Darrell Issa To Play Politics With Subpeonas, Asks Big Business To Write The Laws

Darrel Issa, the incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, has made some news recently - the Californian Republican has said he would use his subpoena power to try and reduce waste and corruption in the administration.  Last fall, Issa made a comment on Rush Limbaugh's program calling the president the most corrupt in history.  With that being said, it would appear that Issa will use his subpeona power for political purposes.

This reminds me of the political pressure placed on former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge to raise the security threat levels.

Now, we have word from the publisher of Ridge's forthcoming memoir, The Test of Our Times, that politics was in fact very much in play in the color-coded discussions with the Department of Homeland Security before the election. According to Paul Bedard, of Washington Whispers, Ridge admits in the book that he "was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over."

To understand the import of this admission, we must remember the politically charged mood of national insecurity that dominated in 2004. For months, there had been significant buzz about a possible Al Qaeda attack, which never materialized. The issue became a regular topic of debate and discussion within the media, spreading a message of continuing insecurity that clearly aided President Bush's campaign themes.

Eight days after the Bush administration secured a victory for his second term, the terror alert was downgraded.

I have the feeling that Issa will use his subpeona power like the Bush administration did with the security threat levels.  A Democratic primary is coming up?  Smear the candidate with the best chance of winning by issuing an unneccesary subpeona.  New Obama judicial nominees?  Issue a subpeona to try and get the name withdrawn.  2012 election?  Start naming administration officials left and right - Fox News will be there every step of the way to talk about how right these subpeonas are and how wrong these people are.

Issa also made headlines for his desire to ignore the public he represents and ask big business what reforms should be made.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants the oil industry, drug manufacturers and other trade groups and companies to tell him which Obama administration regulations to target this year.

The incoming chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee - in letters sent to more than 150 trade associations, companies and think tanks last month - requested a list of existing and proposed regulations that would harm job growth.

It appears as if Issa is planning on waging an attack against the administration from multiple fronts - he is trying to bog down the government with countless subpeonas while having big business dictate the kind of laws they want that will benefit them.

With Republicans aiming to try and dismantle every legislative achievement accomplished by the Democrats over the past couple years, the next couple years are going to be an uphill battle and Democrats will need to do a better job fighting back.