GOP denies Democrats right to meet

Just the sort of thing that we should be fighting against. Following the show of Wisconsin Representative James Sensenbrenner closing an official hearing over the objections of Democratic members of the panel-- and having their microphones switched off when they continued to speak before the press-- the GOP has decided to restrict future meetings of the party:

In December, ranking Democrat John Conyers (Mich.) began holding “forums” — gatherings with all the trappings of official hearings — after Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) refused to hold hearings on topics Conyers requested. The forums have been held in smaller committee rooms, often with C-SPAN coverage and formal witness lists.

In a sign of how far relationships on the committee have soured, majority staff recently announced a new policy to deny any request from a committee Democrat for the use of a committee hearing room.

Anyone? Free press? Anyone?