Democrats Have Shut Down the Government

[Bonnie]

Democrats Force Senate Into Iraq Meeting
Nov 01 3:43 PM US/Eastern
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By LIZ SIDOTI
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON


Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.

"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why," Democratic leader Harry Reid said.



Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt.

"The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist. "They have no convictions, they have no principles, they have no ideas," the Republican leader said.

In a speech on the Senate floor, Reid demanded the Senate go into closed session. The public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed. No vote is required in such circumstances.

Reid's move shone a spotlight on the continuing controversy over intelligence that President Bush cited in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Despite prewar claims, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and some Democrats have accused the administration of manipulating the information that was in their possession.

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted last Friday in an investigation that touched on the war, the leak of the identity of a CIA official married to a critic of the administration's Iraq policy.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before invoking Senate rules that led to the closed session.

Libby resigned from his White House post after being indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury.

Democrats contend that the unmasking of Valerie Plame was retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson, publicly challenging the Bush administration's contention that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Africa. That claim was part of the White House's justification for going to war.

Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., said Reid was making "some sort of stink about Scooter Libby and the CIA leak."

A former majority leader, Lott said a closed session was appropriate for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons _ the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.

In addition, Lott said, Reid's move violated the Senate's tradition of courtesy and consent. But there was nothing in Senate rules enabling Republicans to thwart Reid's effort.

As Reid spoke, Frist met in the back of the chamber with a half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas, who bore the brunt of Reid's criticism. Reid said Roberts reneged on a promise to fully investigate whether the administration exaggerated and manipulated intelligence leading up to the war.

http://www.breitbart.com/news/2005/11/01/D8DJT7B80.html

LOL They have completely lost their minds

They are at their wits end........... :funnyface

 

[manu1959]

i wish the dems would work to unite us rather than divide us

 

[Mr. P]

I sure hope the Republicans wake up, stop being nice guys, and slam the shit outta them!

 

[Freedom Lover]

It is now time for Senate Republicans to admit that the socialist Democrats will never be their friends no matter what they do to placate them. It time is time for the Republicans to start playing hardball with them and start removing pork projects they want from the budget, holding open hearings on the Valerie Plame matter and call Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Tenet, CIA employees with any knowlege about this matter, Novak, the liberal press who participated in the grand jury proceedings, put them under oath and watch what comes out! I smell treason here by some and it needs to be dealt with sooner not later. Republicans need to refuse any and all amendments to legislation offered by Democrats, in other words shut them down from having any say at all on any proceedings in the Senate except to be bystanders on the conduct of business as they enact legislation to move this country forward!

It is past time that Republicans show with a great deal of force who won the election!!!

 

[Bonnie]

i wish the dems would work to unite us rather than divide us

Now you were channeling Joan Baez there right??

 

[archangel]

Now you were channeling Joan Baez there right??

I think manu would be more along the lines of the "Mommas and Poppas" "California Dreaming" since he is a Nevada defector to California... :tng:

 

[Hagbard Celine]

It is now time for Senate Republicans to admit that the socialist Democrats will never be their friends no matter what they do to placate them. It time is time for the Republicans to start playing hardball with them and start removing pork projects they want from the budget, holding open hearings on the Valerie Plame matter and call Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Tenet, CIA employees with any knowlege about this matter, Novak, the liberal press who participated in the grand jury proceedings, put them under oath and watch what comes out! I smell treason here by some and it needs to be dealt with sooner not later. Republicans need to refuse any and all amendments to legislation offered by Democrats, in other words shut them down from having any say at all on any proceedings in the Senate except to be bystanders on the conduct of business as they enact legislation to move this country forward!

It is past time that Republicans show with a great deal of force who won the election!!!

