In December, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) outsourced his job to business lobbyists when he sent letters to over 150 trade associations and companies, asking them to outline which Obama administration regulations he should target as chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He sent the letters to a wide array of fossil fuel producers, pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers, telecommunications companies, and other interests.
The scariest and saddest part of this is the coverage of this has been limited to the dirty hippy leftist blogoshpere. The blurry difference between lobbyists, the wishes of corporate America is no longer blurry. Imagine the outrage by Limbaugh, Beck and their ilk if a Democrat Party chair of the Committee were to do the same by sending out letters to trade unions, the ACLU consumer protection groups and others asking them for their wish list on what to investigate.
There is nothing new in this trend by the right. Some time ago the US Chamber of Commerce argued against a ban on dumping of hazardous waste such as Dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyls, heavy metals, halogenated organic compounds and cyanide suggesting that banning such practices would only result in an increase in 'illegal dumping.' Might as well repeal laws against rape because all it would do is cause rapists to do it illegally.
Who gives a flying fuck about consumer protections and public safety. Issa certainly doesn't but the brazen hypocrisy of a powerful Congressman openly asking corporate America what should and shouldn't be investigated by his Committee is a bridge too far. In an equally brazen and corrupt act, Issa has refused to share the responses he got from the 150 or so recipients of the letter, something that is a blatant violation of House rules.
The question is who is there to investigate the investigators. The lefty, dirty hippy blog Think Progress has the full story.
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