The Hoglawyer

When the Democrats swept the House and Senate last November - it was obvious it was going to be by narrow margins and would not necessarily mean a huge rush of successful legislation would be sitting on the president's desk anytime soon. The Republicans can still stall, filibuster, and thwart a variety of bills from seeing the light of day and of course, the president is likely to veto anything innovative or likely to help those of modest means. That being said - what I am loving is that Democrats now control the committees and therefore they have subpoena power. Where before, anything that smacked of Republican political scandal would be covered up and there would be no oversight - our system of checks and balances is back in play. If the Republicans still had House and Senate control - what do you think the chance of a full investigation of the Attorney General's political practices would have even been considered. About zero. Once the subpoenas started flying - and weasels like Alberto Gonzales were forced to give sworn testimony -- the Republican quickly figured out "we can't lie all the time anymore and not get caught."  What a shock. All of a sudden - the Attorney General's #2, #3, and #4, depending on how you look at it,  assistance have resigned. Monica Goodling has to get immunity - and basically admitted she broke the law and hired and fired on the basis of political persuasion. None of this would have come to light if Republicans had been in power. They would have covered it up, hidden it as they know their actions - while maybe not illegal - are essentially corrupt. Part of the irony of all of this is that Republicans will preach to you how a quota system is wrong and we should only hire on the basis of merit -- but apparently that doesn't apply to important Justice Department positions that are supposedly politically neutral. Hypocrites.
    And then you have Tim "the Snake" Griffin. He says "public service isn't worth it." I think he should have said what he really thinks. "I don't believe in democracy." His idea of public service apparently is coordinating massive vote fraud, digging up sleazy facts, and doing his best to avoid any type of oversight. As a puppet for Karl Rove - he sought to toward true democracy in favor of a "permanent Republican majority." Of course, they have failed miserably. He is obviously a quitter - he cut and run rather than answer questions under oath during a confirmation hearing. Soon enough - he will probably be financially rewarded for his loyalty and find his way into being a lobbyist for some other sleaze ball clients.
    I predict even more and more Republican connected corruption will be unveiled as a result of the subpoena power now firmly in the Democrats control. Of course, this will be a great fund raising tool for Republicans - as secrecy is their friend.