CREW today continued it's great work to assemble all the responses to Darrell Issa's infamous letter, running their tally up to 33 letters. Included in the letters are particularly long, wide-ranging responses from a pair of conservative think tanks that have been generously supported by the Koch Brothers- the Mercatus Center and the Heritage Foundation.
Taken as a group, all these actions start adding up to exactly what Krugman describes- a pattern with the widespread effect of intimidating anyone who might speak out against those in power. This should, of course, be anathema to any serious pursuit of effective oversight or open and efficient government.
The web of financial support from the Right's heaviest hitters weaves all through Issa's personal career and the key members of his committee. All those heavy hitters are gathering this weekend to plan their strategy, and we can reasonably expect that Issa will be an important piece. Where an independent watchdog might be focused on investigating the deep influence of this unlimited money on our government and the policies that have created an ever shrinking middle class, Issa has taken the opposite tack. He's already thrown open the doors of the committee to allow many of the folks heading to Rancho Mirage the chance to rewrite their own rules. This weekend, they'll be working out what to do with the access.
Just about two hours of hearings, with no testimony from the private sector, was plenty. Coming out of Wednesday morning's first committee hearing, Rep. Issa and two subcommittee chairs -- Reps. Jordan and McHenry -- have introduced a bill (pdf) to repeal the HAMP program and put all uncommitted funds back in the federal treasury.
So we have Issa using the committee website to post and disseminate his personal reaction to the State of the Union and his personal response to the Ranking Member, ignoring requests from the minority to also look into the private financial industry, and Issa breaking precedent and refusing to allow the minority party to offer opening remarks without warning. All following concerns from Ranking Member Elijah Cummings that Issa would inappropriately use committee resources for his own ends and would take unilateral action to squelch participation of committee Democrats.
The running battle between Darrell Issa and Elijah Cummings continued heating up just hours before first hearings were set to begin in the Oversight Committee. Straight from the Karl Rove playbook, Issa is attacking from his biggest weakness by accusing Cummings of obstruction and being overly partisan.
With committee business set to tee off on tomorrow, Darrell Issa is already smack in the middle of bitter partisanship. Simmering snubs seem to be boiling over ahead of the first hearings, with Elijah Cummings reeling off a laundry list of complaints about Issa withholding information, recalling the tactics of Republican Rep. Dan Burton during the Clinton years.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will pass on Issa's invitation to the comittee's first hearing on TARP on the 26th. He'll be sending a deputy who doesn't actually work much on the issue in his place.
Issa Watch on Hiatus Indefinitely
The Appearance of Impropriety in Darrell Issa’s Office
Issa responds to ethics problems with conspiracy theories
Issa’s requested DoE loan would have benefited major GOP donor
Issa sought funds via “easy way to end up with corruption in government”
Out of excuses, Issa contradicts himself in avoiding NewsCorp
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posted by Lucas O’Connor at 9:03 pm