You have to remember, wingnuts really view Democratic control of government as illegitimate, and akin to civil war:
Democrats and Republicans have been arguing about the issue for days leading up to the committee’s first meeting. Their tension was on full display Tuesday as Republicans rejected a proposal by Rep. Elijiah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, that would have forced Issa to consult with him and the full committee and reach an agreement on any subpoenas the panel issues.
“It’s been the approach of all chairmen going back to the McCarthy era [to reach an agreement with the minority before sending outsubpoenas],” Cummings said.
The only time the practice was suspended was during the chairmanship of Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) from 1997 to 2002, Cummings said. Burton sent out more than 1,000 unilateral subpoenas and was known for multiple investigations of the Clinton administration, including the suicide of top White House aide Vince Foster.
“As widely reported, this practice led to serious abuses,” Cummings said.
Burton, who still sits on the panel, interjected that he had actually sent out 1,200 subpoenas, not 1,000.
Issa came to Burton’s defense, arguing that different times call for different measures and reminding the committee that President Lincoln had suspended the write of habeas corpus during the civil war.
Different times calls for different measures is the longer version of IOKIYAR.
daveNYC
That’s getting pretty close to a Godwin violation there.
joe from Lowell
“As widely reported, this practice led to serious abuses,” Cummings said.
Replied Burton, “I object to that characterization! Hey, I sent out a lot more than 1000 subpoenas! A lot more!”
BGinCHI
Surprised Burton didn’t brandish his gun and melons.
Kat
Would someone please remind me what IOKIYAR means.
cleek
1200/4 years?
that’s pretty much a new subpoena every single day the House was in session.
good use of taxpayer money there, Mr Adulterer!
Fargus
The part where Burton objected that Cummings understated the number of bullshit subpoenas he issued makes me want to punch.
The Tragically Flip
Fuck “the Hill” for that headline trying to reduce a substantive issue to some petty squabble over seating plans or what brand of coffee the committee break room serves.
Anne Laurie
I sense a new rotating top-line!
@Kat:
It’s OK If You’re A Republican.
Malron
IOKIYAR = Its OK If You’re A Republican.
We’re also at a time comparable to the era or Northern aggression against the South. Just sayin.’
The Grand Panjandrum
I absolutely agree with this! Can we start with the summary execution of Tom Delay for promoting rape and imprisonment of women in Pacific Island work camps? (Oops! Sorry if that was uncivil of me, but JC really should be giving TBogg more competition for Sully’s Moore Award.)
cleek
maybe in-kind punishment is the best way to go here.
/Moore!
New Yorker
Let me know when the Democrats have rallied 11 states to insurrection against the country and threaten to surround Washington DC with rebelling armies….
BudP
Barack Obama isDarrell Issa stole your new bicycle.cyntax
Shhh… don’t tell the Dems that; they might start doing things that would give Cokie and Noonan the vapors.
The Moar You Know
There you go again, pretending that Republicans and Democrats are equal.
Enjoy the sequel, folks. Darrel Issa headlining in “The Starr Report 2”, with co-star Dan Burton and a special appearance by Vince Foster and a watermelon.
Another Bob
Wow, all of those respectful overtures Obama made to the Republicans so their feelings wouldn’t get hurt, and all of those times his administration passed on investigating REAL crimes committed by the Bush administration (“Let’s not dwell in the past” or whatever) are really starting to pay dividends now! Now that he’s shown what sincere bipartisanship looks like, he’s proven the case to everyone. Of course the Republicans will now be forced to respond in kind. And the mainstream press wouldn’t dare play along with the scandal mongering now. Decency and conciliation has won the day, once and for all!
cyntax
@cleek:
Good idea. Also like that you’re committed to not letting TBogg run away with the award this time.
Cris
Emphasis mine. “Deeply concerned.” It’s like a strongly-worded letter. You and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Issa is trolling for impeachment fodder. Congressional Democrats, however, are “deeply concerned.”
liberal
How can the Dems be surprised? As Krugman pointed out a few years ago, the Rethuglicans are a revolutionary power; they don’t think their opposition or even the system is legitimate, and they don’t plan on playing by the rules.
