channonc 466 Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 Pelosi Rejects Hastings as Intelligence Chairman BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun November 29, 2006 The House speaker-elect, Nancy Pelosi of California, announced yesterday that she will not name as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee a Florida lawmaker, Alcee Hastings, who was impeached and removed from his post as a federal judge in 1989. The battle for the chairmanship of the intelligence panel has drawn unusual attention because, according to congressional aides, Ms. Pelosi has indicated privately that she does not intend to give the chairmanship to the ranking Democrat on the committee, Rep. Jane Harman of California. "Congressman Alcee Hastings and I have had extensive consultations, and today I advised him that I would select someone else as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee," Ms. Pelosi said in a written statement following an hour-long meeting at the Capitol with Mr. Hastings, who was the second-ranking Democrat on the panel. "Alcee Hastings has always placed national security as his highest priority. He has served our country well, and I have full confidence that he will continue to do so," she said. Mr. Hastings, who was recently elected by voters to an eighth term, lamented the missed opportunity. "I am obviously disappointed with this decision. As we learn in Ecclesiastes, however, for everything, there is a season," he wrote. "Our nation's national security is far more important than my professional security." The congressman's statement concluded, caustically and somewhat cryptically, "Sorry, haters, God is not finished with me yet." He seemed to be alluding to critics who said appointing an impeached judge to a key chairmanship would send a bad message for Democrats who won control of the Congress in part because of Republican ethics scandals. Defenders of Mr. Hastings noted that he was acquitted in a criminal trial and has developed a strong reputation on Capitol Hill. The rather mundane organizational decision has played out like a soap opera in Washington, owing to a string of reports that personal tension between Ms. Pelosi and Ms. Harman would lead to her being passed over for Mr. Hastings. Racial concerns and liberal bloggers hostile to Ms. Harman have also played roles in stoking the drama. The origins of the difficulties between Ms. Pelosi, who represents San Francisco, and Ms. Harman, whose district lies to the west and south of Los Angeles, are not entirely clear. A report in the Los Angeles Times traced the troubles to a squabble over whether an airport would be redistricted into or out of Ms. Harman's district. Others point to differences in personal style and to Ms. Harman's prominence on national television discussing security issues like Iraq. Some liberals have denounced Ms. Harman as a hawk who parroted the Bush administration line about Iraq, but a Congressional aide disputed that assessment. "She got rolled the same way the country got rolled," the aide, who asked not to be named, said. A former speechwriter for Vice President Gore, Kenneth Baer, said early support for the war could not be an appropriate test for winning a committee chairmanship. "If you're going to disqualify Jane Harman for her Iraq vote, what do you do about Tom Lantos?" Mr. Baer asked, referring to a California congressman in line to chair the International Affairs Committee. Passing over Ms. Harman would seem to undermine one of the Democrats' campaign promises, a vow to implement all aspects of the report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which called for continuity on the intelligence committees. "The 9/11 commission was right that it's best to keep experts on a committee like the intelligence committee," Mr. Baer said. Several of Ms. Harman's backers said they hoped Ms. Pelosi would reverse course but doubted that it would happen. Other House members are reportedly under consideration for the intelligence slot, including the no.3 Democrat on the panel, Silvestre Reyes of Texas, as well as Norman Dicks of Washington and Sanford Bishop of Georgia. LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TitanTiger 20,510 Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 Good move on her part. You can't talk about being ethical and cleaning things up from one side of your mouth while supporting someone like Hasting for such an important position out of the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CCTAU 3,345 Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 Maybe the inmates will run the asylum after all...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,126 Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 Great start for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,440 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Kudos to Nancy. She is 1-1 thus far. The screaming about Hastings finally woke her up. Heck She voted to impeach him way back when. Why was the guy even considered for the Intl Committee Chair over Seniority? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,126 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Kudos to Nancy. She is 1-1 thus far. The screaming about Hastings finally woke her up. Heck She voted to impeach him way back when. Why was the guy even considered for the Intl Committee Chair over Seniority? SanFran Nan has some ancient grudge with Jane Harman, who currently is the senior Dem on the Intelligence Committee. It literally goes back 40 yrs, and Nancy can't bring herself to do what's right for the country , even on this matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiger Al 0 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Kudos to Nancy. She is 1-1 thus far. The screaming about Hastings finally woke her up. Heck She voted to impeach him way back when. Why was the guy even considered for the Intl Committee Chair over Seniority? It literally goes back 40 yrs, I don't think so. Got a link? