Aren't senators run through a security clearance?

[Frustratedlady]

I have a (soon to be former) friend who insists that Obama needs to be subjected to a security clearance. I should think candidates would also go thru some type of clearance before they could go through the process. What does happen?

O'Reilly is at it again on this Muslim crap. I need help here to make sure I am not blowing in the wind.

[Muttocracy]

1. probably different levels - Biden, Levin, Leahy have higher clearance than others?

not sure but I think for some committees they have access to more info. But I'm not sure if we're talking about the same meaning of security clearance.

Edit to add - and chairs and possibly ranking members get more access I think?

[karynnj]

11. Obama is on the SFRC - so he has that level of clearance

but, in addition to level of clearance you have to have a need to know.

The nominee get more - which was why the confirmation of Rice was so interesting in 2005. Kerry asked Rice a question on A Q Khan and Pakistan and after she answered that it was under control, he questioned her answer succinctly at least two more times asking "adequately" as she squirmed. In his statement on how he would vote in committee he said that she had not been open and honest. The reason it was interesting beyond being good Kerry questioning was that he had recently had very high level briefings.

I think it may only be the Select Intelligence committees in the House and Senate where the ranking member and chair are part of the gang of 8 along with the Speaker and the minority leader in the house and the minority and majority leader in the Senate.

Obama is not on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee:

2007-2008
Democrats
Republicans
John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia
Chairman Christopher S. Bond, Missouri
Vice Chairman
Dianne Feinstein, California John Warner, Virginia
Ron Wyden, Oregon Chuck Hagel, Nebraska
Evan Bayh, Indiana Saxby Chambliss, Georgia
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland Orrin Hatch, Utah
Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin Olympia J. Snowe, Maine
Bill Nelson, Florida Richard Burr, North Carolina
Sheldon Whitehouse, Rhode Island

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. Depends on what committee they serve

in the Intel committee, you bet your sweet ass and armed services committee, also

He serves on one of those

Also, your friend is a pubbie? Governors are not, ergo Bush was not and IMHO could never hold a security clearance with his previous drug use

[Frustratedlady]

8. Yes, and he listens to FAUX and believes a lot of the rubbish

that is sent around by the RW. He believes he is Muslim and that the Muslims are going to take over the country. I have a response ready to send, but thought if senators were routinely cleared, what's their argument?

These RW rumors really get to me and I'm trying to stop them when I get the chance.

Thanks!

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. Here is one for the Muslim one

In Islam the person leading the service is an Imam

In christianity, it is a preacher... kindly remind him of the whole mess with his preacher and that he LEFT his CHURCH

Now personally, I don't have any RW as friends anymore. And I know they cannot be reached

Thanks for trying though

[billyoc]

3. What are the "clearers" going to tell the voters, send us somebody else, this one's no good?!

:rofl:

One or two committees do background checks.

[napi21]

4. As a requirement, they are not. See this.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/senrequire.htm

The Senate is the United States' higher legislative chamber (the House of Representatives being the lower chamber), containing 100 members. If you have dreams of becoming one of the two senators who represent each state for six-year terms, you might want to check the Constitution first. The guiding document for our government specifically spells out the requirements to be a senator. Individuals must be:

at least 30 years old.

a U.S. citizen for at least nine years at the time of election to the Senate.

a resident of the state one is elected to represent in the Senate.
These are the only requirements for the office that are specified in Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution.

HOWEVER, I would suspect that anyone who runs for the US Senate would be heavily investigated by his/her opposition during a campaign.

[izquierdista]

5. About security clearances

The whole process is a bureaucrat's dream -- fill out lots and lots of forms, do a tiny bit of footwork and move the paper ever so slowly through the system. The process won't catch a spy like Robert Hansen and will in fact, continue to renew his clearances. The process will automatically reject someone like Albert Einstein (resident aliens are not eligible, no matter what the conditions under which they emigrated).

Of course, office holders have the tables turned on the folks that do the investigations, for if they were to have a clearance rejected, well, that would be a career limiting move for that investigator.

I take it your friend is just spouting some RW talking points and has never applied for a security clearance.

[Frustratedlady]

9. He has a clearance (military position), so feels superior, I suppose.

Here is the link to the committees Obama is on:

http://obama.senate.gov/committees/

[izquierdista]

12. An inferior clearance

Clearly he must not be that superior, for a DOD clearance doesn't mean squat at a DOE nuke facility. The clearance system is set up to screen the worker bees in both organizations. People in charge play by a different set of rules.

This is a classic RW ploy. They run around all flustered yelling "security, security, need-to-know, classified, classified", trying to look important. All the more so when there is someone of liberal bias who looks at them and says "this has no business being classified, declassify it."

The amount of technical information that really, really needs to be kept under wraps is very small. It could probably fit all on one DVD. I would venture to guess that 99% of all the classified documents in the Pentagon could be declassified without compromising "national security" one bit. Remember, "national security" is just a fascist catch-phrase which really means "shut up, I'm in charge."

[ShortnFiery]

6. Bill Clinton, by the mere fact that he's married and cheats is a POOR security risk.

Because my father was sent overseas (ME) on a diplomatic mission when I happened to be born, it required an extra 3 months for the FBI to fully investigate my background as a young woman.

Obama will have, IMO, no problem securing a clearance - his background was fully discussed in his two books ... he is not a secretive person with the FBI.

People who are poor security risks tend to be those who have the capacity to be blackmailed, i.e., addicts of all varieties. :shrug:

[DesertFlower]

7. Jesus H. Christ. i wish O'Reilly

would just dry up and blow away.