Issa says Obama administration is 'one of most corrupt'

[Still a Democrat]

Source: Washington Post

The Republican congressman who is taking over responsibility for congressional oversight called President Obama's administration "one of the most corrupt administrations" on Sunday and predicted that the investigations he is planning over the next two years could result in about $200 billion in savings for U.S. taxpayers.

...

Issa, who as chairman will have subpoena power, said he would seek to ferret out waste across the federal bureaucracy. While he used fiery rhetoric in describing the Obama administration in a series of television interviews Sunday, he said he would focus on wasteful spending over political persecutions.

Asked on "Fox News Sunday" about reports that the White House is staffing up on lawyers to prepare for his oversight hearings, Issa said: "They're going to need more accountants."

...

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/02/AR2011010201493.html

[Demeter]

1. Is He Going to Take Down the Zombie Banks, Then?a

and Uncle Ben Bernanke?

And the BFEE for dessert, maybe?

[droidamus2]

21. Typical

Nothing but Repugnican's typical rhetoric 'he is the most...<fill in whatever you think gets the most negative reaction?' This is directly out of the Newt Gingrich spin book. It's never my opponent is Liberal it is 'my opponent is absolutely the most liberal Congressman in the history of the United States'. To me this just shows that people that use this rhetorical trick don't really have anything to say and probably don't have the brains to really say anything important so they just use verbal tricks.

[liberal N proud]

2. The next two years are going to be filled with investigations from this guy

His agenda includes trying to bring Obama down by investigation.

[EFerrari]

4. Issa has been preparing to be the point man for a long time.

And given that the administration seems to consider wikileaks a bigger threat than the Republicans, I guess he'll rampage all over Obama until we take the House back. It's a shame.

[Hawkeye-X]

7. Well, let's hope Wikileaks turns it around

and start releasing indictable bunch of cables against 100-200 Republican Congressmen for treason/high crimes.

That will ensure a stronger Democratic majority by 2012, hopefully a filibusterproof one.

[EFerrari]

12. But the government told everyone not to read wikileaks.

So if wikileaks does get some info like that to release, it will help the administration in spite of its own orders.

[Davis_X_Machina]

14. "Treason....

...shall consist only in levying War against them (the United States), or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort".

Which Republican congressmen are doing that, pray tell?

'High crimes' is meaningless except in the context of an impeachment -- and you can't impeach a Congressman.

There is a Constitution, and words mean things. Both are inconvenient at DU, but both are facts.

The tendency of people on this board to mirror their opposite numbers at places like RedState.com is a continuing puzzlement to me.

[Name removed]

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[cali]

37. oh brother.

[DeadEyeDyck]

44. I am always late to the party

what did I miss?

[Ruperto31]

65. It's down the memory hole.

Gotta get there quick before anything controversial is deleted.

[eleny]

19. Since he tipped his hand long ago I'm hoping the WH is ready for this guy

I'm eager for the revelations about Issa's past to surface like an ongoing mini series. Tit for tat.

You know how arrogant he's been. Seems like this Grand Poo-Bah is primed for a fall from that lofty place he's built in his mind.

[CBHagman]

40. We could also question how much money Issa is spending...

...not as in tit for tat but as in whether he's A) wasting taxpayer dollars on partisan investigations and B)tying up public servants, whose salaries are paid by the taxpayers, with meaningless and wasteful subpoenas.

I think public demonstrations, town meetings, etc., could be used to focus on Issa when he thinks he's going to be able to pull off the old GOP trick of endless investigation.

The media has been covering his plan for some time, so it's not as though this has been a secret. Let's call the tea party's bluff on this.

[newspeak]

20. didn't Issa have some legal problems before he became a politician?

And isn't he the one who led the recall against Davis, thinking he was going to be the next governor? I'd Issa should look in the mirror. And after eight fekkin years of Little Boots, I don't consider this the most corrupt administration. Actually, after looking at Iran Contra, S&L debacle, Enron, murder of key journalists-I think he doesn't know what he's talking about. I know one administration who could beat this one hands down!!!!

[EFerrari]

22. Issa's job is to tell and retell Big Lies.

Yeah, he unseated Davis and was then thrown over by Arnold's people.

