{image1}Fifth District Wisconsin Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner sure is making a name for himself these days.

His recent jaw-dropping stalk-out from a House Judiciary Committee hearing that he chaired pretty much re-defined modern-day Congressional arrogance.

After failing to fully silence witnesses whose perspective about prisoner abuse at the U.S. prisoner detention facility in Guantanamo, Cuba, got under his skin, Sensenbrenner suspended the witnesses' rights of free speech -- not to mention the intrinsic functioning and history of the legislative branch of the federal government -- by abruptly adjourning the hearing.

It's not far from banging his shoe on the table the way those grumpy old Soviet-era rulers dealt with open discussion they didn't like; Sensenbrenner had the same effect on a public discussion of critical civil rights legislation (The Patriot Act renewal) by picking up the committee gavel and carrying the trophy out of the Capitol hearing room.

His walkout was followed by more anti-democratic (small "d" -- the really important one) handiwork, as a loyal staffer pulled another old Commie trick by disconnecting the committee microphone to make sure citizen witnesses and duly-elected Democratic committee members were unable to continue the testimony that Sensenbrenner had unilaterally suspended.

Sensenbrenner's dictatorial meltdown under the Capitol dome brought to mind the right-wing talk radio smack-down move -- the one where the talker doesn't like the caller (and often deliberately tees-up such calls for the impending disconnect) and, boom, cuts off the caller with that old gratuitous chestnut: "It's my show."

The congressman's display of uber-chairman power rightly earned him primo parody minutes on Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show," mainstream media attention and front-page feature treatment on any number of blogs that linked to the C-Span's regular video and audio coverage.

Then Sensenbrenner apparently brought his chippy management style back home to a town hall meeting in Pewaukee on June 26, when he had to deal all over again with those pesky citizens who also don't like the Patriot Act.

Sensenbrenner's behavior at the Judiciary Committee hearing reminded me of a first-hand story I heard a few years ago from someone in the room when Sensenbrenner abruptly cancelled a meeting in progress -- in his own office -- when the discussion did not follow the congressman's preferred script.

The participants were nice, self-described "gray-haired ladies" who traveled to Washington, DC, for a round of visits on Capitol Hill to press for payment by the United States of its United Nation's dues. Pretty unremarkable stuff. Pretty much defines citizen-member interaction on the Hill.

The group that got assigned to meet with Sensenbrenner, had an appointment, showed up on time, and found themselves, not surprisingly, debating with Sensenbrenner, who, equally not surprisingly, felt the UN needed an overhaul.

Again -- pretty routine stuff. Folks try and change congressional positions all the time. That's democracy in action.

But Sensenbrenner suddenly stood up when the participants felt they were scoring points, thanked them for coming in (give him credit where credit is due for that bit of politeness) and walked out of his own office.

A staff person tried to smooth over Sensenbrenner's swift departure, and though it wasn't as theatrical as his cancellation of the Patriot Act hearing, the Badger State women who had made the trip to Capitol Hill were left with no alternative but to leave Sensenbrenner's office as well -- pretty much stunned that they had been dissed and dismissed.

The conclusion?

Sensenbrenner has become one of these walking political contradictions that you find more frequently on the GOP side of the aisle.

They're the outspoken conservatives who are forever bashing government spending, and lauding the private sector -- but Jim Sensenbrenner has been on the public payroll since 1968, the year that he graduated from law school and got himself elected to the Wisconsin Assembly.

He was promoted in 1978 to the U.S. House of Representatives and has been re-elected continuously from his base in Menomonee Falls. He's pushing 40 years on the taxpayer's dime from an exceedingly safe Republican district that covers all or parts of several southeastern Wisconsin rural and suburban counties.

I can't imagine relatively new representatives from Wisconsin like Republican Paul Ryan, or Democrat Gwen Moore, conducting the public's business in Sensenbrenner's mold.

It's not just bad manners: it's bad politics, and hardly in the Wisconsin traditions of Gaylord Nelson, or Warren Knowles, Lee Dreyfus or Robert Kastenmeier.

And it's more than a matter of personality, or style, or having a bad day.

When you're burrowed into an elected job for too long, either you forget -- or plain don't care anymore -- that you serve the people.

When you walk out of a public hearing, it's time to just keep on walking.

James Rowen is a Milwaukee writer and a former Milwaukee mayoral aide. Note: After being pushed back a day this week due to the holiday, this WisPolitics column will return to its usual Tuesday slot next week.

The opinions expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinions of OnMilwaukee.com, its advertisers or editorial staff.

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