Obama Derangement Syndrome and GOP Witch Hunts

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

There are two stories today in the Washington Post that make one consider whether our elected leaders have gone entirely mad.

The first headline fails to adequately describe the serious story of corruption that it is about. Demise of Iraqi water park illustrates limitations, abuse of U.S. funding program. What is this story about?

The troubled history of [the Commander's Emergency Response Program] speaks to the limitations and mishandling of a program that has provided U.S. military commanders with $5 billion for projects in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past six years. The program has given officers enormous flexibility to address urgent needs with few bureaucratic hassles.

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U.S. military officials say the program has been an invaluable tool to turn enemies into friends and to marginalize extremist groups and counter the root causes of instability. But U.S. lawmakers and government auditors have criticized the way the program has been run. They say commanders have used it to build large and often-unsuitable projects of dubious value. Critics say smaller initiatives funded by the program have received little oversight, making it difficult to gauge their effectiveness. Often, Iraqi officials provided little, if any, input in the ventures, damaging their long-term viability.

Recently, even some U.S. commanders have begun voicing reservations about the fund, saying there is little evidence that the millions pumped into the Iraqi economy during and after the U.S. troop surge in 2007 achieved the intended results.

This story of misspent "discretionary" billions in Iraq follows on the heels of the 2010 Pentagon audit that found 8.7 billion dollars in Iraq funds not accounted for: audit:

The Pentagon received 9.1 billion dollars in 2004 from the fund set up by the US-led occupation authority to benefit Iraqis with Iraqi oil and gas revenues and assets seized from the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein.

But the audit found the Pentagon cannot properly account for 8.7 billion dollars because defense agencies that received the money failed to set up required Treasury accounts and no single organization was created to manage the funds.

The audit found that "weaknesses" in the Department of Defense (DOD) financial and management controls meant it could not account properly for the funds.

There is a real scandal here that Congress should be investigating, right? Which brings me to the second headline in the Washington Post today: Issa says Obama administration is 'one of most corrupt'. That's right, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) wants to be the next Dan Burton who waged the witch hunts against the Clinton administration in the '90s.

You remember Dan Burton (R-IN), don't you?

• Burton led the House inquiry into the death of Vincent Foster; he was convinced that Foster was murdered and urged extensive investigation into the possible involvement of the Clintons. Burton gained attention for re-enacting the alleged crime in his backyard with his own pistol and a pumpkin standing in for Foster's head.
• Burton's investigation of the Whitewater controversy was based on opposition research conducted by Floyd Brown, who founded Citizens United in 1988, which created the well-known Willie Horton attack ad against Michael Dukakis. Because of the problems with the quality of Brown's research and testimony, the investigation was closed.
• In 1997, Burton headed an investigation into possible Democratic Party campaign finance abuse, focusing on the 1996 Presidential election. The committee investigation ran for several years and issued over 1,000 subpoenas of Clinton administration officials and cost over $7 million. The committee, and Burton's leadership, were labeled a "farce," a "travesty," a "parody," and "its own cartoon, a joke, and a deserved embarrassment."

Yes, but Burton provided right-wing talk radio and the fledgling FAUX News network the grist for its rumor mill of daily conspiracy theories with which to feed the conservative base. And the mainstream media, to its great discredit and eternal shame, reported many of these bullshit stories because of the "noise" in the right-wing echo chamber. This is the job that Issa has been tasked with performing for the next two years.

So who is this prick, Darrell Issa? He made his fortune hawking the Viper car alarm system in the '80s, using his voice for the "STAND BACK" warning. Issa later sold his controlling stake in Directed Electronics, the company that still sells Viper car alarms. As of last year, he was ranked the wealthiest member of Congress with a net worth estimated at $251 million. Yeah, he's that guy you curse every time your neighbor's car alarm goes off in the middle of the night.

It seems a car alarm was a natural choice for a guy with a record of "youthful indiscretion." Jillian Barclay writes Darrell Issa To Lead Obama Investigations: Suspected Arson, Car Theft, Weapons Charges! Wait! That Is Issa's Past!:

Just who is Darrell Issa and what is his past? First, Issa's history with auto theft charges: In 1971, Issa reportedly took a Dodge sedan from an Army post where he was stationed near Pittsburgh. There were no charges filed in that case, but the story was leaked to the press by a retired Army sergeant, who says he threatened Issa and then was able to retrieve the car. As a college student in 1972, Issa and his brother were arrested in Cleveland, suspected of stealing a red Maserati from a dealership. The witnesses recognized Darrell and his brother, William as they pushed the Maserati down the street. The third incident took place in San Jose, California. In 1980, Issa, then 27 years old, and his brother William, 29, were again arrested and this time indicted on felony auto theft charges. William Issa, using his brother's second driver's license, sold younger Darrell's cherry red Mercedes to a dealer for $16,000.00. Three hours after William received and cashed the check, Darrell reported the car stolen. The police also charged Darrell because his answers to questions were inconsistent.

