Republicans Bury Gun in the Closet
The Republicans can bury the gun in a closet, but it is still smoking.
Congressman John Conyers held a hearing to learn more about the Downing Street Memos last week. The Republican leadership did everything they could to keep the hearing from taking place: They refused to let Conyers have a hearing room, forcing them to meet in a basement storeroom. And then they called a large number of votes during the time the hearing was taking place.
Here is a message from Mr. Conyers, who drafted a letter to the President asking for a response and clarification from the White House about the Downing Street Memos:
Congressman John Conyers held a hearing to learn more about the Downing Street Memos last week. The Republican leadership did everything they could to keep the hearing from taking place: They refused to let Conyers have a hearing room, forcing them to meet in a basement storeroom. And then they called a large number of votes during the time the hearing was taking place.
Here is a message from Mr. Conyers, who drafted a letter to the President asking for a response and clarification from the White House about the Downing Street Memos:
"On Thursday, I led a hearing about the Downing Street Minutes to receive testimony from former Ambassador Joe Wilson, 27-year CIA veteran Ray McGovern, constitutional lawyer John Bonifaz, and Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son in Iraq.
Despite desperate attempts by Republicans to disrupt the proceedings, 32 Members of Congress attended this hearing. We were forced to use a cramped room in the basement of the Capitol little bigger than a closet, even though plenty of larger hearing rooms were available. The Republican Leadership also scheduled votes for nearly two straight hours in an unprecedented attempt to limit the ability of Democratic Members of Congress to participate in this hearing.
Thanks to your help, and the more than 560,000 individuals who signed this letter, the mainstream media felt compelled to cover this event. The room was packed with television cameras and there was significant coverage in national newspapers and radio networks. After the hearing I hand delivered the list of signatures along with a letter to the president signed by 122 Members of Congress demanding answers, and led a rally outside the White House.
We still have much more to do to make President Bush answer the questions raised by the Downing Street Minutes. Much work remains for us to bring this issue to the attention of all Americans."
Despite desperate attempts by Republicans to disrupt the proceedings, 32 Members of Congress attended this hearing. We were forced to use a cramped room in the basement of the Capitol little bigger than a closet, even though plenty of larger hearing rooms were available. The Republican Leadership also scheduled votes for nearly two straight hours in an unprecedented attempt to limit the ability of Democratic Members of Congress to participate in this hearing.
Thanks to your help, and the more than 560,000 individuals who signed this letter, the mainstream media felt compelled to cover this event. The room was packed with television cameras and there was significant coverage in national newspapers and radio networks. After the hearing I hand delivered the list of signatures along with a letter to the president signed by 122 Members of Congress demanding answers, and led a rally outside the White House.
We still have much more to do to make President Bush answer the questions raised by the Downing Street Minutes. Much work remains for us to bring this issue to the attention of all Americans."
You can go to http://johnconyers.com to learn more about what Congressman Conyers is doing to get answers about this issue.
Much is at stake here.
posted by Jay Larsen at 11:38 AM
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