What I don’t understand is why the Dems don’t understand this, and engage in a fairly optimal strategy in iterated Prisoner Dilemmas: tit for tat. The Dems had the House for a couple years; how many subpoenas did they issue, let alone ones that didn’t get approved by the ranking Neanderthal?
Calouste
cleek:
You’re advocating a forced sex-change for DeLay? (As cyntax said, your tenacy in the pursuit of the Moore award is admirable.)
Mike in NC
How much are they willing to spend to find a dog whisperer so they can subpoena “Bo”?
SteveinSC
@Another Bob: Well, Bob, wait until tonight. Before being asked, Obama will offer to privatize Social Security. Now that’s bipartisanship!
joe from Lowell
@Another Bob:
I can’t believe people still don’t understand this. He wasn’t pushing bipartisanship to try to get the Republicans on his side. He was pushing bipartisanship to get non-Republican moderates who like the look of bipartisanship on his side. For instance, those last 3-4 votes (Nelson, Lieberman, Tester, Landrieu, whoever) in the Senate that he needed to pass legislation.
Of course, the Republicans will act like jackasses and create a very striking contrast with Obama.
Sheesh. This is not that difficult to follow.
Agoraphobic Kleptomaniac
“write of Habeus Corpus”
Spell Check as an editor four fun and prophet.
joe from Lowell
@SteveinSC:
And when he doesn’t, we’ll look forward to your explanation of how you got it so wrong.
Oh, wait, I forgot: firebaggers never fail. They just – hey, look over there!
PurpleGirl
@Mike in NC: Oh, $40 million at least.
kgus
So, having a Democratic president is similar to the Civil War. Thanks for clearing that up, Issa.
agrippa
tempest, meet teapot.
has Issa ever figured out his motivation in all this?
Somehow, I doubt that he has.
I am not surprised at all this. The GOP has a rather interesting psychodynamic being acted out here.
NobodySpecial
@kgus: You forgot the qualifier.
The Tragically Flip
At what point will Bill Maher stop having Issa on to play “reasonable Republican”?
Issa is the most dangerous kind of crazy/evil, the kind that hides it well. At least with Cantor you just look at his hollow cult-like eyes and know he’s nuts, the “wingnut shining” as Digby called it.
John - A Motley Moose
There is a simple counter to Issa. All the administration has to do is threaten to open DOJ investigations into Bush administration actions every time Issa threatens to start an investigation.
themann1086
@BudP: This deserves an award of some kind; I almost died laughing at the reference here at work.
liberal
@John – A Motley Moose:
Except they’re too corrupted/too wussy to do that.
Another Bob
@joe from Lowell
What was Kent Conrad going to do if the Obama DOJ decided to investigate Bush administration domestic surveillance or campaign law-breaking? As it is, they’ve basically signed-off on all of that, and removed the worst abuses of the Republicans from the debate. As another poster suggested, a little tit-for-tat might even rein in some of the worst excesses of the Ken Starrs and Darryl Issas. But more important, it would be the right thing to do, because serious laws were broken and nobody was held accountable.
rumpole
I have really mixed feelings about this.Elections have consequences. If he wants to go firing off subpoenas, let him. That’s his right.
What I really and truly don’t understand is why the D’s didn’t merely cite the precedent from the late oughts, and go guns blazing after Bush in 06. they wouldn’t have to impeach him. They would just have to maintain the drumbeat, and all the bad stuff would have come out a lot sooner.
The congress–led by members from both sides–abdicated its institutional role during the bush presidency. As sorry as I am that Issa is the one re-asserting it, I don’t think it’s a bad thing (yet). When the R’s get chucked (and they will get chucked), and there’s an R in the white house, I hope the D’s have the good sense to ignore the noise machine and subpoena what they believe they need, “bipartisanship” be damned.
AAA Bonds
Issa is running for President.
kgus
@NobodySpecial:
I was about to use that very qualifier until I remembered that Bill Clinton was not black when Dan Burton went subpoena crazy (with all due respect to Toni Morrison).
I will concede, though, that there’s something special about Obama that inspires (some of) his political opponents to obsess over the Confederacy, secession, and the War of Northern Aggression. Can’t imagine what it is.