solid ‘one for all and all for one’ situation.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:29 pmThey must fear a couple dozen of them going down in a ball of flames.
Sweet, squirm scumbags.
All secrets come out in the end. This is one of many crimes done over the 8 years Bush/Cheney were in the White House. Now many will question the report and those who are wrote it. But it was the soldiers who spoke of this years ago and not one American or Law Maker cared to listen. Some soldiers are now in jail for following the orders approved by the Commander-in-Chief. Few understand when your in the Military you don’t decide what to do your ordered. As many who wrote the Torture bill and Bush/Cheney/Rummy never saw combat or even understood field positions it was easy to play like a soldier. Most Law Makers skipped out or dodged their service in the Military. PBS showed our soldiers telling of their orders to torture. Many servicemen who came to Walter Reed spoke up about it but Americans just gave lip service ” support our troops” and of couse brought stickers for their cars some even put a flag in front of their home. But none really cared to listen or help as American Idol was more important. Now the truth is out and oh my shock, we didn’t know or the detainees tortured to death did it to themselves. Those little children who we tortured must of come to the US and tortured themselves. Because we Americans take pride in our Human Rights Record and Democracy as we have said proudly for 8 years ” the United States of America does not Torture, We are the Leader of Human Rights for the World to follow”. NOT!!!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:32 pmThe only chance bush and cheney and the republican torturers have, is if they can make this into a political partisan battle of some kind. Judging from how silly guilty it makes them look, i say go for it. Conspicuous. Requires law enforcement to investigate.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 pmKeith I hate saying this but Nancy Pelosi and Jane Harman could also go down in flames as they were also informed of the torture techniques being used. Perhaps this is the reason why nothing will be done?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 pmDid you see this related article at Raw Story?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:34 pmhttp://rawstory.com/blog/2009/04/timothy-flanigan-the-torture-memo-lawyer-no-one-is-mentioning/
Wasn’t this the jerk who bad mouthed Obama while Obama was out of the country — a heretofore unwritten no-no.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:35 pmsenator ensign,
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:38 pmwould you like a nice glass of wine to wash down your ass that matthews handed you on that shiny silver platter with a carrot shoved up your ass?
obama needs to give up and give the pentagon to a real republican because republicans know defense. integrating democrat into the pentagon doesnt work.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 pm“obama needs to give up and give the pentagon to a real republican ”
yes, that worked out swimmingly with scummy rummy, didn’t it?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 pmBoehner looks like a “rugged individualist” compared to Mr. Ensign.
“Disservice, with a crooked smile – the GOP way”
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:40 pm@24 It ends with torture of american citizens to build a case against them. This is a very old story, but bush has not read it yet – he’s busy trying to get through ‘my pet goat’.
But seriously, it ends with torture of one’s citizens. Although with bush and cheney i’m not sure they wouldn’y have resorted to mass imprisonment of american citizens too. It’s all in the history books from different times and places.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:41 pmyou bet it did bozo. the pentagon was the ucking PENTAGON under that tough sob.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:43 pmJust saw the interview, I pray the REST of the GOP picks up on this guys meme that anything dem is false
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pmNot only is Ensign wrong, but he’s displaying Cheneyesque limited morals. Moreover, he’s apparently not even aware of the difference between a noun (Democrat) and an adjective (Democratic).
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm@32 You’re kidding right?
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:45 pmUncle Fester Lurks Says:
Keith I hate saying this but Nancy Pelosi and Jane Harman could also go down in flames as they were also informed of the torture techniques being used.
Nope. They didn’t do it.
Being informed of national security secrets that will earn you a life sentence if you spill them isn’t a crime.
.
Bozo The Neocootiebug Says:
…would you like a nice glass of wine to wash down your ass that matthews handed you on that shiny silver platter with a carrot shoved up your ass?
The ass is on the platter with a carrot shoved up its ass? Mind you, I thumbs-up’d your comment anyway, but there’s a definite Mobeus strip quality to the ass service as you’ve described it.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:46 pmI’d like to thank Mathews for being straight and frank about right wing arm waving lately. Some of the MSM will make it out of this alive, others won’t.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 pmThe name “neoparody” sez “kidding” to me.
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:52 pm@40 Ya’ i’m still not convinced Mathews will stop defending the republicans immediately, because they are literally half his show right now. So let the re-tooling begin Chris! all republicans must go. [unless they do something news worthy that is].
