is conyers frustrating anyone else?

[nashville_brook]

i understand and appreciate the "fine" line he's walking, but he's being kind of a dick as jon stewart would say.

[HEAVYHEART]

1. I didn't see the hearing / forum

Why is he being a dick? What did he do, what did he say?

[opihimoimoi]

2. He is trying his best I suppose.....

But at least he is trying.....

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. I agree. He is walking a tightrope to be sure.

[itzamirakul]

4. Strange that you should say so...

everyone else seems to think he is doing quite a job.

Go to www.truthout.org and read their ongoing blog on the telecast.

I can't respond firsthand because I no longer have cable.

[nashville_brook]

7. i just wish it seemed more respectful

[nofurylike]

28. the question-askers are being pretty disrespectful, really. i sympathize

that they are enraged, but there's not time for all!

demonstrate!! speak out there!!



peace!

[Cocoa]

5. here it comes...

the DU backlash against Conyers, of all people. :eyes:

[nashville_brook]

9. okay, i withdraw my observation

[Vidar]

52. I say "go with those that fight". John Conyers & Jesse Jackson

have my vote for anything they want to run for. The hell with playing it safe. This is not politics as usual. A coup is taking place and we must use any and all means to oppose it. To the barricades!!

[emulatorloo]

6. No, he is not frustrating me

EOM

[BlueEyedSon]

8. No... that woman does not have a question, just a statement

and a loooong one.

He is doing his job. Democracy is not "doing whatever you want"...

[nashville_brook]

12. these people are regular joes

they don't know how to present to a congressional hearing -- they are just trying to be heard

[Cheswick2.0]

57. why should any of those people have asked a question?

They knew more than the people on the panel. I am glad they made statements. The panel should have been asking them questions.

[Senator]

58. msg deleted

[pat_k]

59. "that woman" 's question (not statement)

If you are talking about the exchange that began at 2:27:30 on the Webcast of the hearing/forum, "that woman" was me.

forum URL: rtsp://cspanrm.fplive.net/cspan/project/c04/c04120804_conyers.rm?mode=compact

The QUESTION (not statement) was "Are you (Member of Congress) willing to make this declaration"?

The declaration (below) takes about 2 minutes to read (usually a few seconds over). I haven't timed the other members of the public that spoke, but it seems to me that most took that long or longer. And certainly, the back and forth to prevent me from finishing took much more time.

I was prepared to skip to the last three paragraphs, but was not even allowed to do that.

I believe that my question is the most critical one we can ask our representatives at this time. If you agree, please ask it of YOUR Senators and Congressperson (and leadership). Send by fax, email, snail mail:

"Are you willing to stand up for our nation by making the following declaration?"

Declaration of Intent

As a Member of Congress it is my sworn duty to uphold and defend the US Constitution. Being mindful of that oath, I believe that the single moral tenet on which that document, and therefore the nation, rests is the principle that government power can only be derived from the consent of the governed.

Consequently, the right of the People to have confidence that they are being afforded free and fair elections for their government officials is a right that no other consideration can supersede. A free and fair election is one in which all citizens have been afforded equal access and opportunity to cast their vote and have that vote accurately counted.

I choose to make this declaration at this time because it has now become clear to me that several states have, to this point in time, failed to fully provide for what would generally be regarded as a free and fair election for their citizens. And consequently, they have generated an insufficient level of confidence in their official result.

There can be no arbitrary point in time -- whether it be a date scheduled for appointing electors, electoral voting, or electoral vote counting -- that can limit the right of the People to have their consent justly measured and expressed. An election is a survey not a contest.

With these principles in mind I would urge the duly authorized election officials in each and every state to make every effort -- whether it be ballot recounting, independent auditing, reopening voting, or even judicially-sanctioned statistical adjustment of results -- to assure that their election truly reflects the will of the citizens of their state.

I wish to recognize that efforts are ongoing in some states -- by candidates, election officials, the news media, and citizens groups, through recounts and other means -- to clarify and adjust the official results in order to increase the level of public confidence. These efforts are necessary, however, they cannot be sufficient.

This is true because by far the most disturbing circumstances that have occurred in this election are the confirmed cases of disparate treatment being afforded to certain classes of voters. If systemic barriers to exercising the franchise existed that correlate to a citizen's age, race, religion, gender, socio-economic status, military status, partisan status, absentee status, immigration status, or other identifiable characteristic, the election was neither free and fair, nor lawful in the absence of any corrective remedy being applied.

