Run for the hills! There’s oversight coming!

December 6, 2006

This has to be the funniest item of the day. From the Evans-Novak Political Report:

Important Bush Administration officials are ready to leave the government rather than undergo two years of hell from Democratic committee chairmen in Congress. Leading the exodus are officials of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fearing investigation by two chairmen, Representatives Henry Waxman (D-CA) and John Dingell (D-MI).

In other words, rather than answer Congress’ questions about their work, “important” officials in the Bush administration would prefer flee government service altogether. As Kevin Drum put it, “Golly. I wonder what they’re so afraid of?”

I’d only add that this just goes to show how ridiculous the non-existent oversight has been in Washington the last six years. Congress, which exists in part to serve as a check on the presidency, literally gave up on asking any questions of the administration the day Bush took the oath of office.

In 2004, then Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) admitted, “We Republicans have never quite reached the level of competent oversight that the Democrats developed over their 40 years that they controlled Congress.”

Now we’ll get another chance to show them how it’s done — and the Bush gang is cutting and running so fast they’re leaving skid marks.

Ah, the Rapture! Wingnuts disappearing themselves in advance of the second coming of the Democrats. Too late to convert now.

They had camped out at the scene of the crime but now they’re headed for lawyer land to try to hide.

Nice.

  • They’re like the cockroaches we used to chase out the kitchen in San Francisco in the early ’60s. We lived in dumps in the Haight-Ashbury because they were at least affordable. Since the landlords didn’t give a damn about their buildings, we had cockroaches. If you turned the lights off for a half hour, then suddenly turned on the lights, the kitchen walls would be black with the things. Four of us, each armed with a can Black Flag (I can’t believe we used to do this), sprayed all of them we could reach before they scurried back into the woodwork.

    Cockroaches … important officials in the Bush administration. I guess I’m being unfair to the cockroaches in making that comparison.

  • When the NSA story was starting to blow up, I remember Republican types would say stuff like, “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear from the government monitoring your calls.” Well it looks like Republican types now have plenty to fear from the government monitoring their activities in government agencies, and by the looks of it they’ve done plenty wrong. Is that the smell of fear in the air?

  • As Kevin Drum put it, “Golly. I wonder what they’re so afraid of?”

    Lawyers’ fees, what else?

    “…the Bush gang is cutting and running so fast they’re leaving skid marks.” – CB

    In more places than you know 😉

    Really, there are two three four major areas where the Bushites have screwed America that are worth investigating:

    1) Lies about the intelligence on Iraq before the war,
    2) Twisting science to undermine the nation’s health in food, medicine and the environment,
    3) Constantly over or under predicting economic forecasts and then revising them later to make the Bushites look “good”,
    4) Employing the most incompetent people imaginable as Bushites.

    Okay, so I left out a few things. But these are good enough for going forward, as our British cousins like to say.

  • The Bu$h presidency is one huge, gigantic skid mark on the underpants of the executive branch.

  • “..the Bush gang is cutting and running so fast they’re leaving skid marks.”
    Heh heh, I don’t think Mr. CB is referring to tire tracks…
    It’s going to be interesting to see who will “lawyer up” first, then next, and on and on.

  • I’m thinking the Bush twins were in Argentina to scout an exile location for the entire administration.

  • I would demand that any official who flees, hoping to escape the hard questions, should be forced to come back and answer the questions under oath. If they refuse, simply yank their pensions and/or throw them in jail.

    The EPA is one of the most important agencies in government, entrusted with keeping us safe from the corporations who are continually poisoning us all just to make a buck. Like the EPA website banner says, their job is “to protect human health and the environment”.

    Who cares about human health or the environment? Not the Bush bastards, that’s for sure. I shudder to think what they’ve been up to at the EPA.

    Anyone who messed with the enforcement of the nation’s environmental laws should be prosecuted as a terrorist, because pollution kills and injures far more Americans than the terrorists ever have.

  • “I’m thinking the Bush twins were in Argentina to scout an exile location for the entire administration.” – JoeW

    LOL,

    Probably the first honest work they’ve ever done.

  • Lance.
    I would add the infamous energy policy and put on the top.
    Government contracts in Iraq/NOLA might make the list as well.

  • No one expects the Congressional Inquisition!

    Our main weapon is surprise, surprise and fear,

    Our two main weapons are surprise, and fear and a fanactical devotion to the Pope.

    Our three main weapons are….

    I hear Nancy looks good in red 😉

  • Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think even the resigners can be subpoenaed to testify under oath. They have a lot to answer for, and quitting their jobs probably doesn’t exempt them from the penalties of breaking the laws.

  • Huh? Wait. When did the DemocratIC party go from being the party of mandatory abortions, burnt Bibles and slow dancing with people of the same gender to the party of oversight and restraint?

    Those GOPers and their mixed messages.

  • Would be like working 6 years for a new company and suddenly your boss shows up and asks: What have you been doing the past 6 years?

  • “I’m thinking the Bush twins were in Argentina to scout an exile location for the entire administration.” – JoeW (#9)

    Didn’t the Bush Crime Family purchase 100,000 acres (or something) in Paraguay, a nation which will not serve arrest warrants or subpoenas from any outside government? Sounds like they got their ducks in a row.

  • Hmmm…I think there was some noise about that in PM (Prenza Latina) a couple of months ago, Ed—but it’s almost too crazy to contemplate, considering who his new “regional neighbors” would be. Other than raising Atlantis itself, I doubt there’s much of anywhere on the planet that this man and his evil legions could hide. Well—maybe Russia, seeing as how he’s “soul-buddies” with Putin the Putrid….

    “Bush Administration:” Defined as the official party of cut and run….

  • what needs to be done to hold these tyrants accountable for not keeping their oath of office?
    i am totally fed up with these people! remember Bastille Day!

    • Comments are closed.