PATRIOT II: From lock-out to walk-out

(Update: Alas, two of the links below have died after 5 years.  I'll keep looking for replacements.)

After the Senate Intelligence Committee sent through the "improvements" for the PATRIOT Act II on an 11-4 vote in a closed meeting, the House [not Senate!] Judiciary Committee got a crack at it. [Thanks b!X!]

This time, instead of a closed meeting, it became a shut-down meeting. I would not call this progress.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, declared that the questions and testimony introduced by the Democrats on the committee was "irresponsible" and "not relevant" to the sections of the PATRIOT Act under consideration. Refusing to yield to questions or points of order from minority members of the committee, Sensenbrenner unburdened himself of a long attack on opponents of the Act, then brought the gavel down to adjourn the meeting. The GOP members of the committee, with Sensenbrenner in the lead, filed out of the room, leaving the Dems on the committee to speak into no-longer-working microphones.

You can watch the Republican exodus here. [11/10/10: Link broken.]

The Irony Factor: For those who have difficulty swallowing the news without a layer of irony slathered across the top like butter on pancakes, it should be noted that Sensenbrenner was most recently in the news for lecturing DNC chair Howard Dean about the sort of political debate that "the public deserves." [22/10/10: Link broken]

The Historical Context Factor: The Republicans' walk-out demonstrated an unusual degree of contempt for free discussion, but was nevertheless not without its historical precedent.

Special Bonus Feature: In case you were thinking about making some points with Sensennbrenner by calling him "Tex" . . . don't.