Tomorrow, March 7, the Senate Intelligence Committee will meet to vote on investigating the illegal NSA wiretaps. According to hard to find news reports, Senator Frist is doing everything he can to make sure they don’t vote to investigate. Republican committee members Chuck Hagel, Olympia Snow and Mike DeWine are the most likely to support an investigation further distancing themselves from the most unpopular president in history.
Unlike any other Senate Committee, this one is guided by special rules that require membership to be balanced between both parties. This is of course is by design to perfect legislative oversight in the event that the president’s party has a majority in the Senate and the president is breaking the law and does not want to be investigated.
So naturally, Frist is threatening to change those rules in order to prevent an investigation. You can get more details from Glenn Greenwald here.
For the more adventurous, please call Senator Chuck Hagel’s office. Its fun, and it DOES make a difference.
Washington, D.C. (202) 224-4224
Omaha office (402) 758-8981
Lincoln (402) 476-1400
Kearney (308) 236-7602
Scottsbluff (308) 632-6032
#1 by ldsnomore - March 6th, 2006 at 19:56
I’m confused. If one of the reasons why the Committee was formed in 1976 was to prevent partisan power and control –
“The Senate Intelligence Committee was created in 1976 and, from the beginning, it has been unique in its structure and operation. Due to the urgency of ensuring that our country has nonpartisan and non-politicized oversight over the Government’s intelligence activities, the Intelligence Committee is structured so that — unlike every other Senate Committee — the majority is unable to dominate the Committee’s operation and agenda, and the minority has much greater powers than it does on any other Senate Committee.â€
- than how can Frist have the power and control to change this? Why was something like this not seen and prevented when the Committee was formed in the first place? I can’t be the only one that’s confused.
#2 by Ken Bingham - March 6th, 2006 at 21:59
Cliff
Have we degenerated to kiddy porn now! (c;
#3 by Tim - March 6th, 2006 at 22:40
Today C-SPAN2 aired a Harper’s magazine town hall meeting entitled Presidential Impeachment Proposals. Panel members included John Conyers, John Dean, Elizabeth Holtzman and Lewis Lapham. While the topic was impeachment, the focus was on the nation’s movement towards tyranny by an administration bent on absolute power, intimidation of the press and disregard for the constitution. Conyers said a key to successfully building the case for impeachment was to establish a select committee with balanced membership from both parties — exactly what Frist is trying to abolish.
Take the time to call Chuck Hagel’s office. It’s more fun than reading glenn’s “limericks”. And make sure your representative knows you support HR635 to help build the case for impeachment.
#4 by Thersites - March 6th, 2006 at 22:49
The Senate used to respect its own rules, and the majority party extended courtesy and comity to the minority. The Majority leader either changing the rules or shuffling the personnel to protect a President who broke the law was unthinkable in Tip O’Neil’s day. As was threatening to unilaterally declare judicial filibusters unconstitutional, or (in the House) shuffling the membership of the Ethics Committee to stack it with friends of a particularly powerful Congressman who had broken the rules.
The Republicans are simply playing Calvinball at a historically unheard-of level.
The committee doesn’t meet until 2:30 ET Tuesday. That leaves the morning available to call, email, etc., focusing on Snowe and Hagel. All the contact info is at VichyDems. (Also, go to the main page there for updates and status reports.)
#5 by ldsnomore - March 7th, 2006 at 06:15
Tim and Thersites (Ken, I’m not quite sure what you’re doing) thank you for your efforts to explain the unexplainable. The more I learn about this administration the more disgusted I become. 2:30 ET is 12:30 my time, I’m going to start dialing for a difference.
#6 by Nephi - March 7th, 2006 at 08:37
Remember how your older sibbling used to change the rules of the game when you were winning? More of the same here.
Fox News bashing Hillary years before the 2008 election; Frist threatening to change the Senate rules because, without such change, the results look unpredictable or, at worst, very predictable; Peter Pace putting a see-through gloss on an all-time low military morale and questionable accomplishments in Iraq; and, among lots of similar tidbits, a one-day stump by Cheney to Boca Raton and Naples (March 6, ‘06), both former Republican strongholds, to reasure the good conservative folks of Florida that his administration is fulfilling its most important duty — “protecting the American people and winning the war on terror.”
The undeniable irony here is, of course, that the purveyors of fear are now themselves full of fear, as well they should be!
#7 by glenn - March 7th, 2006 at 10:27
Be confused no longer folks, you live an an official DICTATORSHIP! Frist is just doing the furhers bidding. He is like the guy that protects draculas coffin during the day when he is out of sight.
As such you will be required to burn the tick with a lit cigarette to remove it! Start smoking, the short term damage will be worth not getting slyme disease from these particlular ticks. glenn
#8 by Grampa - March 7th, 2006 at 13:32
He’s reminding us of our position in the world, out in the cold with it all hanging out.
Ya with us Ken?
#9 by glenn - March 7th, 2006 at 17:15
I don’t think they’re skeered, they can always pardon themselves. Since the plan they are enacting (crash america) comes from outside of our country, they will be protected and likely have a very elaborate exit plan. This won’t be left to chance.
Good luck and good hunting, so far the bear has been getting us.
#10 by Ken Bingham - March 7th, 2006 at 20:09
Yea it seems that we have an airport that is foreign owned and operated including security, and you guessed it is owned by the brits. Maybe they too will sell it to the highest bidder, Iran maybe?
#11 by glenn - March 8th, 2006 at 11:04
# 1 investor in dollar value in the US? It isn’t china, it is britain. almost time for a 3rd world nationalization of their assets by us, and then a break for tea.