Chairman James Sensenbrenner, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, ended a meeting and walked out during a discussion of the Patriot Act that was not going his way. As reported by the Washington Post on June 10:

“Will the gentleman yield?” Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) asked.

“No, I will not yield,” replied Sensenbrenner, 61, the heir to a paper fortune who is known for a brusque insistence on decorum. He completed his reproof of the witnesses and left the Rayburn House Office Building hearing room amid a cacophony of protests from Democrats seeking to be recognized. (End Post report)

C-SPAN2 continued televising the proceedings after Sensenbrenner left the room. Is there no end to the arrogance of these people? As Sensenbrenner left, Nadler continued talking and was applauded after saying that “part of the problem is that we have not had the opportunity to have hearings on all these other administration policies that have led to abuses.”

James J. Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute said, “I think as we are lecturing foreign governments about the conduct of their behavior with regard to opposition, I’m really troubled about what kind of message this is going to teach to other countries in the world about how they ought to conduct an open society that allows for an opposition with rights.”

This is just another example of Republicans trying to stiffle dissent regarding Bush’s twisted and unbalance policies. Their terroristic tactics of control are beginning to become more and more bold. They will probably defund C-SPAN now that they have slashed PBS.