March 04, 2006
More Calvinball in the Senate
Bill Frist just keeps right on making up the rules as he goes along.
The Senate Intelligence Committee was designed on a bipartisan basis: equal numbers of members from the majority and the minority, subpoena power for the Vice-Chair (i.e., the ranking minority member), and a rule that all staff briefings have to be open to both parties. (Rules here.) The idea was to separate intelligence oversight from the routine partisan pulling and hauling of the Senate.
Now that some of the Republicans committee are threatening to vote with all the Democrats to have the Committee do its obvious duty by investigating the warrantless-wiretap program, Frist is threatening to change the rules.
Kevin Drum has the perfect summary of Frist's position:
I think the Senate Intelligence Committee should be bipartisan unless being bipartisan happens to harm my party's interests.
Here's an even shorter summary:
The Republicans running Washington these days lie, cheat, and steal.
Glenn Greenwald has been all over this.