/oops

[Mz Pip]

36. Yeah, and he cried as much

as Boner at his press conference when he withdrew from the governor's race. Poor Darrel, actually thought he could become governor if he just put up enough money. The fool and his money were certainly parted in that one.

[EFerrari]

51. As horrible as Arnold has been, we still dodged a bullet there.

Dick Cheney wanted to turn California red and he came this close to doing it, too.

[jmowreader]

39. Yes

According to Wikipedia's Issa page, Issa stole a car in Pennsylvania in 1971, stole a car in Cleveland in 1972, and was convicted for possession of an unregistered gun in Michigan in 1972.

In 1979, he attempted to commit insurance fraud in California by faking the theft of his own car.

His fortune (and it's very large) was made in the most obvious business for a retired car thief to be in: car alarms! The company he used to own--he got out when he was elected to Congress--makes the Viper alarm, and its "please step away from the car" siren is a digitized recording of Issa's voice.

[cali]

35. whether or not the administration and/or Obama considers wikileaks a bigger threat than

the repubs, is something I don't know, but I do know that that has nothing to do with Issa's plans, which wouldn't be different whether wikileaks existed. In short, wikileaks has nothing to do with this.

[Hawkeye-X]

5. I hope that California Democratic Party is recording everything Issa does

and making beauties out of clips how much waste Mr. Darrel Issa is, and deserves to be thrown into prison for the next 4 centuries.

Hawkeye-X

[XanaDUer]

9. I know

they're going to Whitewater Obama and his administration. However, times are not as good here in Amurikkka like they were under Clinton, and this may backfire on him and his party. Even impeached, Clinton's approval ratings were high.

[IntravenousDemilo]

16. The next two years are going to be filled with investigations OF this guy

... including a couple of tax audits.

[Stevepol]

45. Issa is also one of the biggest crooks up there. Takes one to know one I guess.

In case anybody's not familiar with some of the details, there's this:

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/06/25/ISSA.TMP

[cascadiance]

48. There's a lot more than what's shown there too, including suspected arson as well...

http://politicalcorrection.org/factcheck/201006010007

http://www.debbieschlussel.com/6215/jihad-darrells-thuggery-v-rahms-way-pot-kettle-very-black/

Hmm... I wonder what the statute of limitations on some of these crimes are, in case we were to do an independent investigation of him as well!

And he also had the nerve to say that Carol Lam didn't do enough to prosecute illegal immigration, which is why he was "recommending" that she be one of the attorneys that Bushco fired...

I guess she didn't prosecute Golden Gate Fence Company the way Issa wanted and didn't leave his rich buddies alone and only "go after the brown people" the way he wanted...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6626823

[newspeak]

61. yeah, unfortunately he'll have no problem spending

millions of our dollars for his hyped up shite, then the repugs will tell the american people already hurting that they can't afford to give aid to americans.

[Hawkeye-X]

3. Hey Fat Issa. You want corrupt? Take a fucking look in the mirror

and meet Mr. Corrupt.

Fuck off, and I hope the Ethics Committee convenes and looks at your criminal record and decide you're not even worth the oxygen or the space so explusion is the only option for Mr. Issa.

[pretzel4gore]

6. poor little country....

America work so hard for so long for this! Head shaking time

[madrchsod]

8. hmmm...an arsonist (maybe) talking about corruption?

[Golden Raisin]

10. But all those lucrative contracts

lovingly tossed by the Bush/Cheney administration to Halliburton was just fine and dandy. Obviously no corruption there.

[Davis_X_Machina]

11. Categorical argument. No non-Republican administration..

...is, can ever be, a legitimate one.

Accept the premise and all else follows. There remains only to determine the precise way in which the administration fails to be legitimate.

[GoCubsGo]

34. Yeah, because the 15 million + unemployed would rather he do that.

Screw creating jobs and fixing our country, when you can spend all that time and money on witch hunts. It will go over really well with most of the country. You betcha.

[nuxvomica]

13. He will overreach and it will backfire on him

If you recall, he bankrolled the recall of Gray Davis, expecting to put himself in the governor's office. My point is, the guy doesn't line up his ducks properly. His machinations are sloppy. Already he's talking way beyond what he can prove.

[Kip Humphrey]

15. sniff, sniff...

