Looks like Harry Reid is running laps around Bill Frist again
Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that led to the Iraq war and deriding a lack of congressional inquiry.
“I demand on behalf of the America people that we understand why these investigations aren’t being conducted,” Democratic leader Harry Reid said.
Reid:
Given this Administration s pattern of squashing those who challenge its misstatements, what has been the response of this Republican-controlled Congress? Again, absolutely nothing. And with their inactions, they provide political cover for this Administration at the same time they keep the truth from our troops who continue to make large sacrifices in Iraq.
This behavior is unacceptable. The toll in Iraq is as staggering as it is solemn. More than 2,000 Americans have lost their lives. Over 90 Americans have paid the ultimate sacrifice this month alone the fourth deadliest month since the war began. More than 15,000 have been wounded. More than 150,000 remain in harm s way. Enormous sacrifices have been and continue to be made.
The troops and the American people have a right to expect answers and accountability worthy of that sacrifice. For example, 40 Senate Democrats wrote a substantive and detailed letter to the President asking four basic questions about the Administration s Iraq policy and received a four sentence answer in response. These Senators and the American people deserve better.
They also deserve a searching and comprehensive investigation about how the Bush Administration brought this country to war. Key questions that need to be answered include:
o How did the Bush Administration assemble its case for war against Iraq?
o Who did Bush Administration officials listen to and who did they ignore?
o How did senior Administration officials manipulate or manufacture intelligence presented to the Congress and the American people?
o What was the role of the White House Iraq Group or WHIG, a group of senior White House officials tasked with marketing the war and taking down its critics?
o How did the Administration coordinate its efforts to attack individuals who dared to challenge the Administration s assertions?
o Why has the Administration failed to provide Congress with the documents that will shed light on their misconduct and misstatements?Unfortunately the Senate committee that should be taking the lead in providing these answers is not. Despite the fact that the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee publicly committed to examine many of these questions more than 1 and ½ years ago, he has chosen not to keep this commitment. Despite the fact that he restated that commitment earlier this year on national television, he has still done nothing.
At this point, we can only conclude he will continue to put politics ahead of our national security. If he does anything at this point, I suspect he will play political games by producing an analysis that fails to answer any of these important questions. Instead, if history is any guide, this analysis will attempt to disperse and deflect blame away from the Administration.
We demand that the Intelligence Committee and other committees in this body with jurisdiction over these matters carry out a full and complete investigation immediately as called for by Democrats in the committee s annual intelligence authorization report. Our troops and the American people have sacrificed too much. It is time this Republican-controlled Congress put the interests of the American people ahead of their own political interests.
Congressional oversight of the executive branch. What will they think of next?
It forces the media to keep it in the news cycle. It gets Senators on talk shows. It probably won’t lead to hearings, but it’s more evidence that Reid is a big step forward tactically for us Democrats.
Too much optimism, Oliver. Any two Senators can call a closed session, and any majority vote can open the session right back up.
What will be interesting will be to see how many times the Democrats are willing to bring this subject up even when it keeps getting shot down.
Frist’s response? Accuse Democrats of having no principles, convictions, or ideas. Besides the fact that this is just third-grade namecalling, Frist is hardly one to be talking about principles right now.
Other than as a publicity stunt, what actual purpose does a closed session serve? Are the regular rules dispensed with in lieu of a more informal debate? Are the discussions sealed or remain part of the public record? If the point was to educate the public, I don’t follow how sending them out of the Senate Chamber serves that end.
So in other words, it serves no useful purpose. Thanks for clarifying.
I love how Republicans are disparaging this as a “stunt.” There isn’t much in politics these days that isn’t a stunt. Republicans themselves have been pulling stunts 24/7/365 for years, decades even. ’bout time we played some catch-up.
Other than as a political ploy, what actual purpose does evading the questions serve?
This is genius. I’m more impressed with Harry Reid right this moment than I ever expected I’d get the opportunity to be.
Here’s what I wrote.
Pressing the Republicans to keep their word is always a sure sign of an extremist. Everyone knows Republicans don’t keep their word.
Reid is a genius. Republicans were in some dissarray over Plame and Bush’s poll numbers. So what does Harry the genius do: p*ss them off. Now they are united. Moderate Republicans have already been turned off by Reid and the Democrats gross extremism, as witness they are now lining up to say ‘no’ to any filibuster attempt. What we neeeded was something to show the RINOs what the Democrats are really like and Reid did it. Remember, they use to proclaim this joker a moderate. He’s turned into another ho-hum Daschle extremist. And for that we thank him. Hey, Harry enjoy CNN saying good things about you. Thats the only thing you’ll get out of this cheap Conyers-esque stunt.
Dugger
A majority of the country thinks the Bush administration lied us into war on the WMD issue. This is a moderate view, not an extremist one, unless you are like Dugger and the other dead-enders.
A poll doesn’t turn an extreme position into a moderate one, TomY. Dugger is less right than he knows. This isn’t 1973 – 1974; this wil bite the Democrats right in the ass.
You want to know the “safe” position for Democrats on this — watch Sen Clinton. She’s running for President, and taking no chances.
Oh God, if you think ho-hum milquetoast Tom Daschle was an “extremist” no wonder Republicans whine over Democratic unity.
Let’s say I’ve lost my mind, and I’m taking you seriously, TomY (the only way I would, BTW).
Alito is no neanderthal. There is no chance of overturning Roe or Griswold.
