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| Waxman Winnows Winner's Wondrous W Witchhunt Wankfest | |
| 2006-11-11 | |
Waxman Set to Probe Areas of Bush Gov't
There's the response to Hurricane Katrina, government contracting in Iraq and on homeland security, political interference in regulatory decisions by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration, and allegations of war profiteering, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., told the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. "I'm going to have an interesting time because the Government Reform Committee has jurisdiction over everything," Waxman said Friday, three days after his party's capture of Congress put him in line to chair the panel. "The most difficult thing will be to pick and choose." Waxman, who's in his 16th term representing West Los Angeles, had plenty of experience leading congressional investigations before the Democrats lost control of the House to Republicans in 1994. That was the year when, as chairman of an Energy and Commerce subcommittee, he presided over dramatic hearings he convened where the heads of leading tobacco companies testified that they didn't believe nicotine was addictive. The scene made it into the movie "The Insider," but Waxman noted Friday that no subpoenas were issued to produce that testimony. Republicans have speculated that a Democratic congressional majority will mean a flurry of subpoenas and investigations into everything under the sun as retaliation against the GOP and President Bush. Not so, Waxman said. "A lot of people have said to me, `Are you going to now go out and issue a lot of subpoenas and go on a wild payback time?' Well, payback is unworthy," he said. "Doing oversight doesn't mean issuing subpoenas. It means trying to get information." Subpoenas would be used only as a last result, Waxman said, taking a jab at a previous committee chairman, GOP Rep. Dan Burton of Indiana, who led the committee during part of the Clinton administration. "He issued a subpoena like most people write a letter," Waxman said. Waxman complained that Republicans, while in power, shut Democrats out of decision-making and abdicated oversight responsibilities, focusing only on maintaining their own power. In contrast to the many investigations the GOP launched of the Clinton administration, "when Bush came into power there wasn't a scandal too big for them to ignore," Waxman said. Among the issues that should have been investigated but weren't, Waxman contended, were the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal, the controversy over the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's name, and the pre-Iraq war use of intelligence. He said Congress must restore accountability and function as an independent branch of government. "It's our obligation not to be repeating with the Republicans have done," Waxman said. | |
| Posted by:.com |
| #10 Ahh, but the elections in '08 will be based on what the donks do in the next two years.... |
| Posted by: Bobby 2006-11-11 15:47 |
| #9 My fearless forecast: The donk leadership, in lockstep with their fringe base, will be be unable to resist opening investigations on everything "Bush". The "I-hate-f'n-Bush" crowd, flush with victory and intoxicated with power will start down the same rabbit holes the trunks did in the mid 90s. Government will enter gridlock as the total focus is getting "Bush". It is almost inevitable. |
| Posted by: anymouse 2006-11-11 13:49 |
| #8 Who the F@#K is Waxman? I think the neighbors owned a floor buffer named Waxman. Things the Dhimmicrats will not investigate. New York Times Ray Nagin CAIR ACORN vote fixing Islamic terrorism Iran North Korea |
| Posted by: Icerigger 2006-11-11 12:55 |
| #7 Weasel Nose Waxman gives ferrets a bad name. |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2006-11-11 02:27 |
| #6 Yup. We're related to the Board brothers, by marriage, lol. |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-11 01:48 |
| #5 Thesaurus.com? Is he your brother? |
| Posted by: Steve White 2006-11-11 01:45 |
| #4 Lol. Thesaurus.com thanks you... |
| Posted by: .com 2006-11-11 01:40 |
| #3 And the award for best alliterative headline in a supporting role goes to ... May I have the envelope, please? |
| Posted by: Zenster 2006-11-11 01:34 |
| #2 This guy even comes with a pig nose |
| Posted by: Captain America 2006-11-11 00:56 |
| #1 How about looking into the threat made by dhimmi senators to ABC for the 9/11 special. Investigate THAT, pugface. |
| Posted by: Brett 2006-11-11 00:28 |