My smell-dar is going off! I smell a set up. Does anyone know if the Obama Administration has replaced the Bush patronage folks yet? As I recall, Bush pushed patronage way down the ladder in Interior, FBI, CIA, and Justice for starters.

[CTyankee]

17. Was he the guy who went after Clinton's Christmas card list?

[WingDinger]

23. I say GOOD. Let them educate Issa, if there is some waste, then it should be cut.

Explaining the socalled waste, will allow enough room for a brilliant constitutional educator and authority, and a hardened solid Dem straight shooter backing him up, to trounce. Issa has OBVIOUSLY backed off from criminal indictments. Wise choice. One false move, from the party known to root for failure of this pres, and they will be told to sit down and shut up. I am looking for when they try to inspect his PeePee, like Clinton. We are going to pounce. The population is tiring of antics. Obama is a satan worshipping, baby seal clubbing, Communist. Where can they POSSIBLY go after that? The population is beginning to show evidence of extinguishment. I believe that will ramp up when they start threatening doctors that do abortions, and/or take Obamacare as payment.

I expect Obama to come from the sky, in a slam dunk. There will be ample opportunities. Teabaggers and GOP are RIPE for a fall. Even if it ain't the greek Gods, it's the sensationalist press. They are about to be hoisted on their own putrid petard. When the GOP takes all credit, teabaggers will go all Mark Chapman on their masters. It's gonna be fireworks. I truly believe our side will rule that landscape.

[sweetapogee]

29. I hope you are right

but I have said this many times before. The pukites have said that they are going to investigate and I for one take them at their word. My prediction is that they will basically leave the President alone and concentrate on the underlings, the soft underbelly. Of course I have no crystal ball to consult but I think the primary area of concern will be with who and where the stimulus money went to. Hopefully there is a full accounting of the funds and they were used wisely. If not, look out, I think the pigs will use the public congressional BP style hearings as their template for handling their investigations. In many respects, I think we would have been better off as a party if we had lost the senate and not the house but that is a debate for another time and place. One thing for sure, the repugs have painted themselves into a corner and almost have to make some moves against us to satisfy their SFB base. It also allows them to attack dems without having to accomplish anything themselves. You may be 100% correct but I think we underestimate the enemy at our own expense. We need to do some investigating of our own, get down to the marrow and shine some light into the darkness. Why we haven't done this over the last four years is a mystery to me.

[WingDinger]

30. We would have been better off, if we had never touched Bush's mess, But we did.

It's called governing. And not for Ideologues. And they will be shown wanting. Especially when they are now so heavily weighted to junior status talent.

[SoapBox]

26. This clown is a nut AND a crook...

...he has has his own crooked garbage.

Why is no one bringing up that $hit?

[Arkana]

27. Pot, kettle, black, Mr. Issa.

[GoCubsGo]

33. Nope.

More like "projection" on Issa's part. They are the masters of it.

[anamandujano]

28. Once you subtract the lunch budgets, health benefits and

salaries of all the congress critters that will be involved from the "$200 billion in savings for U.S. taxpayers" I suspect the word "savings" will have to be replaced.

[alp227]

31. "Smirk." --a certain MORE corrupt president. n/t

[SoapBox]

32. GO HERE and read about CrazyDarrell and his background...

...this guy is a skeeze ball.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Issa#Criticism_and_controversy

[humbled_opinion]

38. Well to be honest I would also like a full accounting

on the TARP funds that money was lent to AIG and the Banks with an understanding that they would give it back. If they haven't made arrangements to give it back then their CEO's and boards better be getting no salary. If they have given it back where is it, it can't be a defecit if it was recouped.

[socialist_n_TN]

41. Yeah, like that will happen............

They'll investigate the Hell out of some gay staffer's sex life for the next two years, but REAL crimes? Committed against the American people by capitalists? No way that'll be investigated.

[jmowreader]

42. I wonder how he came up with his ranking of the Obama administration

I would rate these five administrations as the most corrupt:

1. Ronald Reagan: Iran, Iraq, the Contras...

2. George W. Bush: two illegal wars, 9/11 failures, Hurricane Katrina failures, private armies...

3. George H.W. Bush: two wars during his administration, and he's responsible for setting up the conditions that caused both of them! The Panama war was caused by GHWB putting Noriega on the CIA payroll and encouraging him to become what he was, and the Iraq war was caused by GHWB giving Saddam permission to invade Kuwait.

