Republican U.S. Sen. Richard Burr derailed a Senate Armed Services hearing

[Swede]

Burr’s objection was criticized by the Democratic National Committee.


“Sen. Burr has taken his obstructionism so far that he’s willing to put it before our national security,” said DNC spokeswoman Joanne Peters.



Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/24/1334190/burr-derails-senate-hearing.html#ixzz0jCPKH3Tw

[bridgit]

1. Seen that as some of the most vile & disgusting shit DC ever perpetrated

I am quite sure there are reasons why the military does not give a tinker's damn for civilian control *of* the armed forces - what with flying half way round the world just to be told to go somewhere else while some mental republican midget has a fucking psychotic episode in the well of congress - even David Frum says it will get worse before it gets better, and that is a fucked up proposition

[FSogol]

2. Kick him off the committee and replace with someone willing to take their responsibility seriously.

[onenote]

3. not going to happen

While as a technical procedural matter, assignments of members to committees requires the approval of the full senate (and, in theory, the full senate could vote to remove someone from a committee), there is a long long tradition of deferring to each party's choices in the matter. As a matter of party discipline, just as the Democrats are hanging together in voting down the repubs vote-a-rama amendments, the repubs would hang together if an attempt was made by the majority to remove a member of the minority from a committee. The majority would have to, in essence, vote to reject every Repub from being appointed to that committee since every repub would vow to do exactly what Burr did at that point.

If someone was tossed from a committee every time they made a petty decision the Senate would have little time for anything but deciding who is or isn't on a committee.