Hahaha! Okay, first of all, the Republicans currently in power have never tried to placate Dems. They could care less what the Dems think or say. They've passed every agenda that has come up so far and the President hasn't even used his veto power during his entire five year duration. Second, you may smell treason, but it's not from the reporters who reported it numbnuts! It's from the guys in the whitehouse who leaked the identity of a CIA spook! Get a clue! Stop reading so much Michelle Malkin and listening to so much Rush Limbaugh! Third, the Dems have already been shut down. They got shut down as soon as Republicans won majority control in every branch of the government last election. The only two things they can do is go along with what Republicans want to do or filibuster! Get a clue! This is a one-party country right now. You're not in a minority, the people who think like you are running things! All Dems can do until the next election is silently object from the sidelines.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

i wish the dems would work to unite us rather than divide us

If you haven't noticed, many of the policies passed by Republicans over the past five years haven't worked too well. I shudder to think what the country would be like if there was no dissenting voice in Congress right now to keep Neo-conservatism in check.

And by the way, the name of this post is ridiculous. How could Dems have shut the government down if Republicans pass every piece of legislation they want? If Dems had any power at all, then at least there would be a little deadlock in Congress every now and then to ensure some actual debate over legislation.

 

[dmp]

If you haven't noticed, many of the policies passed by Republicans over the past five years haven't worked too well. I shudder to think what the country would be like if there was no dissenting voice in Congress right now to keep Neo-conservatism in check.

Name one 'policy' which was 'passed' by a Republican in Federal Office, which has not done 'well'. For your opinion to be worth a shit, you've got to outline what 'well' means; how you measure and qualify outcomes based on the specific policy you cite. Further, your definition of 'well' must be quantifiable to be valid. That is to say, an argument "I don't like the tax breaks the Republican congress has approved." would be an invalid argument supporting a claim, should suggest the Tax breaks are 'policies' AND they were passed by 'The Republicans'. You would need to quantify and tell us exactly how the recent tax breaks have hurt the country, as a whole.

Get it?

 

[Avatar4321]

Hahaha! Okay, first of all, the Republicans currently in power have never tried to placate Dems. They could care less what the Dems think or say. They've passed every agenda that has come up so far and the President hasn't even used his veto power during his entire five year duration. Second, you may smell treason, but it's not from the reporters who reported it numbnuts! It's from the guys in the whitehouse who leaked the identity of a CIA spook! Get a clue! Stop reading so much Michelle Malkin and listening to so much Rush Limbaugh! Third, the Dems have already been shut down. They got shut down as soon as Republicans won majority control in every branch of the government last election. The only two things they can do is go along with what Republicans want to do or filibuster! Get a clue! This is a one-party country right now. You're not in a minority, the people who think like you are running things! All Dems can do until the next election is silently object from the sidelines.

You mean like No Child left behind? Oh wait, Ted Kennedy wrote that bill...

Or how about Campaign finance reform?

Or the Medicare entitlement expansion?

If you havent noticed these arent Conservative positions. So dont give me any BS that the Republicans havent been trying to placate the Democrats.

 

[Mr. P]

Hagbard Celine....I can only at your last few posts.
You don't have a clue, or most likely you're just trying to be a pain in the ass, which would fit well with being a true Blue Democrat. That is the level they have sunken to.

 

[Hagbard Celine]

Hagbard Celine....I can only at your last few posts.
You don't have a clue, or most likely you're just trying to be a pain in the ass, which would fit well with being a true Blue Democrat. That is the level they have sunken to.

Fine, believe whatever the hell suits ya'll. "Christians are persecuted in America by a miniscule minority population made of the one percent of the population that isn't Christian." "Democrats, while suffering severe losses last election and forfeiting any power they had to a majority Republican Congress, whitehouse and now supreme court, are somehow orchestrating a giant, global conspiracy to make life hard for conservatives and pose an imminent danger from within--Dems are the new Communists!" Whatelse..."The war in Iraq is going smoothly." "Ann Coulter should be canonized." "Any news from a reputable news source is tainted by elitist liberal college-speak--only Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh can be trusted." "Global warming is a global hoax orchestrated by elitist, liberal, godless scientists." "ID is science."

