THE BURNED OVER DISTRICT

Or soccer ball since it is seldom carried and usually kicked from pillar to post by the Republicans. This time they are using it as a weapon against Democrats for what the Republicans say is the Democrats efforts to keep the American public informed of the failures being perpetrated in their name.

The senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee yesterday sharply protested the chairman’s decision to suspend a Democratic staff member’s access to classified information in a leak inquiry.

The congresswoman, Jane Harman of California, called the action a groundless act of political retaliation.

Ms. Harman’s complaint to the chairman, Representative Peter Hoekstra, Republican of Michigan, involved his internal investigation of the possible source of an article on Sept. 24 in The New York Times about a National Intelligence Estimate saying the Iraq war had become a cause célèbre for terrorists.

Ms. Harman said she was appalled by Mr. Hoekstra’s move against the staff member, Larry Hanauer.

“There is no evidence to suggest that the professional staff member in question did anything wrong,” she said in a statement.

Ms. Harman said Mr. Hoekstra had admitted to her that his action against Mr. Hanauer was payback for her release on Tuesday of a report on actions by former Representative Randy Cunningham while he was on the Intelligence Committee. Mr. Cunningham, a California Republican, is serving an eight-year prison sentence for taking bribes.

“If you have a problem with me, why not deal with me directly?” Ms. Harman asked Mr. Hoekstra in a letter sent on Wednesday.

In his response sent yesterday, Mr. Hoekstra said he felt obliged to investigate the question. “This is an issue of national security,” he wrote, inviting Ms. Harman to help decide how to conduct the inquiry.

Just like TurdBlossom was restricted from classified information when he was under investigation. And if you respond that Turd was not restricted then you understand what it means when we say, It's OK If You Are Republican.