House committee chair defends 'bloody hands' protest at Rice hearing David Edwards and Muriel Kane

Published: Wednesday March 12, 2008



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Print This Email This When Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice testified before the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday, a contingent from the antiwar group Code Pink was in the back row, holding up bloody hands in protest. Rep. Dave Weldon (R-FL) found the silent protest difficult to handle and asked the chair if it was possible to eject the protesters. "I've never seen anything like this before," he complained. "We're trying to hold a hearing. I find all these protesters in here really distracting. Is there any kind of rule or policy? ... I'm all for freedom of speech on the street, but we're trying to listen to the Secretary of State here and people are holding up placards." Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), who was chairing the hearing, replied, "Dr. Weldon, let me just say I appreciate your comments, but we're here in the United States of America, and as long as they don't disrupt this proceedings, and as long as they're silent, they will be welcome." "It's a very important hearing but I think it's being turned into a circus," Weldon insisted. "I respect your views but as long as the protesters are quiet and they sit down and they don't disrupt the hearings, everybody is welcome," Lowey stated again. After Rice completed her testimony and was leaving the hearing, the protesters began chanting, "The Blood Is on Your Hands" and "Get Us Out of Iraq!" This video is from ABCNews.com, broadcast March 12, 2008.