 

[dmp]

Fine, believe whatever the hell suits ya'll. "Christians are persecuted in America by a miniscule minority population made of the one percent of the population that isn't Christian." "Democrats, while suffering severe losses last election and forfeiting any power they had to a majority Republican Congress, whitehouse and now supreme court, are somehow orchestrating a giant, global conspiracy to make life hard for conservatives and pose an imminent danger from within--Dems are the new Communists!" Whatelse..."The war in Iraq is going smoothly." "Ann Coulter should be canonized." "Any news from a reputable news source is tainted by elitist liberal college-speak--only Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh can be trusted." "Global warming is a global hoax orchestrated by elitist, liberal, godless scientists." "ID is science."

(shrug)

You're a child

 

[Bonnie]

Hahaha! Okay, first of all, the Republicans currently in power have never tried to placate Dems. They could care less what the Dems think or say. They've passed every agenda that has come up so far and the President hasn't even used his veto power during his entire five year duration. Second, you may smell treason, but it's not from the reporters who reported it numbnuts! It's from the guys in the whitehouse who leaked the identity of a CIA spook! Get a clue! Stop reading so much Michelle Malkin and listening to so much Rush Limbaugh! Third, the Dems have already been shut down. They got shut down as soon as Republicans won majority control in every branch of the government last election. The only two things they can do is go along with what Republicans want to do or filibuster! Get a clue! This is a one-party country right now. You're not in a minority, the people who think like you are running things! All Dems can do until the next election is silently object from the sidelines.

That's right!!! I guess liberals forget that quite a bit though. If the Democrats really wanted to make a difference they would stop the endless criticisms of Bush and actually bring something to the table.


Here's what they are doing now....... Why don't you all hate Bush like we do?? Why don't you care that Libby said different things to different journalists? Stomping feet now How come you voted for Bush again? How could Bush possibly be in the Whitehouse again? Why didn't Fitzgerald bring Bush, Rove, and Cheney up on charges of lying about WMD's just to get us into war?? Even though everyone else was privy to the same intelligence including Clinton. What the heck are we going to do to stop a brilliant man with impecable credentials from taking a seat on the the Supreme Court bench?? We were putting all our hopes on Wilson and Fitzgerald, we thought Bush was going to be arrested, how come no one cares that we are upset .................

 

[theim]

I just wanna know what the hell they think they have gained here. They have gone off the deep end.

 

[fuzzykitten99]

It is now time for Senate Republicans to admit that the socialist Democrats will never be their friends no matter what they do to placate them. It time is time for the Republicans to start playing hardball with them and start removing pork projects they want from the budget, holding open hearings on the Valerie Plame matter and call Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, Tenet, CIA employees with any knowlege about this matter, Novak, the liberal press who participated in the grand jury proceedings, put them under oath and watch what comes out! I smell treason here by some and it needs to be dealt with sooner not later. Republicans need to refuse any and all amendments to legislation offered by Democrats, in other words shut them down from having any say at all on any proceedings in the Senate except to be bystanders on the conduct of business as they enact legislation to move this country forward!

It is past time that Republicans show with a great deal of force who won the election!!!

i say, all the senators gotta do, is remember which side has the most guns... :tng:

 

[Hagbard Celine]

(shrug)

(shrug) I'm an Unoriginal namecaller who can't come up with an intelligent retort.

 

[Annie]

I just wanna know what the hell they think they have gained here. They have gone off the deep end.

They got what they wanted, coverage by the press. Alito is 'blocking' Libby problems, they wanted the focus shifted. What are we talking about right now?

While I won't be watching the network news or Ted Koppel-is he still on? I'm sure the coverage will be about 'security' and 'leaks.'

 

[Nienna]

That's right!!! I guess liberals forget that quite a bit though. If the Democrats really wanted to make a difference they would stop the endless criticisms of Bush and actually bring something to the table.


