F. James Sensenbrenner. And I mean that.

by Kagro X

It's not something I feel about Murray Abraham, Scott Fitzgerald, or even Lee Bailey. But when it comes to Sensenbrenner, I'm certain. F. James Sensenbrenner, Junior. And you, too, Dad. F. James Sensenbrenner, because he's already trying to F. you.

At the end of last week, liberal talk radio and the blogosphere exploded with outrage over the nearly unbelievable scene that unfolded live on C-SPAN, when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner abruptly gaveled the minority-called hearing on the USA PATRIOT Act to a close and stormed out, ordering the witnesses dismissed, the microphones turned off, the record closed, and even had the official stenographer threatened for continuing to take notes on what the stunned Democrats he left behind were saying.

Or rather, liberal talk radio did. The blogosphere was still tearing its hair out over Howard Dean and those who would have him watch his mouth. And so we mostly missed the strange saga of F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. and his "tactical nuclear option."

nd tMany of you will recall that Sensenbrenner just last month was forced to correct House Report 109-51, in which he ordered rewritten the descriptions of Democratic amendments that had been offered during the Committee markup of H.R. 748, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA). For those of you who don't remember, a sampling:

The author's description:

A Nadler amendment allows an adult who could be prosecuted under the bill to go to a Federal district court and seek a waiver to the state’s parental notice laws if this remedy is not available in the state court. (no 11-16)

Which Sensenbrenner changed to read:

Mr. Nadler offered an amendment that would have created an additional layer of Federal court review that could be used by sexual predators to escape conviction under the bill. By a roll call vote of 11 yeas to 16 nays, the amendment was defeated.

Judiciary Committee Democrats, not surprisingly, demanded a retraction of the report and an apology frmo Sensenbrenner. The Chairman refused, and Democrats took to the floor in a series of "points of personal privilege," under which any Member may claim an hour of time when he or she feels she has been personally wronged and wishes to offer a defense or correction. Sensenbrenner eventually had to back down and correct the report.

Now we find ourselves, barely a month later, with Chairman Sensenbrenner once again out of control, flouting House rules, and robbing the minority of its right to be heard. The hearing he shut down was properly demanded under Rule XI, clause 2(j)(1) -- demanded because he had refused otherwise to permit Committee Democrats to call their own witnesses on the PATRIOT Act. Reminded that the Rules of the House entitle the minority to that right, he called the hearing for 8:30 am on Friday -- a day when the House was out of session and most other Members had returned home to their districts. So, with barely a half day's notice, witnesses were flown in from all across the country, Judiciary Committee Democrats rejiggered their schedules, and all were told by the Chairman that the hearing would be cancelled if anyone were late.

Running an extraordinarily tight ship, Sensenbrenner held close (after his own fashion) to the five minute rule. Normally, Members are given five minutes in which to pose questions to witnesses and receive their answers. Commonly, so long as they are mindful of time restrictions, witnesses are permitted to complete their answers even if they run over on time. But Sensenbrenner was having none of it that morning. Witnesses were gaveled down and cut off in mid-sentence, at five minutes on the dot. In one case, a Republican Member reportedly posed a five minute "question" to a witness, the representative of Amnesty International, which consisted of little more than a rant and berating of the witness and the organization he represented. At the end of the five minute tirade, time being up, Sensenbrenner moved on, refusing all requests that he be permitted to reply, until Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was able to needle him into allowing a brief response.

In the end, though, Sensenbrenner had his way. In this video of the end of the hearing, available from Dembloggers.com, the Chairman is seen melting down, gaveling the hearing to a close unilaterally (as opposed to say, making a motion to adjourn in regular order), and storming out. In the minutes that followed, the video documents that Democrats soldiered on, though Committee staff turned off the microphones, and even allegedly attempted to insist that C-SPAN camera crews be removed. Perhaps even more informative were the interviews conducted by Air America Radio host Randi Rhodes with Judiciary Committee Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Jerry Nadler, audio of which is available here. In these interviews, the Members give us details not visible on the C-SPAN video. I recommend giving them a listen. And so, in his attempt to bury objections to the PATRIOT Act with an 8:30 hearing on a Friday, Sensenbrenner in fact created a sensation.

So what's next?

Well, Nancy Pelosi has already called for an apology, but Democrats shouldn't even consider stopping there.

Like any employee with an attitude problem, Jim Sensenbrenner has simply run out of chances. It was only a month ago that he was called out on his last ridiculous temper tantrum, and he got away with a warning. Now, though, it's time for probation. House Democrats must demand his formal censure, and stake out the position that another such abuse will result in demands for his removal as Judiciary Chairman.

Just as they did in calling attention to Sensenbrenner's last breach of decorum, Democrats should exercise their right to points of personal privilege on the House floor to make their demands, and Leader Pelosi should offer another question of the privileges of the House as a vehicle for moving for Sensenbrenner's formal censure.

