Kucinich Refuses To Attend Secret Session on Spy Bill

[Echo In Light]

House Holds Rare Secret Session on Spy Bill
The House of Representatives postponed a vote on a spy bill Thursday after Democrats agreed to a request from Republicans to hold a rare secret session to discuss what they termed classified security matters. It marked the first time a secret session was held in a quarter of a century and only the sixth time in the House’s history. We speak with Ohio Congressmember Dennis Kucinich, who refused to attend the secret session.

"Right. Well, the—one of the Republican leaders said that he had some secret information that he had to communicate with rest of Congress, and so he asked the Congress to go into secret session. I went to the floor of the House in that preliminary session and pointed out that this hasn’t happened but five times in 182 years, and I said that there should be a very high bar that has to be passed before we go into secret session. As soon as I said that, the member of Congress who asked for it started to backpedal a little bit. It will be interesting to see what kind of gravity came out of that meeting. My guess is that it had more to do with the desire of the administration to try to push for the passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act than it had to do with any compelling new information about national security."

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/3/14/house_hold_rare_secret_session_on

[LiberalFighter]

1. Who was that Republican leader that felt the need? Boehner? Did he cry?

[Maine-ah]

2. K&R

[Norrin Radd]

3. kr

[rosesaylavee]

4. It appears that Dennis was right on as usual.

Whatever information that was imparted turned the DEMS leaning toward the right to reverse and actually vote with their own party for a change. Perhaps they are catching on to the game? :shrug:

[AlertLurker]

5. Why isn't this man the nominee?

Why are Democrats arguing over which Corporate Shill to run against McLame while Kucinich kicks RW ass after RW ass with almost NO HELP from a compalcent and compliant Congress?

I'm so frustrated.

Worse than that - he's ALREADY married!

[jus_the_facts]

7. Looks the same looking from the inside as it does looking from the outside.....

....frustration doesn't even begin to describe the agony of this farce we call an election process. :yoiks:

[LWolf]

16. Democrats repeatedly vote against their own best interests.

That, and the simple fact that many Democrats are not progressive at all. That illusion only holds up when comparing them with the extreme right wing.

[Billy Burnett]

19. Go to GD Primaries. You'll see why DK isn't the candidate.

:hide::yoiks::hide:

[Individualist]

24. because people would rather follow the dictates of media and money

than vote in their best interests.

As for me, I'll vote for the person who would be the best president. I'll write-in Kucinich, and the hell with allowing media and money to influence my vote.

[bobthedrummer]

26. "Inconvenient truths about the New Democrats, the Third Way, Democratic Leadership Council, etc."

it's largely due to the political machine that was founded and funded by the RW inside the Democratic Party decades ago, as discussed in this active must read GD thread AlertLurker, a machine that abandoned the traditional Democratic base and policies long ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2973191

[malaise]

6. I love Dennis n/t

[bluesmail]

8. I love Dennis the mostest

[Echo In Light]

20. Ha...the "mostest!" Dk's always right on

[GreenPartyVoter]

21. Dennis IS the MOSTEST! :^D

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

9. Dennis also voted against the bill, because he believes (knows), FISA, is Unconstitutional. Link

Thank you slipslidingaway

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x3012270

Maurice Hinchey, a true Progressive from NY, also voted against it, and I suspect for the same reason.

[pleah]

15. Exactly! This has just been a huge waste of time and money,

to pass legislation that was not needed.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

18. Not only not needed, but Unconstitutional to boot. This goes for the original

FISA too. I have heard Jonathan Turley and Bruce Fein discuss this.

Here is our Fourth Amendment. After reading it, about which part are our lawmakers not clear?

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

This also means that all data mining should be illegal too.

[Dinger]

10. He's Got A Good Heart.

Why does our party bitch-slap him whenever he wants to move up the political ladder?

[madokie]

12. I think it is because he is one of us and not one of them

[crikkett]

13. maybe b/c he wouldn't protect corrupt members of his own party.

I think in congress that's called "does not play well with others"

[lovuian]

11. closed door deals and Secrets kept from the public

Kucinich was right

What DISGUSTS ME is the Democrats going in there and conducting a secret session

What is WRONG with PELOSI!!!

[Lydia Leftcoast]

14. Secret sessions should be unconstitutional

I used to believe in all that "top secret" stuff, but then I read a book called The CIA and the Cult of Intelligence, the first book ever published with indications of where censorship had been applied.

The author's main thesis was that secrecy was strictly for hiding a government's misdeeds from its own people. This was during the Soviet era, and the author claimed that the KGB had infiltrated the CIA and the CIA had infiltrated the KGB so thoroughly that neither one could keep any secrets from the other for very long. So secrecy was not a matter of funding "covert" operations. Furthermore, the people who were the victims of covert operations knew who was behind them, as did most of the foreign press.

Therefore, secrecy was primarily for preventing the American people from finding out what their government was up to.

[Subdivisions]

17. He should have attended and then

held a presser right after explaining what happened. Heck, what're they going to do to him? Subpoena him on ivestigation of outing Congressional secret sessions?

[Peace Teacher]

22. The more I read about Kucinich, the more I like him.

[Flabbergasted]

23. Fascinating! nt

[lonestarnot]

25. Damn that sweet voice of truth!

:applause: DK we still love you!

[snot]

27. Absolut-f-ing-ly!!!!!

Dennis, THX ONCE AGAIN!

What would it take to xerox you . . . .

[formercia]

28. Non-disclosure agreement

By going into secret session,those present accept to receive classified information than cannot be disclosed elsewhere, even though they might have been otherwise aware of it from another source.

The Administration effectively swore those present to secrecy.