Darth Vader: There is a disturbance in the Force. I feel it.
Darth Issa: Someone from the Democratic Party is a Jedi?
* Vader turns his head toward Issa *
* Issa becomes uncomfortable *
Darth Issa: Look, I've got this IRS matter under control!
* Vader pulls out his lightsaber *
It appears the GOP went in way over its head when it thought it had the momentum with Darrell Issa potentially becoming a big star.
However, the IRS "scandal" has shot back at Issa and not given him or the Republican Party what they were expecting.
http://www.businessweek.com/...
When Republicans won control of the House of Representatives in 2010, Representative Darrell Issa of California was supposed to become a star. Issa, who made no secret of his ambition, took over the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, vowing to use the power of his chairmanship to stage hundreds of hearings and hold the Obama administration to account. Anticipating what he promised would be “constant battle,” the White House hired extra lawyers and braced for the onslaught.
But Issa wasn’t the force people expected him to be. His biggest investigation, into the botched anti-gun smuggling operation that left a Border Patrol agent dead, incited right-wing talk radio listeners. Beyond that, though, it barely registered. After two years in power, Issa seemed more bark than bite.
Interesting that the GOP thought
Issa wasn’t the force people expected him to be. This indicates the GOP is either apparently stupid or doesn't know Issa's history well enough to figure out maybe he isn't the right person they'd want to have as a leader for oversight on one of the most important committees in Congress, the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee.
I mean, it's as if the GOP thought the 2003 California Gubernatorial Recall election was a myth. Us Californians know the 2003 race too well to know that thanks to Darrell Issa, Ah-Nold got elected as Governor. (Issa comes up at the 01:25 point)
However, as Businessweek points out, Issa hasn't been able to get the IRS investigation to work in his favor. You can probably figure out why.
But after a burst of attention, Issa’s investigation appears to have stalled. Although he turned up embarrassing material—has any government official been humiliated quite like the IRS commissioner in the dorky video dressed up as Spock?—Issa hasn’t made the all-important connection to the White House. And he may not be able to. The news this week that he won’t release the full transcripts of his interviews with IRS officials—interviews he selectively quoted from to imply White House complicity—suggests that what they contain may in fact exonerate the administration of the very charge Issa is laboring so hard to prosecute.
Furthermore, evidence that this IRS investigation is turning out to be more of partisan witch hunt seems to be there as House Ways & Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, another fellow Republican in the Issa camp (who just happens to have the last name "Camp" as well) echoes exactly what Issa is saying even thought he has not offered any piece of evidence himself that has proven Elijah Cummings' transcripts wrong:
http://thehill.com/...
The IRS's singling out of conservative groups did not originate in Cincinnati, the House Republican in charge of tax policy said Wednesday.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) said bipartisan interviews conducted by House investigators had found out that the targeting did not occur in the IRS offices in Ohio that have been at the center of the story.
But the Michigan Republican did not elaborate much further and said there were still plenty of unanswered questions about the IRS’s treatment of Tea Party groups seeking tax-exempt status.
“We know it didn’t originate in Cincinnati,” Camp said after speaking at an event hosted by Baker Hostetler and the Federal Policy Group. “We still don’t know who did originate this.”
Congressman Camp, like Congressman Issa, how did you really know the IRS problem didn't originate in Cincinnati? Someone from the Cincinnati IRS office, a self-proclaimed conservative Republican, pointed out what the problem was. You disagree with what he's saying?
Apparently not.
“We have a lot of work to do,” the Ways and Means chairman added. “We’re not anywhere near being able to jump to conclusions. And there are a lot more people we have to talk to.”
A lot of work to do. Like what? Why can't you jump to conclusions?
Wait, now Congressman Camp just pulled an Issa:
But the Ways and Means chairman also urged caution, and said that he would not be releasing any transcripts any time soon.
“We’re trying, through a series of interviews, to really get to the specifics of how and why this occurred, and why it was allowed to go on for so long,” Camp said.
“I wouldn’t draw a conclusion based on one interview.”
So if you're not going to draw conclusions, why not bring in the conservative Republican from Cincinnati's IRS office to testify?
I guess maybe it's more important to bring in people whose groups receive financing from the Koch Brothers and Koch Industries:
You guys know what to do to channel your frustrations with Darrell Issa:
San Diego County Democratic Party
Website: http://www.sddemocrats.org/
Address: 8340 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Suite 105, San Diego, CA 92111
Phone: (858) 277-3367
Fax: (858) 571-0275
E-mail: info@sddemocrats.org - or send a message using the form at the end of this page
Hours: Monday - Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
And of course, contact the DCCC as well:
Website: http://dccc.org/...
Contact Form: http://www.dccc.org/...
Mailing Address: 430 S. Capitol St. SE, Washington, DC 20003
Main Phone Number: (202) 863-1500