A little reminder of how the Rs in power treated the Dems

[code1211]

One of the most depressing examples of one-party rule is the Patriot Act. The measure was originally crafted in classic bipartisan fashion in the Judiciary Committee, where it passed by a vote of thirty-six to zero, with famed liberals like Barney Frank and Jerrold Nadler saying aye. But when the bill was sent to the Rules Committee, the Republicans simply chucked the approved bill and replaced it with a new, far more repressive version, apparently written at the direction of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.

"They just rewrote the whole bill," says Rep. James McGovern, a minority member of the Rules Committee. "All that committee work was just for show."

What measures were in the approved Patriot Act that affected you in a negative way?

 

[Truthmatters]

my phones were no longer private for one


Do you approve of the tactics the republicans used to squash the peoples representatives?

 

[Truthmatters]

In one legendary incident, Rep. Charles Rangel went searching for a secret conference being held by Thomas. When he found the room where Republicans closeted themselves, he knocked and knocked on the door, but no one answered. A House aide compares the scene to the famous "Land Shark" skit from Saturday Night Live, with everyone hiding behind the door afraid to make a sound. "Rangel was the land shark, I guess," the aide jokes. But the real punch line came when Thomas finally opened the door. "This meeting," he informed Rangel, "is only open to the coalition of the willing."

 

[code1211]

"I remember one incident very clearly -- I think it was 2001," says Winslow Wheeler, who served for twenty-two years as a Republican staffer in the Senate. "I was working for [New Mexico Republican] Pete Domenici at the time. We were in a Budget Committee hearing and the Democrats were debating what the final result would be. And my boss gets up and he says, 'Why are you saying this? You're not even going to be in the room when the decisions are made.' Just said it right out in the open."

There are many possibilities here. Was he discussing the conciliation between the house and Senate versions of the bill? The whole committee does not attend these meetings. Out of context, any statement like this is meaningless.

That said, here is an interview with Mr. Wheeler that is revealing of his pesronal approach and might help to put his remembrance into the context, at least, of his overall world view.

http://www.cdi.org/program/document...from_page=../friendlyversion/printversion.cfm

 

[WillowTree]

Grow the fuck up. One side behaving badly does not give the other side the right to do likewise. In fact, I seem to remember some lying SOB promising a bipartisan administration. Change in Washington....

The only thing worse than the republicans is the fucking democrats. All pondscum.

I love your use of profanity, it adds elan to your usual partisan banalities.

Oh Fuck. The fucking word nazi is back on fucking duty!

 

[Truthmatters]

On opening day of the 104th Congress, then-Rules Committee chairman Gerald Solomon announced his intention to institute free debate on the floor. "Instead of having seventy percent closed rules," he declared, "we are going to have seventy percent open and unrestricted rules."
How has Solomon fared? Of the 111 rules introduced in the first session of this Congress, only twelve were open. Of those, eleven were appropriations bills, which are traditionally open. That left just one open vote -- H. Res. 255, the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005.

In the second session of this Congress? Not a single open rule, outside of appropriation votes. Under the Republicans, amendable bills have been a genuine Washington rarity, the upside-down eight-leafed clover of legislative politics.

 

[MarcATL]

One of the most depressing examples of one-party rule is the Patriot Act. The measure was originally crafted in classic bipartisan fashion in the Judiciary Committee, where it passed by a vote of thirty-six to zero, with famed liberals like Barney Frank and Jerrold Nadler saying aye. But when the bill was sent to the Rules Committee, the Republicans simply chucked the approved bill and replaced it with a new, far more repressive version, apparently written at the direction of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.

"They just rewrote the whole bill," says Rep. James McGovern, a minority member of the Rules Committee. "All that committee work was just for show."

Will any of you Neo-Cons in here defending the BS and/or screaming "they both do it" the "they done it too defense" BS...can any of you Neo-Cons in here point to any, I mean ANY similar tactics done CURRENTLY by the Dem admin?

Thanks.

 

[Truthmatters]

"I remember one incident very clearly -- I think it was 2001," says Winslow Wheeler, who served for twenty-two years as a Republican staffer in the Senate. "I was working for [New Mexico Republican] Pete Domenici at the time. We were in a Budget Committee hearing and the Democrats were debating what the final result would be. And my boss gets up and he says, 'Why are you saying this? You're not even going to be in the room when the decisions are made.' Just said it right out in the open."

There are many possibilities here. Was he discussing the conciliation between the house and Senate versions of the bill? The whole committee does not attend these meetings. Out of context, any statement like this is meaningless.

That said, here is an interview with Mr. Wheeler that is revealing of his pesronal approach and might help to put his remembrance into the context, at least, of his overall world view.

Andrew Cockburn interviews Winslow Wheeler on "America's Defense Meltdown" for CounterPunch

The man was a republican staffer for 22 years and had NEVER seen anything like this behavior before.

