Yesterday, when Senator Reid invoked rule 21 and brought the Senate into a closed-session, he did something more courageous than any other Democratic leader. Senator Reid forced discussion regarding Phase II of an investigation being conducted by the Intelligence Committee. Phase I covered the failures of the intelligence agencies, but didn’t include information on the White House Iraq Group or the White House’s use of intelligence, that is what Phase II was for, and as we can imagine it has been long over-due.

Republicans cried politics and dirty tricks, but that’s not what happened. Instead the Democratic Party became the party of the opposition, it marched into the Senate and used today to set a deadline for findings and to force Congress to act in regard to the possible misuse of intelligence in advocating for the Iraq War. No one knows what was said, but we can all imagine that Senator Reid was speaking intensely, as he never once left the Senate chamber to address the media in the corridor remaining inside the entire time rallying the troops and keeping us on message.

Republicans would have loved for the story to be about a “hijacked Senate” and everything else, but the media and sees it differently, because at the end of the session emerged answers and commitment to the investigation, obviously things were accomplished.

This is what Democratic leadership is all about. Most importantly, this is a message to the American people, that the Democratic Party despite being a minority is still working for the people, still working to find answers, and more than capable to retake the reigns of government in 2006 and make a positive change.