Senate Intelligence Committee Votes IN SECRET to Approve Hayden's Nomination to Head CIA

The Senate Intelligence Committee approved General Michael Hayden's nomination to head the CIA. The committee backed Hayden by a vote of 12-3, according to Pat Roberts, who chairs the panel. The vote was taken in secret and Roberts refused to name the three senators who opposed the nomination.

What a cowardly act. I would expect this of a communist dictatorship, secret votes; NOT in America.

The nomination now goes to the floor of the Senate where it's likely that the Republican-majority will confirm Bush's nominee, probably later this week.

These are the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee:
REPUBLICANS:
Pat Roberts, Kansas, Chairman
Mike Dewine, Ohio
Orrin G. Hatch, Utah
Christopher S. Bond, Missouri
Trent Lott, Mississippi
Olympia J. Snowe, Maine
Chuck Hagel, Nebraska
Saxby Chambliss, Georgia

DEMOCRATS:
John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia, Vice Chairman
Carl Levin, Michigan
Dianne Feinstein, California
Ron Wyden, Oregon
Evan Bayh, Indiana
Barbara A. Mikulski, Maryland
Russell D. Feingold, Wisconsin

Since Ron Wyden basically called Hayden a liar at the hearing, I'm guessing that Wyden was one of the three to vote against sending the confirmation out of committee. I'm guessing that the other two are Feingold and Olympia Snowe. Snowe's constituents, the good and constant Americans of Maine, hold a dim view of government's intrusion into the privacy of citizens, and Snowe has been reported to be unhappy with this nomination.

Hold them accountable. If one of these senators represents you, call their office and find out how they voted on this nomination.

UPDATE:

Two of the three "no" votes have been identified.

Ron Wyden: "The people of this country, I think are fearful now. They feel so strongly about fighting the terrorists aggressively and protecting their rights, and they want to know where the independent checks and balances are."

Russ Feingold: "Our country needs a CIA director who is committed to fighting terrorism aggressively without breaking the law or infringing on the rights of Americans. Gen. Hayden's role in implementing and publicly defending the warrantless surveillance program does not give me confidence that he is capable of fulfilling this important responsibility."

Olympia Snowe voted "yes":
"Many questions still remain concerning NSA programs conducted during Gen. Hayden's tenure, and my decision to support his confirmation is not a vote of confidence in the propriety or efficacy of these programs."

The good people of Maine need to get themselves a better representative. This isn't the first time that Snowe has talked a good game and then choked when it came time to vote.

I would like to believe that the third "no" vote came from Dianne Feinstein, but it would be out of character for her to do something so...so...so populist.

Instead (and I should have guessed it) the third "no" vote came from Evan Bayh, the Republican-in-Democrats'-clothing running to the 08 Presidential election. This "no" vote is to give him props with the left, I suppose.

Marcy Winograd (D-CA), 36th C.D., and Bob McCloskey (D-CA), 29th C.D. and Charles Coleman, Jr. (D-CA), 28th C.D., are candidates for the U.S. House, and founders of the Impeach Team. They have set up a website to stop the nomination of General Michael Hayden:

We not just waiting to get elected, we are standing up for you right now.

Please join us in calling for the IMMEDIATE impeachment of both president George W. Bush and vice-president Dick Cheney. What is this talk about waiting until November? Why are our current representatives not demanding immediate accountability? Every day that passes brings revelations of more egregious abuses of power and more outrageous lies told to the American people. To find out more about the other things we are standing strong for, please visit our web sites, Marcy Winograd, Bob McCloskey and Charles Coleman, Jr.

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