Dems wield oversight cudgel on Bush administration

[laststeamtrain]

Source: AP

Dems wield oversight cudgel on Bush administration

By LAURIE KELLMAN, Associated Press Writer 37 minutes ago

Across Capitol Hill, Democratic-led committees are considering punishments for past and present Bush administration officials for a range of alleged misdeeds, from discriminating against liberals at the Justice Department to blowing off subpoenas and lying to Congress.

The proceedings on Wednesday are the latest congressional review of the White House, a constitutionally mandated power that majority Democrats relish. But three months out from Election Day, a lame-duck Congress conducting oversight of a lame-duck White House produces mostly talk. There's little time and less willingness to spend the remaining five weeks of the congressional session doing more than holding televised hearings to try to convince voters that President Bush has abused the powers of his office.

The allegations certainly are serious.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday was to hear from Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine, who reported this week that former department officials broke the law by letting Bush administration politics dictate the hiring of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers. The probe springs from Justice's firings of nine federal prosecutors that sparked congressional investigations last year and led to the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_on_go_co/lame_duck_oversight

[Demeter]

1. Too Litle, Too Late, But It's the Thought That Counts

And that thought was: we've got to do something, or we're out of a job!

Or maybe even up on charges!

[Magleetis]

2. All talk no walk

Sometimes I think they are all in cahoots.

[TerribleLarryDingle]

15. Sometimes?

I seems like most of the time.

[Atman]

3. There's just no time. Nancy's busy on a book tour.

:eyes:

.

[leveymg]

4. This is the very least of it, and they avoided dealing with even these relatively minor crimes

This Congress has done nothing but tread water and a waste time.

[ixion]

5. Laurie sounds like a neocon...

"from discriminating against liberals at the Justice Department..."

-- Don't you love how the author turns this around. It was just trying to weed out liberals. That's code for "much ado about nothing". It was illegal, pure and simple. It was neocon extremists hiring ONLY neocon extremists. But with subtle manipulation, the author spins this into a 'liberal' thing.


"a constitutionally mandated power that majority Democrats relish"

-- This one is more blatant. Democrats 'relish'? That is not news. BOTH parties 'relish' the idea of holding power over one another. Hell, it's what they live for. But from this read you'd gather that only democrats 'relish' this power. Hah!!

[KeepItReal]

6. Good catch

eom

[Dr.Phool]

7. I see a rash of "strongly worded letters" coming!

They had better look out. Ole Bloodhound Conyers is on their trail! And Mad Dog Pelosi.

I'd be more scared of an overdue notice from the library.

[mwb970]

8. As tragedy descends into farce....

The Congressional Dems remind me of the Red Dwarf episode where Rimmer has all his anger drained out of him just as the crew is battling a ferocious "polymorph" monster. Rimmer says:

The time for talking is over. Now call it extreme if you like, but I propose we hit it hard, and we hit it fast, with a major, and I mean major, leafletting campaign.

[mbperrin]

11. No kidding! Those library police are tough!!!

Maybe we could get THEM to....nah, never mind.

[awoke_in_2003]

9. "Oversight is off the table" Fuck you, nancy. nt.

[kirby]

10. Dems drop oversight cudgel and bruise their toes n/t

[MessiahRp]

12. "misdeeds" not "crimes".... So that's why Pelosi thinks there are no crimes to charge them with...

They keep labeling this shit as petty misdeeds or irresponsible behavior and Nancy The Gullible takes this literally.

I know DU has rules about supporting Democrats blindly but there has got to be exceptions when it's obvious that one cancerous tumor is killing the rest of the party. For an example, See: Lieberman, Joe.

Rp

[htuttle]

13. "oversight cudgel"??? It's been more like a feather duster

[cosmicdot]

14. other links for story

Yahoo is famous for moving things around ...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080730/ap_on_go_co/lame_duck_oversight_8

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/national/politics/general/view.bg?articleid=1110000&srvc=rss