January 03, 2011
Missing the Main Course
My peers on both sides of the political blogging aisle seem very interested in Republican Rep. Darrell Issa and his promised investigations into the corruption of the Obama Administration, but after seeing what he says he intends to investigate, I'm actually a bit disappointed in the items he hasn't listed:
- the firing of Gerald Walpin, the AmeriCorps inspector general who had his sights on Kevin Johnson, a prominent Obama supporter
- the buy-off of Joe Sestak which Issa once called "Obama's Watergate" and in which Issa suggested three felonies took place
- Pigford and Pigford II, which were fraud-filled payouts to people who claimed to be farmers, that some describe as then Senator Obama's attempt at reparations for slavery
- The Black Panther/DOJ Voter Intimidation case that the Administration dropped after winning, and the alleged refusal by the DOJ Civil Rights division to prosecute minorities
- the Administration's bullying of car companies and Wall Street
- abuse of power by the Administration, including the massive and unconstitutional expansion and assertion of executive power
The list could of course go on.
Some are speculating that Issa's current list is just a jumping-off point to get the ball rolling, but I suspect that it is a bit less ambitious than that. Congressmen love power, and the prospect of leverage. I would not be surprised at all that the items listed above are nothing more or less than items the GOP will use for political blackmail.
Perhaps I'm being cynical, but I suspect the threatened investigations are all about the pursuit of power, with justice and the eradication of corruption merely being a pleasant side effect.
The Tea Party may have succeeded in sending a message in 2010, but the entrenched political machines won't go down without a fight. I'm expecting a lot of resistance from both Democrats and Republicans to the calls for real change, and if we have any hope of seeing this kind of corruption eradicated, the Tea Party is going to have to secure more victories in 2012, and driving the old guard on both sides out of Washington is the only way to do it.
Just because you're being cynical, doesn't mean you're not correct.
Posted by: Gus Bailey at January 3, 2011 01:47 PMLet the witch hunt begin.
Posted by: Ted at January 3, 2011 03:09 PMHey! How about giving the guy a chance...?
Today is the very first business day of the
new year. In fact that guy we elected is
just coming back from his expensive Hawai'i
vacation. (gee but that was a long one...)
If you are happy with our president taking
over the auto industry....
If you are happy with our president taking
over the health industry....
If you are happy with our president taking
over the internet industry....
If you are happy with our president trying
to take over the insurance industry....
If you are happy with our president trying
to take over influencing the news media...
OH HECK...THIS COULD GO ON AND ON...
Posted by: miss terry at January 3, 2011 04:04 PM
I saw this:
Paul Khoner
"Darryl Issa is investigating the criminal actions of Rattner, who just got busted and the whole DOE ATVM and Loan Gaurantee favoritism, misdirection of applicants, misdirection of funds and log-jamming of applicants that compete with Rattner's, Lachlan Sewards, Matt Rogers, Steve Spinners and Mr. Tobins special Interests at DOE/WH. Feinstein and others will go down along with her husband on his Mongolia lithium, Tesla and Blum Capitol scams."
Posted by: Paul at January 3, 2011 10:14 PMThe 2010 elections, while invigorating, will not be nearly enough. I can assure you, many inside the beltway are convinced the Tea Party ‘revolt’ is nothing more than a temporary aberration, -the public having a momentary hissy-fit over matters they will soon forget as conditions improve, however marginally.
It will take, at a minimum, at least one more election cycle -where insiders are shown the door in significant numbers, to make any real impression. It may take more than one cycle. They figure the public will go back to sleep once the ‘crisis’ is past.
What’s troubling is, they may be correct in this analysis.
The People need to keep weeding this garden until there’s no mistaking that they are really quite serious about revamping the entire manner in which Washington does business.
Hunker down and plan to spend at least 10-20 years on this project.