Here's what they are doing now....... Why don't you all hate Bush like we do?? Why don't you care that Libby said different things to different journalists? Stomping feet now How come you voted for Bush again? How could Bush possibly be in the Whitehouse again? Why didn't Fitzgerald bring Bush, Rove, and Cheney up on charges of lying about WMD's just to get us into war?? Even though everyone else was privy to the same intelligence including Clinton. What the heck are we going to do to stop a brilliant man with impecable credentials from taking a seat on the the Supreme Court bench?? We were putting all our hopes on Wilson and Fitzgerald, we thought Bush was going to be arrested, how come no one cares that we are upset .................

Hilarious!

 

[Annie]

That didn't take long. Note where the main focus of the article is...:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051102/ap_on_go_co/senate_iraq

Senate Emerges From Closed Session on Iraq

By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer 33 minutes ago

In a day of political drama, Democrats forced the Republican-controlled Senate into an unusual closed session Tuesday, questioning intelligence that President Bush used in the run-up to the war in Iraq and accusing Republicans of ignoring the issue.

"They have repeatedly chosen to protect the Republican administration rather than get to the bottom of what happened and why," Democratic leader Harry Reid said.

The afternoon halt in Senate business let Democrats steer the spotlight to the war in Iraq, an issue on which the president is doing badly in public opinion polls.

Taken by surprise, Republicans derided the move as a political stunt but agreed two hours later to a bipartisan review of the Senate Intelligence Committee's investigation into prewar intelligence.

"The United States Senate has been hijacked by the Democratic leadership," said Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee. The Republican leader also said President Bush's decision to nominate Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court had "set the Democrats back on their heels. ... This may just be a reaction to that."

Democrats sought assurances that Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts of Kansas would complete the second phase of an investigation of the administration's prewar intelligence. A six-member task force — three members from each party — was appointed to review the Intelligence Committee's work and report to their respective leaders by Nov. 14.

Roberts' committee produced a 511-page report in 2004 on flaws in an Iraq intelligence estimate assembled by the country's top analysts in October 2002, and he promised a second phase would look at issues that couldn't be finished in the first year of work.

The committee worked on the second phase of the review, Roberts said, but it has not finished. He blamed Democrats for the delays and said his staff had informed Democratic counterparts on Monday that the committee hoped to complete the second phase next week.

"Now we have this ... stunt 24 hours after their staff was informed that we were moving to closure next week," a clearly angry Roberts told reporters. "If that's not politics, I'm not standing here."

In mid-afternoon Tuesday, Reid demanded the Senate go into closed session. The public was ordered out of the chamber, the lights were dimmed, and the doors were closed. No vote is required in such circumstances.

Reid's move refocused attention on the continuing controversy over prewar intelligence. Despite administration claims, no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq, and some Democrats have accused the White House of twisting the intelligence to exaggerate the threat posed by Iraq.

Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was indicted last Friday in an investigation that touched on the war — the leak of the identity of a CIA official married to a critic of the administration's Iraq policy.

"The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really all about, how this administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions," Reid said before invoking Senate rules that led to the closed session.

Libby resigned from his White House post after being indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, making false statements and perjury.

Democrats contend that the unmasking of CIA officer Valerie Plame was retribution for her husband, Joseph Wilson's publicly challenging the Bush administration's contention that Iraq was seeking to purchase uranium from Africa. That claim was part of the White House's justification for going to war.

As Reid spoke, Frist met in the back of the chamber with a half-dozen senior GOP senators, including Roberts, who bore the brunt of Reid's criticism. Reid claimed that Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed Democratic pleas for a thorough investigation.

Sen. Trent Lott (news, bio, voting record), R-Miss., a former majority leader, said a closed session was appropriate for such overarching matters as impeachment and chemical weapons — the two topics that last sent the senators into such sessions.

In addition, Lott said, Reid's move violated the Senate's tradition of courtesy and consent. But there was nothing in Senate rules enabling Republicans to thwart Reid's effort.

The Senate had been considering a budget bill when it went into closed session.