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,126 Posted December 1, 2006 Share Posted December 1, 2006 Kudos to Nancy. She is 1-1 thus far. The screaming about Hastings finally woke her up. Heck She voted to impeach him way back when. Why was the guy even considered for the Intl Committee Chair over Seniority? It literally goes back 40 yrs, I don't think so. Got a link? I can't say I do. I heard it on right wing hate radio, where Nancy and Jane's past were being discussed by a caller and the host. I can't even recall which hate mongering right wing neocon fascist it was, so I guess I'm not much help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 13,017 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Kudos to Nancy. She is 1-1 thus far. The screaming about Hastings finally woke her up. Heck She voted to impeach him way back when. Why was the guy even considered for the Intl Committee Chair over Seniority? It literally goes back 40 yrs, I don't think so. Got a link? I can't say I do. I heard it on right wing hate radio, where Nancy and Jane's past were being discussed by a caller and the host. I can't even recall which hate mongering right wing neocon fascist it was, so I guess I'm not much help. Don't feel bad. You guys are hard to tell apart because there is nothing original about you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,126 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Don't feel bad. You guys are hard to tell apart because there is nothing original about you. And still, there's no such Left wing comparison on the radio, even after 'some' on the Right have been on for almost 20 yrs. Ever wonder why that is ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasTiger 13,017 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Don't feel bad. You guys are hard to tell apart because there is nothing original about you. And still, there's no such Left wing comparison on the radio, even after 'some' on the Right have been on for almost 20 yrs. Ever wonder why that is ? Right wingers don't like originality. They like sameness of thought, black and white arguments and authoritarian leaders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bottomfeeder 244 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Pelosi tabs Texan to lead intelligence panel Web Posted: 12/01/2006 11:42 PM CST Gary Martin Express-News Washington Bureau WASHINGTON- House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi sent a clear signal Friday that Democrats plan to challenge the administration on Iraq and the war on terror, picking Rep. Silvestre Reyes of El Paso to be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Pelosi passed over two higher-ranking Democrats in choosing Reyes, a Vietnam War combat veteran and former Border Patrol official. "When tough questions are required, whether they relate to intelligence shortcomings before 9-11 attacks or the war in Iraq, or the quality of intelligence on Iran or North Korea, he does not hesitate to ask them," Pelosi said. http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/metro/sto...n.43afa305.html Heck yea. In your face, Dubya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AURaptor 1,126 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Heck yea. In your face, Dubya. How is this an 'in your face' toward Bush? It's Pelosi who wanted an impeached federal judge on the Intelligence Committee in the 1st place. The guy was tossed off the bench for taking bribes, which is a HUGE security risk for someone in that position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKW 86 7,440 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 There are right wing radio programs out there because we actually listen to the discussion and are engaged that way. There is no Left Wing Radio because in radio you cant use fuzzy wuzzy crayon pictures to engage the vast majority of those on the Left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUdaREALsecTigers 2 Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 Don't feel bad. You guys are hard to tell apart because there is nothing original about you. And still, there's no such Left wing comparison on the radio, even after 'some' on the Right have been on for almost 20 yrs. Ever wonder why that is ? Right wingers don't like originality. They like sameness of thought, black and white arguments and authoritarian leaders. Man...That was word for word Alan Colmes... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigermike 3,053 Posted December 3, 2006 Share Posted December 3, 2006 Don't feel bad. You guys are hard to tell apart because there is nothing original about you. And still, there's no such Left wing comparison on the radio, even after 'some' on the Right have been on for almost 20 yrs. Ever wonder why that is ? Right wingers don't like originality. They like sameness of thought, black and white arguments and authoritarian leaders. Man...That was word for word Alan Colmes... Some of that left wing originality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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