Blog Posts by Lucas O’Connor
Issa’s requested DoE loan would have benefited major GOP donor
Issa recommended this particular program despite his strong rhetoric about earmarks being "tantamount to a bribe" and the Department of Energy's loan program "as a backdoor, easy way to end up with corruption in government." We know that there's a long pattern of Issa co-mingling public and private business. And we know the DoE loan would have been a big boost to an investment of a major Republican money-man. And Issa's track record thus far doesn't recommend the benefit of the doubt.
Issa sought funds via “easy way to end up with corruption in government”
Since the questionable intermingling between Issa's public behavior and private investments has already merited ethics charges, Issa is uniquely positioned to comment on the issue. Turns out, by Darrell Issa's own assessment, corruption gets into government via all the mechanisms he's used to steer taxpayer dollars to his own pet projects.
Good to know.
Out of excuses, Issa contradicts himself in avoiding NewsCorp
If he doesn't investigate NewsCorp, it's only because Darrell Issa just doesn't want to. Just like all the rest.
Issa vs. Economic Growth
The Green Jobs sector has consistently shown strong growth through the recent economic turmoil, at nearly twice the rate of the economy overall. By all accounts, it should be exactly the sort of success that anyone serious about more job creation would want to foster. But for Darrell Issa -- whose jobs platform costs the country millions of jobs, and the regulations he's been battling for his entire tenure? Well, they spur innovation, turn a profit, and help strengthen the economy. The agenda is increasingly clear.
Regulations turn a profit, spur innovation
So far, House Republicans haven't been too high on the Obama Jobs Plan, insisting that regulations are the path to a better budget and stronger economy. Certainly Darrell Issa has made de-regulation the centerpiece of his year, and one of his least favorite new regulations -- improving greenhouse gas standards -- will be delayed. Leaving aside for the moment that Issa's agenda costs millions of jobs without proposing to directly create a single one, it's still running into the tough reality that these regulations actually help the economy. A new report explains how regulations have traditionally been crucial to spurring innovation and keeping our economy moving. And Obama's billion dollar rules could bring in more than ten times their cost, topping $200 billion.
Issa dismisses billion dollar NewsCorp scandal as “whiny”
But if Issa wants to argue that corporate corruption and nepotism worth hundreds of millions is a partisan issue, he can. If he wants to argue that a company doing a billion dollars worth of damage to our economy is a partisan issue, he can. Just like he can keep treating nuclear safety as a partisan issue, the stability of Wall street as a partisan issue, the foreclosure crisis as a partisan issue. But Oversight shouldn't be a partisan issue.
Issa Enterprises cuts off nose to spite ethics charges
If Issa doesn't think his own conduct should be up for review, that's up to him -- but accountability applies to every public official. If he wants to argue that people with ideological differences are illegitimate investigators of each other, that's also up to him -- but it leaves him without an investigative leg to stand on. And we've got to assume that he could actually defend himself against the merits of the charges, he would have by now. He hasn't, and he's gotten really upset whenever he's been challenged. Hopefully the Office of Congressional Ethics (which House Republicans almost eliminated after re-taking the majority) will fight past his indignation.
The Conspicuously Absent Issa Agenda
At the beginning of Issa's tenure as Oversight Chairman, we worried what might happen if he turned into Glenn Beck with Subpoena Power. Now we're finding out.
The GOP strategy to sacrifice jobs for politics
We were struck last week when Darrell issa started criticizing President Obama's jobs plan before the President had even been given the chance to explain what was in it -- especially after Issa's working to cost the country millions of jobs. But over the weekend, Politico dug into what might be really going on -- electoral jockeying.
Issa’s job elimination plan, blackouts and freeze outs
Before even allowing the President to present his jobs proposal last night, Darrell Issa was slamming it on Twitter. Despite rejecting the plan before knowing what it was, Issa's primary criticism was that jobs have been lost since the stimulus, therefore the stimulus, by his logic, didn't work. But Darrell Issa's agenda -- including the debt ceiling deal that will cost 1.8 million jobs next year, the 400,000+ jobs he wants to eliminate and his proposal to gut the postal service -- would result in the elimination of even more jobs than have been lost since passage of the Recovery Act. And that's what Issa's doing on purpose to "create" jobs.
Issa criticizes federal efficiency after slashing budget to improve efficiency
In February, Darrell Issa -- the co-founder of the House Transparency Caucus -- voted to cut more than 94% of federal funding for transparency programs. Two months later, he gave his "personal pledge" to save the transparency programs he had previously tried to starve of funding. At the time, we predicted here that Issa would let the cuts breathe for a few months and then use the cuts as cover to attack new-found inefficiency. And this week, that's exactly what he's doing.
Issa’s meddling hampered by too much and not enough other meddling
Just like the Bush Administration's attempt to argue that if the President does it, it must be legal, Issa is arguing that if a corporation does it, it must be legal. Issa is trying to ensure that this NLRB investigation is the case that establishes that workers have the opportunity to oppose illegal corporate behavior.
Issa’s weasel words on possible CEO pay investigation
Issa, of course, is one of the richest (if not the richest) person in Congress. And since he has remained unconventionally hands-on with his vast financial empire, he knows that any threat to CEO compensation is also eventually a problem for his own bottom line. And we know what happens when Issa's business comes into conflict with the people's business.
Issa ignores more than a hundred at district office
Issa and his staff may imagine that the only thing that anyone cares about is partisan posturing ahead of next November's election, but those who are impacted by his behavior have to live with the challenges every day. If Issa can neither recognize his constituents or what they're concerned about, well... it's a pretty clear indication of who he's really working for.
Blurry line remains between Issa’s public and private dealings
Questions have been swirling for months about Darrell Issa's purchase of the office building at 2067 West Vista Way. In addition to previous questions about the property, it appears that one of the principals who negotiated the deal also made his only federal political contribution ever to Issa's campaign.
Issa raises questions over which of his statements were false
Issa's objections range from the cosmetic to the inaccurate, and he has walked himself now more than once into confirmably inaccurate statements. His inability to defend himself against the questions that have been raised without forcing the public to choose when he wasn't speaking accurately suggests this may just be the tip of the iceberg.
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posted at 3:59 pm