Therefore, in keeping with my oath of office, I publicly declare my intention to act on January 6th 2005 and object to any presidential electors that I believe to have been unlawfully appointed. To do less would make me complicit with a violation of our shared democratic principles.

[katinmn]

10. No, he's doing a great job

He has to run a tight ship. Can you imagine how many people wanted to give testimony?

[NWHarkness]

11. Conyers is doing a fine job

Everyone can't get up and make a speech.

[Amaya]

13. He's doing very well

He has a difficult job. Sheesh!

[Matariki]

14. He's awesome

what are you talking about. He's being very respectful, even to people who are refusing to shut up when they are running out of time. He's such a gentleman. How could anyone get mad at him?

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

He's on a time limit, and he's trying to keep it moving.

[electropop]

41. He managed to pack in the 'official' witnesses while

C-Span's cameras were still running. Sad that time was tight, but he did what he had to do and got the big names on TV. That does matter.

[demnan]

15. I understand both sides

He's trying to get something stated in the official record and wants as many people as possible to have a say. He should understand that a lot of people really want to vent on this issue and haven't had a platform to do so.

[nashville_brook]

17. i guess i'm responding to this as television

and the "theater" of it seems condescending to the people

[MoonRiver]

16. No.

He's awesome. There are a lot of people trying to speak. Conyers is just trying to give everybody some time. I am totally mesmerized by this hearing, btw. As long as we can have public forums like this, democracy lives!
:kick:

[nofurylike]

he is doing great! he is a Great Hero!! n/t

[Rose Siding]

18. NO!

This should be an overview of the multiplicity of problems that demand investigation, NOT a detailed evidentiary hearing for every single case....Unless he has a few months of air time booked.

[verdalaven]

19. Conyers

Is doing his best to hear everyone. I think he is doing a good job.
Seems like almost every speaker that comes to the mike wants to grandstand. There is lots of rage out there!

got to get back to watching

[babylonsister]

20. I don't think so. He's just trying to

let everyone be heard in a limited amount of time. But he sure talks s-l-o-w!

[regularjoe]

21. It would be so difficult to keep everyone on track.

Conyers ROCKS!

regularjoe

[Straight Shooter]

22. John Conyers is doing extremely well.

Please give the man a break. History is in the making, and he cannot let people just ramble on. The faster people get to the point, the more witnesses can speak.

I'm impressed with how he's handling this. Think about the pressure he's under.

[Stand and Fight]

23. No.

He's trying to give EVERYONE possibly a chance to speak and ASK a question. This is

[nashville_brook]

24. EEK! jeff fisher!

what a nut!

[cyn2]

42. Conyers got Fisher shut down as soon as he could.

Loved the way Fisher said who he was and waited for applause that never came. What a jerk.

[ohioliberal]

25. He's a get to the point Congressman.

He's just trying to move things along. I think he's doing an excellent job.

[nofurylike]

26. these people need to go to the demonstrations and scream it out! n/t

[katinmn]

27. 12/12 - This Sunday will be a good time for us to

get our Ya-Yas out!
http://www.51capitalmarch.com/index.html

[nofurylike]

31. absolutely!! shout about it, folks!!! see you all there! n/t

[katinmn]

39. That's right.

We have to follow it up with some action!
Don't let everyone else do all the heavy lifting for us.
Show the Congressional members not in attendance, the media, and the power brokers, that we support a full investigation.

http://www.51capitalmarch.com/index.html

[nofurylike]

54. "Don't let everyone else do all the heavy lifting for us." exactly, katinm

see you out there!!!


peace!

[katinmn]

55. yes, it's not going to get better by itself!

Also, this may be our first all national warm-up before we have to protest the draft.

I fear that's coming....

[nofurylike]

60. so true. i fear it too. studying up on draft laws

from days i'd thought gone by.

keep on, katinmn and all!

i will too


peace!

[pointsoflight]

29. I commend Conyers. A true American.

[eleny]

30. no and kudos to c-span for covering this hearing

[VTGold]

32. There's so much emotion in the passion....

... in the room. He has to make sure it stays somewhat in check in order to get anything accomplished.

[farmbo]

33. NO! Rove would like nothing better than for him to give Mic time to Nuts.

The panel was great, but the comments from the peanut gallery were goofy...who knows, they may have been Rovian plants...and Conyers was right to keep them on a short leash.

Thank you Congressman!

[MatrixEscape]

34. It is a formal proceeding?

Conyers is similar, in precedure, to a Judge in a court.