This has gone on long enough. At a time when Congressional Republicans are already at a low ebb in terms of how the public views their mismangagement of power (see also: Terri Schiavo, the nuclear option, etc.), Sensenbrenner's continued misbehavior is an embarrassment now beyond a simple collegial intervention.

Comments

[bluesteel]

did anyone else notice that this was on Drudge? What does THAT mean?

[Kagro X]

It means that the groundwork for "Sensenbrenner's come undone, and even Republicans know he needs some 'time out at the farm'" is already laid.

Democrats were able to extract an ounce of flesh last time Sensenbrenner went off the deep end, simply by keeping up the pressure and using their points of personal privilege to embarrass Republicans. They ought to do the same this time, but get the rest of the pound they were owed from last time.

[al-Fubar]

Thank God for C-Span!

Regarding Drudge, I also noticed that he mentioned it. He knows he needs to maintain his relevance. And there's an amusing bit on Drudge this morning. The headline is Hillary hysterics, but right below it, first column, is this interesting juxtiposition:

Dem Chair Dean: 'FOXNEWS Is
A Propaganda Outlet For The
Republican Party'...

Cheney: Dean 'over the
top'...

For stating the obvious?

-- Rick Robinson

[Mimikatz]

Remember this is the guy who held up the intelligence bill in order to get some restrictive measures against immigrants. His anti-immigrant stand is on a par with Tom Tancredo. He is truly an embarrassment to the Congress and to his home state, although in his case it is hard to tell if it is ideology or chemical imbalance or something else entirely.

[Kagro X]

Oh, I won't forget. He held up emergency appropriations for Iraq, as well. He's been as much an embarrassment to Congress as a whole as he has been a problem child for his own party. They ought to be glad to be rid of him.

[Meteor Blades]

If only he could be censured but we could continue to have him throw his temper tantrums for the cameras. One thing Democrats need these days is the best of both worlds.

[fnord]

Sensenbrenner travel = almost $177,000

http://nytimes.com/2005/06/13/politics/13travel.html?pagewanted=all

"Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., a Wisconsin Republican elected in 1978, has accepted more money in privately financed trips than any other member of Congress since 2000, according to PoliticalMoneyLine.

Interest groups have spent almost $177,000 on Mr. Sensenbrenner's travels, including trips to Japan, Thailand, France, Germany, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Bahrain and Dubai."

[Kagro X]

Lots to learn in Liechtenstein.

[fnord]

Lichtenstein ...?
Kazakhstan was actually the one that caught my eye.

Some interesting details from
http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/congtravel/member_report.php?member=411

"Sponsor - Youth Movement for the Future of KazKHATn
Purpose - To meet with officials from the Kazakhstan government and to view the launch of a rocket"

And from the same site, here's another fun one:
"Sponsor - Recording Industry Association of America
Dates - January 10, 2003 - January 17, 2003 (8 days)
Location - Taipei, Taiwan - Bangkok, Thailand
Purpose - judiciary committee fact-finding trip
Notes - spouse, Cheryl W. Sensen
Total Cost - $11,685.09
Additional family members - Yes"

[you]

this site sucks. hahahaha you suc burn your mom

[Frankeynstain]

mature vs young hard mature women vieille salope mature amatrice mature fuck young young boy and mature mature vieille mature salope mature young first time mature and young boy < mature old fuck mature woman fucking girl hot mature men mature woman asshole mature pics free grosses.femmesmuresx.com grosse femme mature hairy bush mature mature hot movies film mature fuck dogs mature black busty photo penetration femme mature hot nasty mature galerie nylon mature brune mature nu hot wife mature blowjob woman mature mature free galerie rencontre femme mure femme mure amatrice cochon photo de femme mure hard cum her face mature photo x femme mure femme mure pour jeune homme 19ans mature mom cum photo gratuite fellation femme mure age mure nu gratuite x femme mure femme mure tres poilue photo femme mure amateur exhib rencontre coquin femme mure > femme mure et nu gratuit mure femme mure avec jeune mec recette and confiture and and mure photo x femme mure et ronde photo de femme mure xxx femme mure nu photo photo gratuite vieille mature nu mature busty babe gallery nymphomane mature amatrice lady mature mature drunk suck vieille saint girons photo vieille salope gratuit mature collant nylon galerie gratuite mature mature and granny mature lady posing femme amatrice mature vieille salope .com pipe hard concert hard rock berlin hard rock cafe black orchid rock nantes hard audrey tautou film hard archive journal hard pps hard ecoute musique hard rock couple hard roman photo hard film and x and hard photo hard de brigitte lahaie music hard core teen hard preview hard top nissan navara hard and top rencontre hard gratuite pps hard gratuit hard anal fucking photo gratuite femme hard peugeot dangel 505 hard top dvd x hard discount sodomie hard amateur pps humour hard liste hard discount essonne mature riding hard hard tv net hard xxx gratuit