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:53 pmUncle Fester, you’ve got it right. She embarasses us. She’s been a walking testament to hypocrisy. I keep going back to her first speech and the assurances she made as the new leader…YIKES!
April 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 pmElBruce…Btw, she went along with them. A lot different than your suggestion of merely beng informed. Dame Pelosi, OUR gal in the house, has NO wiggle room on the fact that she gave her OK to torture under Georgie-boy Bushwacker.
This Bruce:
“Being informed of national security secrets that will earn you a life sentence if you spill them isn’t a crime.”
…reminds me of the old Neurenburg line…”I vas only following orders.”
Let’s get real about this.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:02 pmUncle Fester Lurks Says:
Keith I hate saying this
Yes, I agree, those who were ‘cabinet members and senior lawmakers’ that were part of defining and approving the process.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 pmEnsign is a wingnut. The repugs have nothing. They have never accepted responsiblity for their failures or their crimes. The GOP is worthless, irrelevant, and insignificant losers with no power.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:23 pmBravo to Chris Matthews for smacking Ensign down on this! He was fabulous.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:30 pmhmmmmm . . . so “torture” reveals the “truth” . . . guess there MUST be some TRUTH to the old stories that after McCain was shot down the NVA zeroed in on the flight paths and altitudes of bomb runs . . . . .
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:30 pmoshuabreedan Says:
ElBruce…Btw, she went along with them. A lot different than your suggestion of merely beng informed. Dame Pelosi, OUR gal in the house, has NO wiggle room on the fact that she gave her OK to torture under Georgie-boy Bushwacker.
You are honestly suggesting to me that Bush/Cheney asked for Pelosi’s permission?
.
oshuabreedan Says:
…reminds me of the old Neurenburg line…”I vas only following orders.”
Let’s get real about this.
OK, at the beginning of the briefing they’re reminded that if they repeat any of the information they hear, they will be indicted as criminals. Then they’re told in general and euphemistic terminology about illegal activities being conducted by the executive branch.
What you’re saying is if it was you, you’d get up from that meeting, rush outside call a press conference, tell everybody all about it and then go to Federal prison for the rest of your life because you’re so heroic? Or that it would be a crime not to commit that crime?
Let’s get real about this.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:31 pmElBruce Says:
Let us go back in time. They started planning the use of these techniques in December, 2001. A minority leader doing what you suggest would have been called unpatriotic and ridiculed.
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:40 pmEven if they told them what they were doing, which they did not specifically, the communications and decisions were made in the Executive, OLC, and Pentagon and CIA. The Bush Crime Family owns this and the repugs had better hire attorneys.
ENSIGN: Chris, the reason I said it is because you didn’t preface that with saying that was a Democrat report. That was a Democrat partisan report. And you have to understand where the people who were doing that report — where their ideology comes from.
So , only those who willingly , blindly and stupidly supported , and who still defend/apologize/excuse-make for the worst president and administration in US history , are to be viewed as impartial and unbiased , jackass ?
Thanks for clearing that up for us …………….
April 22nd, 2009 at 8:52 pmOnce again the ghost of Lee Atwater is alive and well in the Repugnican party.(He was a deplorable person who ultimately succumbed to KARMA!) Why debate on substance when you can attack the opposition and discredit them. The G.O.P. have been pulling this crap since Regan. I ain’t drinking that Kool-ade
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:15 pmThe really sad part of this is that this guy and his ilk,(the neo-cons,) think that the Constitution is a,”Democratic Partisan,” document!
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 pmThe real problem is that we don’t need TP to tell us these guys are full of crap, and the people who need educating are not reading TP.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 pmThis sort will continue to appear on MSM and convince the feeble minded/paranoid audience ’til doomsday.
The feeble minded/paranoid audience is shrinking, but there will always be the bozos that showed up at the Palin rallies . We’ll have to work around them. You can’t fix stupid!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:00 pmSenator Ensign is running scared. Watch his body language, he doesn’t believe what he is saying. And it’s clear he’s been coached to say “Democrat” instead of Democratic, he slightly emphasizes the word every time. He knows he’s lying about McCain, too, and he stumbles over the wording.
I’ve been disappointed in Chris Matthews’ interviews sometimes in the past, but this time he knocks it out of the park. This reportage, and other major media above-the-fold items, and President Obama’s turning to Eric Holder for the final say on investigation/ prosecution have given me hope. I think the momentum has swung.
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:05 pmSo he is saying that respect for, and compliance with, domestic and international law is a Democratic partisan position. On behalf of Democrats, thanks!
