It appears clear that Darrell Issa, the so called "richest man in Congress" intends to become the next Tom Delay, that is a powerful totally irresponsible and unethical one man wrecking machine intent on bringing down the President and the Democrats in Congress as he seeks to build a future as a self made "leader" in the Republican Party and the State of California.
see: http://en.wikipedia.org/...
The question is whether or not the D's and others on our side will let him define himself or will "we" define him and discredit him first?
The opening round of the Issa legislative onslaught was signaled in the NYT on line:
A G.O.P. Chairman Seeks New Power for U.S. Watchdogs
By DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
Published: November 27, 2010
WASHINGTON — The Republican who will lead the chief investigative committee in the House is planning to vastly expand scrutiny of the Obama administration by seeking new subpoena powers for dozens of federal agency watchdogs in hopes of using their investigations and his own in an aggressive push to cut spending and shrink the government.
. . . . . .
Mr. Issa has already drawn up a list of big targets: $40 billion a year in fraud or waste in Medicare; tens of billions of dollars in subsidies to the government-controlled mortgage giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac; $8.5 billion in losses by the Postal Service in the last fiscal year; tens of millions of dollars spent on redundant programs within federal agencies or squandered through corrupt contracting procedures.
. . . . . .
For Mr. Issa’s committee, which can delve into any corner of the government, the more policy-driven crusade is purposely devised to steer clear of the reputation for hectoring and henpecking that Congressional Republicans earned during the Clinton administration when they issued more than 1,000 subpoenas and repeatedly tied White House lawyers into knots, ultimately impeaching the president.
http://www.nytimes.com/...
There have been numerous blog and main stream articles about Issa and his goal of the leadership of the major investigative committee of the House and using it to achieve his goal of self importance, like Tom Delay and also making up for the very shady and questionable background he has, again, like Tom Delay.
See some of the links below to background pieces on Issa:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Top 10 Darrell Issa Hall of Shame Moments
Darrell Issa's (R-CA) stunning statement reducing the 9/11 attack on the United States to a "simple" plane crash is just the latest outrage from the execrable California Republican. After all, the one-time accused car thief turned car alarm magnate attacked the families of dead Blackwater contractors, accused Valerie Plame of perjury and played a vital role in purging a U.S. attorney, just to name a few others. Yet less than five years after he cried like a baby while announcing his withdrawal from the California governor's race, Darrell Issa mysteriously remains a force in American politics.
Here, then, are the Top 10 Moments from Darrell Issa's Hall of Shame:
http://www.perrspectives.com/...
http://mediamattersaction.org/...
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmem...
Will the Democrats allow Issa to launch his attacks on the President and the Democrats in Congress and achieve a status of a Delay or will Issa's background and checkered past be a basis for the D's in Congress to band together, before it is too late?