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November 04, 2010
Darrell Issa Signals Restraint in Obama Oversight ~ Darrell You Are Wrong
Darrell Issa signals restraint in Obama oversight
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who will have far-ranging subpoena power in the new Congress as a result of Tuesday’s election, is going out of his way to dispel perceptions that he’s a partisan bombthrower who plans to use his newfound authority to paralyze President Barack Obama’s administration.
“I want to prove the pundits wrong. My job is not to bring down the president. My job is to make the president a success,” Issa said on a midnight conference call with reporters, just after House Minority Leader John Boehner’s victory speech.
Issa took a restrained view of his likely new post as chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, saying that on many issues his panel would play second fiddle to other Congressional committees.
“Our jurisdiction is narrow,” Issa said. “I’m going to stick to my knitting, which is waste, fraud and abuse, whenever possible.”
Issa was so eager to put forward an image of a nuts-and-bolts government reformer that he stressed his desire to explore such unsexy subjects as the Postal Service’s financial troubles.
“Is it high profile? No [but] that’s billions of dollars we’ve got to pay attention to,” he said.
However, Issa signaled that he would continue to pursue some issues he has been outspoken on in recent months, possibly including his claim that the Obama administration violated the law by offering an administration job to Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) in a failed effort to head off his primary challenge to Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). (The Republican candidate, Pat Toomey, defeated Sestak Tuesday.)
Without elaborating, Issa said he would insist that the Obama administration respond to all the outstanding inquiries from the committee’s Republican staff that have accumulated during the current Congress.
“First and foremost, we’re going to ask that all the letters we’ve sent, that are our Constitutional responsibility being met — that we get answers to them. And I suspect many of them will have information coming to us well before we — I get sworn in in January,” Issa said.
Issa struck a similarly modest tone when discussing the import of the sweeping victories Republicans enjoyed Tuesday. He claimed no broad mandate for GOP policies and seemed to agree that the election results primarily signaled dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama and his administration.
“We’ve been hired to take America back to the middle,” Issa said. He struck a bipartisan tone, promising to work with Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.) on food safety, for example, and with Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform.
Issa rejected the idea that he’s softening his tone on how aggressive his committee will be because of pushback from other committee chairmen-in-waiting who are eager to get a piece of the investigative pie.
“I’ve had great support from all the other ranking members,” he said. “I expect to let them do their job, to let the primary committees of jurisdiction do their job.”
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Wild Thing's comment.......
He should have never said his job to make the president look good or help him with his agenda...dense. had to cover his stupid remark at the beginning...Rush gave him an earful on his program...and went to a break, without this guy coming back on...
He said the wrong thing on Rush's show last week and Rush went off on him big time. Issa has been really good, so it was a surprise. We just have to keep an eye on all of these elected people and keep letting them know voting works both ways, being elected and being out of a job.
This part ia good, I do like this handgrenade:
“First and foremost, we’re going to ask that all the letters we’ve sent, that are our Constitutional responsibility being met — that we get answers to them. And I suspect many of them will have information coming to us well before we — I get sworn in in January,” Issa said.
One of the problems Rush had with him was that he started talking Washingtonian...about holding the democrats feet to the fire, changing the laws in the house to be more transparent etc...Rush stopped him and said the country doesn't care about the rules in house etc, they care about the country, and where its headed. The want the spending stopped, Obamacare etc...
In other words, be a conservative and not just a go along to get along type of guy (my paraphrasing) I personally don't care about the house rules as much as I care about stopping the spending, destroying the medical care etc.
....Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Posted by Wild Thing at November 4, 2010 06:47 AM
Comments
When I read this yesterday, I was pissed, then I heard what Boehner had to say , Boehner's main point was "we have a mandate to repeal Health Care." Issa can go to hell or switch sides and we'll see how important he is then.
Posted by: Mark at November 4, 2010 07:24 AM
It was compromise and bipartisanship that got Republicans in trouble and thrown out before. Those who want to repeat the history of compromise will be thrown out in two years come primary time.
Posted by: BobF at November 4, 2010 08:13 AM
Hanging on the wall behind Army Sergeant and Tank Platoon Leader Darrell Issa, a San Diego California Republican Congressman (by the way, the wealthiest of all Congressmen and Senators in Washington who made his fortune making and selling "Viper-Stay Away from the Car" auto alarms), there's a beautiful painting of Republican Presidents playing cards around a table, "Grand Ol' Gang" by Carthage, Missouri Artist Andy Thomas:
http://www.andythomas.com/detail.aspx?ID=43
Another of GOP Presidents playing pool, also by Thomas, is "Callin' the Blue":
Posted by: Carlos at November 4, 2010 09:19 AM
No, No, No. Do not practice restraint. No bipatisianship, no "reaching across the aisle". Rep Issa, please knuckle down so we don't have a repeat of 2006.
Posted by: TomR, armed in Texas at November 4, 2010 10:14 AM
Rep Issa needs to be told: this is no time to wimp out. The first investigation must be of the Obama "Czars". What is in thsir backgrounds that Obama hid from the public? (think Van Jones) What is in their "job description"? Each and every one should be investigated, than sent packing...
Posted by: Willy at November 4, 2010 10:47 AM
If these Republican Congressmen and Senators do not put the repeal of Health Care at the top of their agenda, and also obstruct any and all Marxist/Socialist agenda items coming from the Obama Administration, then all of us will have wasted our votes.
We have given them this mandate and told them on no uncertain terms, that we want action now, and we want it to contimue until January 2013.
We have had enough of RINOS and "Politics as Usual", ask for and give no quarter.
It is time to "Kick Ass and Take Names".
Posted by: Sean at November 4, 2010 11:24 AM
C'mon RINO, dance with the one who brung ya!
Posted by: Anonymous at November 4, 2010 11:29 AM
The paper shredders are being worked hard in D.C. this week, I'm sure. Holder and Jarrett need to be buried in subpoena's on the first day the new congress is sworn in. All their marxist trash needs to be daylighted as soon as possible.
Posted by: Jim at November 4, 2010 04:08 PM
BIG thank you for all the input about this. Thanks for the links and quotes too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at November 4, 2010 11:47 PM
