Posted on 11/03/2010 10:18:09 AM PDT by markomalley
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.”
It isn't good, but it isn't quite as bad as the out of context quote seems.
Be careful. This is Politico.
Well, unfortunately morons are not limited to the Democrat Party. “...hired to take America back to the middle”?? What election was he watching???
The first step to making the president a success is to dethrone Eric the Red.
Ha! Ha! Ha!
This is the best joke I have heard this week
Issa “restrained”!! Ha! Ha!
Good One!
Issa probably writes impeachment articles every night before he goes to sleep, just for fun...
Issa..mark my words.. will be the first major Republican to utter the words “impeachment”
A tiger cannot changes its stripes. Issa does NOT like El Prez Obama.. and nothing in the world.. can make him change....
No amount of pressure from PR people or anything.. you mark my words.. he will crack under the pressure of having to appear friendly to the Obamantion.. and throw out a few subpeonas..
Issa for Impeachment?? Very interesting!
“Obama In Deep Trouble, Huge Scandals Brewing” October 30, 2010 by Eowyn
http://fellowshipofminds.wordpress.com/2010/10/30/obama-in-deep-trouble-huge-scandals-brewing/
Bring it on......
Hopefully, Issa realizes that he is Target #1 to be the new Dem and MSM whipping boy. They will try to turn him into the Prince of Darkness over the next two years. Anything bad in his past will be replayed over and over. I hope he’s ready for it and smart enough to not play into it. I think he is.
I don’t think it benefits our cause to have Darrel Issa talking about skewering the administration before the last votes are counted. People should not worry. No matter what he says, Issa will be doing plenty of investigating of the Obama administration over the next two years.
I think he is just being polite post-election. (at least he better be).
He’s pretty good. He knows what he is doing.
As I wrote to Mr.Issa— and then to the Republican National
First priority is to IMPEACH Obama.He is not ,never has been,cannot become a natural born citizen.Under the constraints of the US Constitution that he took solemn Oath or affirmed to preserve, protect, and defend—he has never been qualified for the office he holds. HE and all who certified him as eligible for the Office ought be removed.When the US Constitution is honored by all who take that Oath or affirm
intent to defend it —then—and Only then can we make nice—and make others a success in their Office.
“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.
As important as I think oversight is, I have to admit to some hesitation about investigations. They haven’t really worked out very well for Republicans.
The Republican party has pretty strong negatives and pretty weak positives. They can win elections when the Democrats have even worse ratings, but the Republicans just can’t pull enough voters to their side for them to be a reliable vehicle for conservative change.
Investigations are like negative ads. They raise the negatives of both candidates or parties. Hopefully, negative ads about the Democrats raise the negatives of Democrats more than they raise the negatives of Republicans, but when the Democrats are already held in such low esteem, more negativity isn’t hurting them much more than than they have already hurt themselves.
Right now, the Republicans need to work on their own positives. They can’t do that with more attacks, however well justified, on the Democrats.
We need to see sunny, positive, portrayals of optimistic Republicans. We need to see strong affirmations of fiscal responsibility and the power of free markets to improve the economy.
Investigations are probably necessary, but not something I want to see moved to the political front burner.
“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
I thought this was satire. oops.
I agree. Forget about impeachment completely. And only with clear, unambiguous evidence go forward with any investigation into the Obama administration, and remember that virtually NO ONE went into the evidence room to examine the documents for Clinton's impeachment. Congresspeople are chicken. Don't do ANYTHING where you "think you have the votes."
Instead, leak some very damning evidence to the public. Take it to the people. Trust the American people, Mr. Issa, and not your fellow Congresspeople.
There is some practicality in restraint. First, there’s likely more than enough stuff to create a scandal with, and it’s probably better to focus on a couple of things and do them really well, than to try to go after the whole mess at once.
Additionally, “making the President a success” is subjective. If they can pull Bummer to the ‘middle’, perhaps that is something of a success compared to having to live under the kind of absolute tyranny he had in mind.
I wish we had the opportunity to get back all the liberty and economic freedom we have lost over the last century and the wins we had last night, while amazing and very welcome, were not enough in themselves. So if we can keep Emperor Obumus from further destroying what’s left of the world as we knew it, I can settle with that, but only until 2012, and then I will far higher expectations.
Okay, who is this speaking and what has he done with Darrell Issa?
Between this and his call to lift up Obama...
Issa sounds like a loser.
And so the Rhino re-takeover begins.
You are right on with the “trust” comment Yaelle.
You cannot trust Republican politicians to take conservatism forward. They will criticize and blame, argue and obstruct, but they have shown little real spine or determination. They will fold if Issa attacks Democrats with any real vigor. The mainstream press will just make the Republicans look like partisan spoilers and their concerns look like “baseless allegations.”
Trust the people. Let the process work. Let the Democrat negatives, already high, soak in and harden as the truth works its way throught the news cycle.
Don’t let the Republicans reconfirm their negative image of obstruction and dire warnings without resolve or courage. The Democrats can cope with Rangel and Waters. Let Holder take care of himself. I don’t want a single Republican face on the screen when those stories are being covered.
Even if it looks like Democrat corruptions is NOT BEING COVERED, keep Republican faces off the screen. We have conservative bloggers and Fox News. Let them do their job.
If he's not ready for it and/or if he has anything particularly ugly in his past, he needs to step aside now and let somebody else run the committee.
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