A Committee of 8-Year Olds:

From The Hill:

Democrats lock Republicans out of committee room

By Susan Crabtree - 10/20/09 05:47 PM ET

Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) locked Republicans out of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee room to keep them from meeting when Democrats aren’t present. Towns’ action came after repeated public ridicule from the leading Republican on the committee, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), over Towns’s failure to launch an investigation into Countrywide Mortgage’s reported sweetheart deals to VIPs.

Why the lockout?  Gosh -- could it be because Mr Towns himself received a mortgage loan from Countrywide but -- naturally -- "insists" that he was not part of the VIP program?  Right.  And waves don't turn rocks into sand.  Towns further said he purposely didn't start any investigation because he "does not want to interfere with an ongoing Justice Department probe into the matter."  

Or is it also because GOP's Darryl Issa used technology to create a video which embarrassed the Demorats?  

The truth is this: Towns has been ignoring Republican requests to subpoena records in the Countrywide case (Countrywide now owned by B of A). Last Thursday, the Oversight & Government Reform committee Republicans, led by Issa, were about to force an open vote on the subpoenas at a Committee mark-up meeting. The mark-up was canceled quickly. Only Republicans showed up, whilst Demorats failed to appear. 

Imagine that.  The Dems playing as 8-year-olds.

Issa’s spokesman said the Democrats readily acknowledged to Republicans that they changed the locks in retaliation to the videotape of the Democrats’absence from the business meeting even though committee rules allow meetings to be taped. 

And all this in the name of Mr Obama's TRANSparency.  EVERYthing must be TRANSparent.

Uh.  Except when there is a conflict.  With reality.  And truth.

BZ