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In 1982, Issa was suspected, but never charged in a suspicious fire that burned his Ohio manufacturing plant. Although there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Issa, the police suspected he was behind the fire based on two facts. Just a few weeks prior to the fire, Issa increased the fire insurance coverage to quadruple the original amount and according to the company bookkeeper, Karen Brasdovich, a few days before the fire, records and a company computer were removed from the plant, which was completely out of character for Issa. Charges were not filed due to lack of evidence, but the suspicions remain.

Issa was arrested twice for weapons charges, once in Ohio and once in Michigan.

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Whenever Congressman Issa is pressed by reporters to explain past arrests and scandals, he has almost always bristled and brushed off the questions. He has repeatedly stated that he was "just a kid" or that it "was my brother." He additionally states that these things happened so long ago that he really doesn't remember the details.

Darrell "Grand Theft Auto" Issa's partisanship motivated pursuit of witch hunts against the Obama administration to feed the right-wing noise machine leads Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly to ask whether this is a case of Obama Derangement Syndrome on the right:

Just a few month ago, shortly before the midterm elections, Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Calif.) told Rush Limbaugh he considers President Obama "one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times." Soon after, the Washington Post's Ruth Marcus noted, "If Issa believes this, he is deranged. If he doesn't and is saying it anyway, he is dangerous."

A month later, pressed by ABC's George Stephanopoulos, Issa walked it back.

Yesterday, Issa returned to his original, deranged point, but broadened the scope.

The incoming House Oversight and Government Reform chairman on Sunday tried to clarify his recent remarks to Rush Limbaugh where he called President Obama "one of the most corrupt presidents in modern times."

Rep. Darrell Issa said he meant to say the Obama administration instead of the president. 

Well, in that case, Issa seems entirely reasonable, right? How silly of me to think the right-wing Californian, perhaps best known as an alleged car thief who lied about his military background, might be less than sensible about his partisan hatred of the president.

To justify his allegations of corruption, Issa told CNN yesterday, "In saying that this is one of the most corrupt administrations, which is what I meant to say there, when you hand out $1 trillion in TARP just before this president came in, most of it unspent, $1 trillion nearly in stimulus that this president asked for, plus this huge expansion in health care and government, it has a corrupting effect."

As is too often the case, Issa is deeply confused. First, the TARP bailout was a Bush administration proposal supported by the Republican leadership in both chambers. The Obama administration made sure American taxpayers were paid back, and lowered TARP's price tag to almost zero. If Issa sees this as evidence of "corruption," someone should have bought him a dictionary for Christmas.

Second, the stimulus wasn't $1 trillion — I wish it had been — and there was nothing corrupt about it. Similarly, arguing that health care reform has a "corrupting effect" doesn't make any sense if the effect of the law features no corruption.

For Issa, who's never been accused of being the sharpest crayon in the box, it seems "corrupt" is another word for "stuff I don't like." Given that Issa will have expansive subpoena power starting in a few days, that's not exactly encouraging.

Despite all of this, much of the political establishment will still ask incredulously why President Obama can't generate more bipartisan support.

Note to the media villagers: Darrell "Grand Theft Auto" Issa is not credible. Do not repeat your shameful errors of the '90s by treating everything that Dan Burton had to say on Rush Limbaugh or FAUX News as worthy of reporting in the mainstream media. You are being played by the right-wing noise machine and the GOP. Have you learned nothing? You should treat Issa with skepticism, if not ridicule.

Note to the Obama administration: Your administration has been protecting former president George W. Bush and members of his administration from investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and by foreign governments for unlawful torture and war crimes. "W" just completed a book tour in which he publicly confessed to ordering unlawful torture, a war crime, because he has the confidence that your administration will protect him from any prosecution. This is winking at your duty to enforce the rule of law. If the Republicans really want to go on another Clinton era witch hunt, then it is time to open an investigation into the Bush administration's unlawful torture and war crimes — a legitimate investigation that should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. See the GOP's ante and raise the stakes.