Defense of this behavior shows your biased opinion

 

[MarcATL]

One of the most depressing examples of one-party rule is the Patriot Act. The measure was originally crafted in classic bipartisan fashion in the Judiciary Committee, where it passed by a vote of thirty-six to zero, with famed liberals like Barney Frank and Jerrold Nadler saying aye. But when the bill was sent to the Rules Committee, the Republicans simply chucked the approved bill and replaced it with a new, far more repressive version, apparently written at the direction of then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.

"They just rewrote the whole bill," says Rep. James McGovern, a minority member of the Rules Committee. "All that committee work was just for show."

What measures were in the approved Patriot Act that affected you in a negative way?

@ the quesion.

Wow...just...WOW!!!

 

[Truthmatters]

the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the union-smashing, free-trade monstrosity passed in 2005. As has often been the case in the past six years, the vote was held late at night, away from the prying eyes of the public, who might be horrified by what they see. Thanks to such tactics, the 109th is known as the "Dracula" Congress: Twenty bills have been brought to a vote between midnight and 7 a.m.

 

[MarcATL]

Grow the fuck up. One side behaving badly does not give the other side the right to do likewise. In fact, I seem to remember some lying SOB promising a bipartisan administration. Change in Washington....

The only thing worse than the republicans is the fucking democrats. All pondscum.

I love your use of profanity, it adds elan to your usual partisan banalities.

Oh Fuck. The fucking word nazi is back on fucking duty!

And I see the Viliage Crying Idiot is back on duty. Great!

 

[Truthmatters]

she will never even read anything posted , she just insults from her partisan cage

 

[amrchaos]

Dems and Repubs always treat each other like dirt.

However, if we wish to see who is closest to dirt, then it is the Dems.

You see Democrat begins with D, Dirt begins with D--and by alphabetical ordering of words, Democrats are closer to dirt than Republicans.

Of course if we ask who is rot, then by the same logic, the Republicans are.

Closest to Capitalism--Dems
Closest to Socialism--Republicans

Closese to Integrity--Dems--you get the picture....

 

[MarcATL]

the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the union-smashing, free-trade monstrosity passed in 2005. As has often been the case in the past six years, the vote was held late at night, away from the prying eyes of the public, who might be horrified by what they see. Thanks to such tactics, the 109th is known as the "Dracula" Congress: Twenty bills have been brought to a vote between midnight and 7 a.m.

Truth, so any idea of why practically ALL the voices on the Right are sqewing this meme about "never seeing such late night back-room dealings before in their life" and other such nonsensical and false rantings?

 

[Truthmatters]

Dems and Repubs always treat each other like dirt.

However, if we wish to see who is closest to dirt, then it is the Dems.

You see Democrat begins with D, Dirt begins with D--and by alphabetical ordering of words, Democrats are closer to dirt than Republicans.

Of course if we ask who is rot, then by the same logic, the Republicans are.

Closest to Capitalism--Dems
Closest to Socialism--Republicans

Closese to Integrity--Dems--you get the picture....

BULLSHIT!

the republicans act in ways that dems never have

 

[MarcATL]

she will never even read anything posted , she just insults from her partisan cage

Lemme guess...California Girl.

Yes?

 

[Truthmatters]

the Central American Free Trade Agreement, the union-smashing, free-trade monstrosity passed in 2005. As has often been the case in the past six years, the vote was held late at night, away from the prying eyes of the public, who might be horrified by what they see. Thanks to such tactics, the 109th is known as the "Dracula" Congress: Twenty bills have been brought to a vote between midnight and 7 a.m.

Truth, so any idea of why practically ALL the voices on the Right are sqewing this meme about "never seeing such late night back-room dealings before in their life" and other such nonsensical and false rantings?

They are either evil partisan hacks who hate this country and the democracy it is OR they are fools with no mind of their own.

 

[Truthmatters]

From the McCarthy era in the 1950s through the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995, no Democratic committee chairman issued a subpoena without either minority consent or a committee vote. In the Clinton years, Republicans chucked that long-standing arrangement and issued more than 1,000 subpoenas to investigate alleged administration and Democratic misconduct, reviewing more than 2 million pages of government documents.

Guess how many subpoenas have been issued to the White House since George Bush took office? Zero -- that's right, zero, the same as the number of open rules debated this year; two fewer than the number of appropriations bills passed on time.

 

[MarcATL]

From the McCarthy era in the 1950s through the Republican takeover of Congress in 1995, no Democratic committee chairman issued a subpoena without either minority consent or a committee vote. In the Clinton years, Republicans chucked that long-standing arrangement and issued more than 1,000 subpoenas to investigate alleged administration and Democratic misconduct, reviewing more than 2 million pages of government documents.

Guess how many subpoenas have been issued to the White House since George Bush took office? Zero -- that's right, zero, the same as the number of open rules debated this year; two fewer than the number of appropriations bills passed on time.

Neo-Cons:

What is your answer for this one?

 

[Truthmatters]

they are hopefully now looking at the dem congressional record looking for the same type of activity.

They will not find it.

Yet people of all stripes will go on to claim the dems are just as bad as the Rs.

Its not true and Im really fucking tired of the lies.