He has control as Chairman, and when he tells people to stop, they really should be aware of, and obey that in a respectful manner.

I see him handling it very well and being rather lenient considering that the question askers may not be familiar with procedure, (as you can see exemplified by the august, seasoned members and participants).

[nashville_brook]

35. yah yah -- my BAD

i can't help but see it as teevee -- i didn't think the first couple of people were nut jobs -- but the next ones were :)

[smartvoter]

36. No. He's trying to keep it from looking like a foil hat convention. n/t.

[dogtag]

37. John Conyers is an American treasure!

I've always been impressed with him, but he really won my heart when he appeared in a F911 clip with Michael Moore. MM asked Rep. Conyers how the Patriot Act was passed by the House of Representatives unread by the members. Rep. Conyers sighed heavily and said, "Sit down, my son, and I will explain it to you."

It was such an endearing term, my son, and it was so vintage Conyers.
Unlike the Republican 'daddy' figures who screech and moralize a la Bill Bennett, Dick Cheney, Bill O'Reilly, etc., John Conyers is the perfect Democratic 'daddy' who is infinitely patient with his unruly mob of progressive children. He may be weary and who can blame him, but he still has plenty of fight left and he never walks away from an issue that needs a champion. Long may he wave!

[DemBones DemBones]

38. He's got to keep the hearing moving along. The crucial point is

that a hearing is being held. Where the fuck is John Kerry? Where the fuck is any Democratic senator? Why is it only the "lowly" House members who have any guts?

Remember that only the Congressional Black Caucus stood up against the stolen election in 2000. And notice what color John Conyers is. These good people make me ashamed of being white.

[katinmn]

40. I know. They're doing all the heavy lifting for us all.

While we sit here online and whine.

[SueZhope]

43. Conyers was not perfect

but who is..

Thank god we have him on our side.
lets not eat our own to much.
Remember the freepers are watching
and looking for that...Conyers is "good guy"

[texpatriot2004]

44. NO he's doing the right thing, there are many people with

questions. He has to enforce time limits it's part of his job there.

[rumpel]

45. They went over by an hour. It shows the growing interest.

and let's thank C-Span

[texpatriot2004]

49. Absolutely! I was thinking they could probably take hours

of questions from concerned Americans...in a whole seperate hearing, forum, etc.

I will thank C-SPAN.

[carolinalady]

46. I think that Mr. Pitt sums it up well in his blog---

"And of course the wheels come off as soon as the floor is opened to questions. Everyone wants to make their speech, absent a question, and Conyers has to push people along, and the speechifiers get pissy, and we all look like fools. Progressives are uniquely gifted at this, and it never gets any less frustrating to watch. "

[Kurovski]

47. he did a fine job

The volume of work our Reps do is staggering and there was a time constraint.

My criticism is that questioners could have self-edited and gotten to their questions or comments more quickly.

[bunny planet]

48. No, he's doing a great job in a difficult situation. Not frustrating me

at all. He's one of the good guys and as you may have noticed lately, those are few and far between.

[EndElectoral]

50. It seemed after awhile it was let's go home rather than let's hear everyon

e

[Kurovski]

51. They have a lot of work to do

A staggering amount in a short period of time.

[WilliamPitt]

62. There was a time limit on the room

[rumpel]

53. I guess many people brought new material and

they have to go through them now.
He could have also been a little overwhelmed by the emotional pleas of many people...
they may have not expected a large turnout...

[JunkYardDogg]

56. Conyers is Straight Up Keepin'it Real

He is the Only Elected Official who started Speaking out on this
He and the rest of the Dems (except Nadler) were right up to date with their knowledge of the data, like they were DU addicts,
Conyers showed a willingness to listen to anybody with a story of Fraud
He was knowledgeable of those who have contacted him previously
He granted Jeff Fisher a private meeting
He made it obvious that he wants Every American citizen's written
opinion/experience entered into the Congressional record, as permanent history
If you noticed the people sitting behind the Reps, these were their counsel Staff- they are lawyers also
Conyers isn't dick'n around
Conyers made it clear that the Repunks had no interest in investigating Rigged American Elections
Conyers plans on taking this as far as he can
Conyers ain't talkin' he's a doin' everything he can
I watched it and thought this Man is really something
John Kerry who wants to be President doesn't say shit about this
The head of the DNC doesn't really give a shit, someday the DNC might say something
Conyers got nobody covering his back
and you don't think he's anything??

[WilliamPitt]

61. WTF are you talking about?