Jon Stewart Has Hilarious Take on Senate Dust-Off; Harry Reid Delivers Brilliant Speech
Stewart joked that while it was refreshing to see Senate donkeys sprouting...well, male genitalia....it was ultimately a fairly meaningless gesture. It was, however, dramatic, headline-grabbing, and unnerving for Senate Republicans----all good things in politics.
Per the New York Times yesterday, what happened was this: "After Mr. Reid invoked Senate Rule 21 allowing senators to request a closed session, the galleries were cleared, C-Span coverage was terminated and the chamber's doors were closed for about two hours. In the end, lawmakers agreed to name three members from each party to assess the state of the Intelligence Committee's inquiry into prewar intelligence and report back by Nov. 14."
Senator Reid released a full statement that exquisitely expressed the frustrations of Senate Democrats, and the American public. Here's a small part of Reid's brilliant speech: "The decision to place U.S. soldiers in harm’s way is the most significant responsibility the Constitution invests in the Congress.
The Libby indictment provides a window into what this is really about: how the Administration manufactured and manipulated intelligence in order to sell the war in Iraq and attempted to destroy those who dared to challenge its actions." Be sure to read the full text of Senator Reid's articulate, impassioned statement here.
Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post summed the event up well, "Frist declared it a 'stunt,' and he was right. But it was a stunt that got attention, which is important when you're in the minority. Let's separate the theatrics from the substance.On the drama front, Reid didn't accomplish much, nor did he really intend to. Except, perhaps, to serve notice that he's no Tom Daschle and isn't going to play the gentlemanly game of go along and get along.
On the substance front, Reid has a valid point: The Republican Congress--which held hearings every 10 minutes on various and sundry Clinton scandals-- has no interest in performing serious oversight of the Bush administration. (Imagine if a top Clinton aide had been indicted in the outing of a CIA operative! The GOP chairman would have scars from colliding with each other in the rush to hold hearings.) But with 44 votes, Reid can't do much about that."
My favorite part was watching Senate Republican leader Bill Frist petulantly pout like a spoiled child whose birthday party just got rained on. And it's always reassuring to see tough-cookie Harry Reid, former head of the Nevada Gaming commission who ran the mob out of Las Vegas, growl at the opposition.
But then again, I have to agree wtih Jon Stewart.....it was thrilling to see Senate Democrats show some creative courage in the face of the Senate Republicans' complete abdication of responsibility on the War in Iraq.
As Senator Reid so masterfully summarized, "We demand that the Intelligence Committee and other committees in this body with jurisdiction over these matters carry out a full and complete investigation immediately as called for by Democrats in the committee’s annual intelligence authorization report.
Our troops and the American people have sacrificed too much. It is time this Republican-controlled Congress put the interests of the American people ahead of their own political interests. "
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Related Articles
-- Senator Reid Demands Answers on Rush into Iraq War - Bush Administration Misuse and Manipulation of Intelligence
-- Profile of US Senator Harry Reid of Nevada
-- Profile of Jon Stewart, Political Comedian
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