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:27 pmThere are four more Democrats on that committee than Republicans.
link
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:43 pmThat’s 15 Democrats, 11 Republicans. We’re supposed to think this constitutes a group that produces “Democrat” reports. I just put armedservicescommitee in the address bar and got the goods. What if it were 14/12? 13/13? Would the facts be any different?
April 22nd, 2009 at 10:50 pmwiley Says:
There are four more Democrats on that committee than Republicans.
There are more Democrats in the Senate.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:09 pmneoparasite.
Have you noticed that you are being ignored? That is because you are embarassing yourself. You are not clever. Since you are just too stupid to know how stupid and pathetic you are people are just embarassed for you. You can keep begging us to pity you but all you are doing is humiliating yourself.
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:11 pmI live in Nevada, so am unfortunate in that this idiot is my senator.
Every time I write to him expressing my opinion on an issue, all I get back is a form letter describing why he disagrees with me. Sure is great to have representation!
April 22nd, 2009 at 11:33 pmBlueProteus Says:
I live in Nevada, so am unfortunate in that this idiot is my senator.
As I recall, Nevada has recently been shifting blueward. When’s his term up?
April 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 amEnsign reminds me of a little chihuahua dog that my dad had. He sat on the porch yapping at the big dogs as they walked by. Whenever a big dog would come towards him, he would pee all over himself and run away. This tool is a no-name backbencher trying to prove that he is relevant.
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 amEnsign is a vet- as in veterinarian. He has won awards for his commitment as fighter against animal abuse.
Can these idiots get any more hypocritical ?
April 23rd, 2009 at 1:38 amStratRat–I agree. Mathews is getting better at smacking these retard Republicans down when they spew their BS, but we have to send him some e-mails and get him to correct them when they say “Democrat” reports, etc. He started to when he mentioned that the guy kept using Democrat as an adjective, but that’s too complicated for most viewers to understand…..I kept yelling at the screen everytime that blowhole said “Democrat” report! Too hard on my blood pressure……….
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 amFor the GOP right now, anything that isn’t written by republicans exclusively or by Rush Limbaugh, is partisan.
April 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 amI enjoyed watching Ensign lie through his teeth when he eluded to the fact that John McCain told him during lunch he had not endorse this committee report. Ensign was lying because he looked up and to his right at the time he made that statement. Matthews needs to verify Ensign’s story with McCain on the air ASAP, to prove the lie.
April 23rd, 2009 at 6:26 amIt was Sen. Ensign that had the final word so many people will think that it was Ensign who prevailed. While Matthews started strong he threw in the towel at the end. Matthews was too chicken to fire back and tell Ensign that it was he who was being completely partisan by making false and misleading statements about the nature and content of the report. Ensign won the exchange by waiting Matthews out then getting in the last word. I hope that Sen. Levin sets the record straight and calls Sen. Ensign out for his deplorable mischaracterization of the Armed Services Committee report. Sen. Ensign was shameless.
April 23rd, 2009 at 7:32 amAs to Sen. Ensign, I find him as effective as his namesake in the Navy. Ensigns were known as extremely ignorant of the ways of the Navy and required much training in order to become officers.
So for that reason he doesn’t scare me too much especially when you consider that he is infinitely more replaceable than his namesake. I feel sorry for every O-1 who has to share a name with him though….
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:33 amThere are 26 people on the committee, 15 Dems and 11 Reps. If you do that math, it shows that 58% of the committe is Dem…which is precisely the proportion of the Dems to Reps in the Senate (until they seat Sen. Frankin, at which time it will be 59% in the Senate instead of 58%). Hardly an unrepresentative or unduly biased group demographic.
Also – unanimous committee support for the report? WOW. Congressional groups never manage to agree on anything 100%, and this jackass still has the nerve to claim it was a partisan report? Talk about thickheaded. I also love the irony – commended for work against animal abuse, but says “fcuk em” when it comes to human abuse. Hypocrisy, thy name is Ensign.
April 23rd, 2009 at 8:52 amSince when are facts “partisan”? An accurate recitation of history is “Democrat”?
Is Ensign saying that facts are the purview of Democrats and fantasy is, then, “Republican”? Or, perhaps he’s saying that putting facts before the people is a Democratic position whereas suppressing facts is Republican.
Yeah, that must be it.
April 23rd, 2009 at 2:21 pmI wanted to democrat report this @sswipe right between the eyes…the only relief was to turn the t.v. box off…
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