The sad fact is that Congress only has two tools available to it in the Constitution when it comes to oversight of the other two branches of government - the power of the purse and impeachment.
Now, since the GOP in Congress got so scared of public opinion during the "government shutdown", they have preemptively declared that they will not allow that to happen again. What that means is that they have unilaterally surrendered the power of the purse. If the GOP try to cut the funding for the IRS or Justice in order to get them to comply, all Dingy Harry has to do is refuse to bring the appropriations bill to a vote, or Obama threaten to veto the bill if it passes. They know if the government gets shut down, the GOP will get blamed by the lapdog MSM, and thus by the low-information voters that depend upon government largesse, and so they will cave. That takes away the key weapon the Founders gave Congress to make them a co-equal branch of government.
The other weapon, impeachment, is also one that will never be used by this Congress. First, even if the House could muster enough votes to impeach Holder or some other Senate-approved member of the administration (forget about Obama!), the Senate would never vote to convict. And the GOP is so lousy at communicating with the public, and with the MSM a propaganda arm of the DNC and Obama administration, any impeachment attempt would end like the Clinton impeachment -with the GOP reviled and Obama and the Dems gaining new popularity with the public.
I'm sorry to be so pessimistic. Congress, which was supposed to be the first among equals in the government because of the direct connection to the voters, has allowed itself to become a joke, little more than a rubber-stamp for the ruling party. The president ignores and changes the laws at his whim, and there is nothing they will do to stop him.
You are mistaken. The House and the Senate both possess the power to imprison. This is well established and confirmed by the Supreme Court.
http://freerepublic.com/focus/news/3171794/posts?page=14#14
Which is why the most important task is to gain majority in US senate and remove Harry Reid from position of power to obstruct every House bill. This is the most critical task for 2014 elections.
Of course, when Hillary wins all 50 states, the GOP will be too afraid to attack
a woman, just as they have been too afraid to attack a president, who
happens to be black.
Where do you draw the line and say enough is enough?
With this GOP, the answer is never.
Quite right. Thanks to the 17th Amendment, there is little institutional pride left in congress. We have a federal constitution yet do not have a federal government, for while the constitution acts on the states, they do not have representation in congress.
Congress has assigned so much authority to the executive branch, it is hardly capable of defending itself or exercising its constitutional duties.
All powers are rapidly swirling into the executive branch. The rats have no intention of letting a non-rat exercise them.
“The sad fact is that Congress only has two tools available to it in the Constitution when it comes to oversight of the other two branches of government - the power of the purse and impeachment.”
I propose that Congress has a third legal option - to form a special (select) committee. They could hire professional prosecutors and staff (detectives and technical specialists) and use the subpoena power of Congress to uncover and publicize evidence.
Filing criminal charges, conducting raids to seize evidence or appointing a special prosecutor are under the control of the Attorney General, who appears to an integral part of their criminal conspiracy.