Get off the bong, and smell the coffee.
It’s an extreme position solely by virtue of the fact the the White House played extremely fast and loose with the facts in the run up to the war. Put the blame for this sad day coming to pass where it belongs: 1600 Pennsylvania. And by the way, save the “bite you in the ass” advice for the party that’s trying to send a neanderthal to the Supreme Court. Overturning Roe and Griswold would be the final nail for conservatism.
Hey, I just read that Alito assured Arlen Specter that Griswold was “settled law.” That is indeed good news. Hopefully he will say the same about Roe. And then we get to see the right wing go bezerk yet again, and see Bush’s approval fall below 30%. Win-win!
Clinton on Alito:
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) just weighed in on the Alito nomination, saying his record “raises serious questions about whether he will be steadfast in protecting our most fundamental rights.”
Still, she remained neutral [emhasis added - fd (no fool she)], saying the nomination “must initiate a thoughtful and deliberate process of closely examining and scrutinizing Judge Alito’s record to determine whether he merits a seat on the highest court in the nation.”
And there’s more,from the Village Voice
That the anti-war movement has set its sights on Clinton is nothing new. New York activists have long tried to gain their junior senator’s ear lobbying aides, dropping off peace flyers, forming the occasional picket line. One Albany-based group known as Women Against War even took to making what founder Jeanne Finley calls “a cinema vérité film,” featuring individual members enumerating why they oppose her position on the Iraq invasion.:
OhdearOhdearOhdear. You mean the Republicans are going to stop being so nice to us now?
Extremist? You’ve outdone yourself.
Well, there’s a lot for leftwing Democrats to be proud of. They’ve finally turned the corner and can go to the American people and say: See! We can govern. We are competent. We have a plan.”
And the evidence for this assertion: why the Senate MINORITY leader pulled a cheap parliamentary trick that took 2 hours of the Senate’s schedule and accomplished nothing more than to increase the rabidity of the Party’s extremist core asnd they got an indictment of the VPs chief of staff on investigatorial procedure matters. Your Democrats everybody! We can can now trust the fate of the nation to these mature adults.
Dugger, The Democrats Behaved like idiots for 8 years and permitted Republicans to get a very weak candidate elected twice, a candidate who has a appointed a lot of judges (BWahahahahaha).
Dugger;
You’ve been drinking. Wait until 9am from now on.
Let’s compare that to two years of dithering on telling the American people the truth about how itelligence information was used to talk them into invading a third-world country at the cost of 2,000 American lives and possibly 100,000 Iraqi lives.
Yeah, Democrats are the extremists.
Unfortunately for you Quaker, Democrats and Republicans voted for the war. And Democrats are on record, pre-Bush, stating Saddam had WMDs and that we needed to do something about it. And additonally, the rationale for the war revolved around multiple reasons – not just WMDs. And why shouldn’t we use intelligence information? And I agree on the Democrats being extremists. Glad you see it my way.
Dugger
So never mind if the intelligence was phony, right?
If the intelligence was doctored, twisted, or outright false, we shouldn’t worry about it, right?
So if the constant chant of “mushroom cloud, mushroom cloud, mushroom cloud” was based on bullshit, well, the “accountability moment” has passed, right?
We should. We should use it honestly and completely, especially when people’s lives are at stake.
But, you know, what’s really important is that Harry Reid called for a closed-door session.
Priorities, feh!
Quakre,
So if Reid’s little snit wasn’t a cheap, partisan stunt, why didn’t he enlist members from the other side of the aisle? Why did he seize upon the aftermath of the indictment of a minor member of the White House to make all sorts of outrageous accusations against the other party – instead of all of those responsible fro the war?
And how exactly are you able to distinguish between inaccurate versus false intelligence? Since all of that intelligence is classified, one wonders how anybody can conlude the intelligence was phoney. Do we need to send Fitzgerald after you? Ohh, the humanity!!
Dugger
How? With the phase II investigation and report Sen. Roberts has long promised.
Don’t try to kid us, Dugger. In the lingo of the President’s on chief of staff, the case for war was a “product” to be sold to the American public. Those who dared to dispute the sales pitch were de-legitimized, systematically and forcefully.
The “undisputed” intelligence from the NIE that was used in the administration’s sales pitch, was, in fact, quite openly disputed. The intelligence branch of the State Department held a dissenting opinion on several pieces of key evidence that were cited in the President’s State of the Union address and elsewhere.
But let’s not allow ourselves to get distracted by trivialities. Senate tradition has been violated. Sen. Frist has been affronted. That calls for action.
The Vice President’s Chief of Staff is a minor member of the White House? Is all that spinning making you dizzy?
Quaker,
If the intelligence product has not been delivered (”Roberts has long promised), how again is it you can tell its phoney? help me out here. Myself, I’m unable to forecast the future.
No Mousey, not spinning at all. Some would argue the VP is minor member of the WH – much less his chief of staff. Wake up and think.
Dugger , Don’t make me Spank You with a Bunch of VP Quotes, like this:
“The vice presidency isn’t worth a pitcher of warm spit.” – John Nance Garner
Once again, slowly. You can tell whether it’s phony by having an honest investigation. So far, Sen. Roberts has been all promise and no action.
So either we have an investigation and find out, or we just assume everything’s fine and forget the whole thing.
Quaker — I vote for the latter…
I have no doubt. The truth could be dangerous to much you hold dear.
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