4. Ulysses S. Grant: lots of scandals, the most important of which were the Black Friday Gold Panic of 1869 and the Whiskey Ring of 1875.

5. Warren G. Harding: Teapot Dome scandal.

How about Nixon? I'm going to put him down at number six, though you might want to put him as high as three--just leave Reagan and Bush II at the top of this list, 'kay?

Now, what do all these scandal-ridden presidents have in common? Why, of course! They are all Republicans! All the worst crooks in American history were Republicans!

[Lucky Luciano]

43. What a fucking joke. Issa is a fascist fuck. This is proof.

If he thinks Obama is corrupt, then this surely implies he will prosecute the entire bush administration. Yeah...I didn't think so.

[Politicalboi]

46. FU Issa

And you are as corrupt as they come. Another Repuke POS.

[Odin2005]

47. The pot calling the kettle black.

[Ford_Prefect]

49. This seems like it is being stage managed by Karl Rove et al...

This seems like it is being stage managed by Karl Rove (et alia)... The only way someone with Issa's past gets to investigate is to rig the situation prior to any real questions. One wonders how much looking into whose past will stand the glare of a real DOJ look at facts and figures.

[Zoeisright]

50. More projection from a fucking criminal.

I hate that fuck's guts.

[0rganism]

52. how much are the Koch bros willing to pay to convince Americans of this?

That's really the bottom line here - how much moolah will the rich and leisurely be willing to sink into a nationwide propaganda blitz to convince middle America that President Obama and his administration are the root of all evils afflicting our fair country.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if there were still significant corruption in the Obama administration, since AFAIK he never replaced the majority of W's staff croney appointments. Should have been thing 1 on the agenda in 2009, too - everyone out of the pool. I'm pretty sure the next GOP preznit won't have any delusions of bipartisanship to be expressed by retaining the predecessor's underlings, none whatsoever.

[salin]

53. iow.... "I'm going to make Dan Burton look tame"

protect local watermelons another loon is empowered and on the loose.

[4dsc]

54. We were warned this would happen

SO I don't want anyone acting surprised over this.

[VeryConfused]

55. Ironic coming from the most corrupt member of Congress

[sofa king]

56. And more....

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-turn/2011/01/democrats_had_predicted_--_hop.html

Of course, those of us who gritted our teeth through eight years of "keep our powder dry" nonsense will recall with total clarity two stolen elections, two illegal and amoral wars, the disappearance of billions of dollars in cash in Iraq, a guy named Jack Abramoff spending two years detailing exactly how he got his hooks into the Republicans in Congress, with names, six years of the House Oversight Committee ignoring clear violations of budgetary submission laws, ignored subpoenas, 90 million emails generated and sent through an illegal communications back-channel, and so on.

So it's a piece of cake to force Issa's committee to circle the wagons: simply start to shoot a few dozen Bush fish in the barrel before the statute of limitations runs out on them, and point out that they escaped all oversight for virtually the entirety of the 2000s up to now, thanks to the mostly Republican-controlled House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

They'll go right back into their cover-up shell and we won't hear from them again.

[Blue Meany]

57. Yeah, but administration officials can ignore the subpoenas

with impunity. The Bushies set the precedent on that. And if they do enforce the subpoenas, Obama can have the DOJ start arresting Bush officials for war crimes. Or he could claim that they belong to a fourth branch of government answerable only to the VP. Oh...but that would not be bipartisn,

[Art_from_Ark]

58. (delete- dupe)

[Art_from_Ark]

59. Mr. Issa should take a look at the Reagan administration

Over 130 Reagan administration officials were investigated, indicted, and/or convicted-- a record for the 20th century!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reagan_administration_scan...

[Dash87]

60. Even if true, it's not Obama's fault

Corruption doesn't just form over night. This was a gradual corrupting of the government after the government stopped caring, and greed became the agenda over helping its own citizens.

[Roland99]

62. Issa is a Assa

[FLPanhandle]

63. He knows all that before even conducting any investigations...wow!

He has already labeled this administration as most corrupt and has identified $200 billion in savings all before one day on the job.

Either he is super impressive or full of shit.

[mvd]

64. ROFL

Coming from ISSA!!?? :rofl: