The Beltway's interest in the role of sequestration cuts leading to canceled White House tours reached farcical heights last week, in large part because congressional Republicans are afraid the scrapped tourist opportunities will make them look bad.
But leave it to House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to go completely over the top.
For those who can't watch clips online, Issa released an attack video this morning, presumably paid for with our tax dollars, whining once more about the White House tours. The message of the attack itself is rather odd -- Issa apparently believes the cancelation of tours will give the president more leisure time, though that really doesn't make any sense -- and comes across as rather desperate, even by House GOP standards.
But what's especially amazing about this case is Issa's bizarre priorities. For reasons I can't understand, the far-right Republican is fascinated by White House tours, but seems entirely indifferent to the meaningful effects of sequestration in his own congressional district.
A Democratic source this morning alerted me this morning to several recent headlines from the area Issa ostensibly represents:
* A rally was held in San Diego last week to "demonstrate the impact of sequestration on low income seniors." An administrator at a local facility said, "[B]ack in D.C. what they're talking about are cuts from White House tours and the president's golf game but in the meantime real seniors who are hungry are not going to have food."
* A major employer in San Diego announced a series of layoffs, effecting 185 workers, which became necessary "as a result of the cuts being brought about in the federal budget because of sequestration."
* The sequester is set to shutter an air-control traffic tower in San Diego, which local officials believe will "jeopardize aerial firefighting in a region prone to wildfire."
The list goes on. Sequestration is causing serious problems at San Diego's ports, ship yards, and the local economy in general.
All of this is happening in Darrell Issa's own hometown, and he's focusing his attention on White House tours? I can't remember the last time I saw a congressman so indifferent to the effects of a policy on his own community.
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hes got money he can buy his way any time.
see crime does pay just ask Issa.
Yes, he was accused of stealing three cars during his 20s, although was never formally charged for any of them; he did plead guilty to carrying an unregistered weapon, which was found concealed in the glove compartment in one of those incidents.
Later, he ran several small businesses in Ohio, including a car alarm manufacturing business that burned to the ground in 1982. The fire was considered suspicious when burn patterns indicated an accelerant such as gasoline was involved, plus the fact that Issa had moved computers and financial documents out of the buildings and more than quadrupled his property insurance in the weeks leading up to the fire.
Soon after the fire, for which the insurance company declined to make full payment, Issa and his wife moved to the San Diego area. It was there that he made his fortune in car alarms and the automotive electronic accessories aftermarket. He is now likely the wealthiest member of Congress, with assets nearing a half-billion dollars.
Not bad for a high-school dropout with a reputation for nicking cars.
JL in Montana,
And this is the pond scum who criticizes the President of the United States. Nice.
OK...He's playing Basketball to clear his head wow Issa , what have you done? According to your voting record nothing. My suggestion Rep Issa ,before you start throwing rocks make sure your house is in order.
I wonder if Issa would be willing to go do something that stressful and have no release.
He has very cushy job. Just say no and find flimsy evidence of whatever he is trying to make us care about besides what we keep saying we care about... jobs!
Darrell Issa has the eyes and the soul of a snake.
Here's an idea southern Cali - stop voting for this loser.
or better yet indite him
Indict him for what? Speaking his mind?
The left sure has restrictive ideas about who can say what. Totalitarian ideas.
Issa is one of the most corrupt politicians in DC. Vote him out.
As for their obsession with WH tours, that must be all they have to moan and bitch about right now. They'll find something else soon, not to worry.
They always do. It's like death and taxes, you can count on it.
Seeing that Obama is in Israel, I doubt he has more free time for much of anything.
No, indict him for all the hair product he uses. It's gross.
How cute. Shooter242 is at it again:
We just moved into his district. Two more anti-Issa votes! We trust that soon he will join Brian Billbray in the pantheon of former Republican representatives. Shooter would call that totalitarian, I suppose.
Oh yeah. Our little 'blanks' as he's known around here has been a long-time troll. Love ya, shooter...maybe one day you'll turn off Fox and join reality.
Until then...feel free to keep on ignoring the troll.
Issa should be used to indictments...he's had to endure a few he managed to get out of (stealing cars etc.) but he demonstrates the GOP's concern for power not leadership alwyas looking for someone to blame rather than looking for solutions to real problems.
I hope San Diego is paying attention to Issa's disconnect.
I put Shooter on Ignore a long time ago. It's better that way.
Me, too, Steve. Blissfully unaware of his nattering.
My own personal wish is for the wee dear tyro to become involved community based activities . This so the pesky cub becomes acquainted with something other than the use of the ignore button by all the shoot's fan , TRMS , and Steve Benen's basement where the shoots collects the most interesting dust missed by the knick knacks at rest .
Little bird , Little bird , in the cinnamon Blog
Beneath this Blog , This cinnamon Blog ,
We learned patience
We learned to sigh
For here we met shootur and what is kissed
And here we retched on a cold moonless night
We sort of said said goodbye
With the button brilliant , that weeps ignore
May the bairn grow up to be the fierce tiger his idol Jonah Goldberg aspires to in the half of his thoughts where proposing the soaking wet grand Jonah Goldberg ideas , not the other half where he qualifies them into inert gas .
Good Luck !
#2.10, JL,
I have him where he can't shoot at me, too. Ignore is a fine place for him.
So much hate...it gets boring.
Here it is finally, the first day of Spring............ha, ha, ha, ha, ha...38 degrees.
So Joanne, which perturbs you most, pushback or being civil about it?
I hate to tell you, India, that it's 54 and the birds are singing here. I've been outside setting fence posts. Great day for it.
Probably Option #3 - lame trolling.
Just another black man shooting hoops, I don't see what the big deal is about.
Well done, Issa. Be proud and sleep well at night.
Well you have that 100% wrong -
1) He is 50% WHITE, about 25% Arabic and 25% Black. Hard to pin down the exact percentages except his being 50% WHITE, but him being THE only member of the Obama clan who is not (maybe) Muslim) might give you sort of a clue.
2) He isn't shooting hoops, if Easter Egg Rolling Day at the WH is any indication of his skill at it.
I wouldn't call 2 baskets in 22 shots "SHOOTING" baskets. I would call it shooting AT baskets.
3) Since he lacks any sense of shame, I'm sure that he wasn't the least bit embarrassed that on Easter Egg Rolling Day at the White House he missed his first THIRTEEN attempts at making a basket. Then he let a ten year old boy try and the boy sunk his very first shot.
The best part of this is that your President made a fool out of himself in front of several Washington Wizards players. I bet they had a good laugh at his expense.
Last but not least, I agree that Issa should be doing more to help the people he represents and not worry about Obama's attempts to amuse himself.
Makes me think the majority of Congress really didn't have a clue as to what sequestration really means. Like the negotiation talks between Obama and the Congressional Leaders were not fully shared with their caucuses and so members were largely in the dark and relying on their leaders to clue them in - which didn't happen. When you stop at talking points without understanding the actual consequences, you do yourself and your constituents a disfavor. Obama clearly laid out what was to be affected - and now that it's happening, the GOP acts like they are hearing the information for the first time.
As much as these clowns get paid you would think that they would understand the full impact of their folly.
The GOP is so conditioned to disbelieve everything the President says and are so inured to the right-wing echo-chamber, they literally can not understand the problem. They will really need to lose the House majority before they even can begin to fix their systemic problems. As gerrymandering has proven, recently, 2010 was an exceptionally good year for them!
In teapub minds, the sequestration is supposed to mean that Obama can't shoot hoops during any of that time period and he should lead the WH tours instead of cutting them out so he's actually working.
"A major employer in San Diego announced a series of layoffs, effecting 185 workers..."
*A*ffecting 185 workers.
Rule of thumb:
When using affect as a verb, use "A"
When using effect as a noun, use "E"
The few exceptions when "E" is used in the verb form are rare enough that you shouldn't chance it. A for verb, E for noun. That's it. (Bored perfectionists are welcome to look up using "effect" as a verb.)
And DON'T use the non-word "impacting". Man up and use the queen's English, not marketing buzzwords.
Bad advice, because you can have an affect and this story is about a major employer effecting a layoff due to the sequester that is causing bad effects for the economy at large and deeply affecting the lives of middle-class families of the workers directly, um, affected(cough, cough, adjective).
Now, somebody else find my Muphry. :)
Step away from the basketball court! Protected by Viper.
Issa does not really represent the city of San Diego, he represents the suburban and very affluent North County area of Vista/San Marcos. Nice area...
Lebowsky Dude,
He represents Issa first, then the affluent north area. He is one slimey politician. One of the worst. He should be in jail for car theft among other crimes.
My elderly parents live in Oceanside (northern San Diego County). They have been voting against Issa in every election, but there are so many RWNJs in the district that they are still stuck with him.
What do you expect from an accused car thief and arsonist?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darrell_Issa
His district includes Camp Pendleton and its surrounding communities - and he's worried about Whitehouse tours.
Living below the Orange Curtain sucks. Some days more than others.
LOL You live in the Republican stronghold of California... nice golf courses, chain restaurants, and eye-gouging subdivisions...
Though I've not seen any evidence of it, I do think Darrell Issa may indeed play the fiddle, and I do know his district does burn regularly in the months of July to October!
I do wonder what the vector area of a Vinn diagram between Issa and Nero would contain! Pyromusical interests? -Kevo
How about the DNC comes out with a counter ad everytime one of the Tealiban goes up with one? I know they have money. They keep asking me for more.
Got thinking about a species that could exist that is far more advanced than us and what would they be doing in this Universe. Well for one they would have a far better idea of what Spirituality is and to use it properly in everyday living and probably very much unlike what these dough head Republicans, rich bastards, and false Pharisees do. Aliens would probably be to the point of caring about their species and knowing the value of helping people in need and each other. They would probably know very well they wouldn’t have to attack some other world, when they have the very knowledge to create a world of their own almost anywhere in the Universe. After all, why would you want your own species to die in such senseless actions and place such abuse, misery, despair and death upon themselves that is so destructive, evil, and quite the opposite of love. They would know that it is your freewill very much that comes into play vs. evil where people should not be power craving, corrupt, arrogant, hypocritical, greedy, and deceiving. That it is better to go with things that are based in truth and not in lies and deceptions as so many of these politicians, rich bastards and false Pharisees have done. In addition, it would be a species that has gained such knowledge that they can go anywhere in the Universe and beyond to explore and study all of God’s glory and love. And surely they have realized that we are indeed not alone in this great vastness. In the end, you do realize though that it is indeed this far more advanced species that are true survivors and have the courage and knowledge to do the right things. And what do we listen to and keep being deceived by the worst of the lot power craving, corrupt, arrogant, hypocritical, greedy, and deceiving politicians, rich bastards and false Pharisees. What a waste of time and knowledge.
There is no doubt in my mind that intelligent life and advanced civilizations exist in the universe.
I think we are being observed, but avoided. Why would an intelligent species want to have anything to do with the human race? We've been killing each other since the dawn of our existence, and it's only getting worse. Hell, we can't even take care of the planet that sustains us. We are literally killing our way to extinction.
Good point there. And the Republicans, rich bastards, and false Pharisees are at the root of our problems with the lack of any real thought and caring about anybody else, except their own selfish needs and how much more cash they can stuff into their pockets. Indeed it does get just more disgusting with these types of people that would do anything just to affect somebody else's freewill and to be happy. A good start to change things would be the prosecution of Bush, Chenney, and their cronies for their crimes against humanity.
I saw this post earlier and thought it is perfert to to address Issa and others complaining about the White House tours and sequester:
They have had their office budgets cut. My Congressman had to close his local office because of the sequester.
They cannot cut their pay because the Constitution says that a sitting Congress cannot change its pay. This was intended to keep them from raising their own pay.
Well that must be a hardship on your Congressman - lets see Ted Cruz of Texas has 4 offices plus 1 in Washington, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has 6 offices plus 1 in Washington and Rand Paul (Mr. Less Government) has 7 in Kentucky and 1 Washington. Just a few examples of the hardship Closing an office might cause these people.
Well you know bflynch if they can still give themselves a pay raise they can also give themselves a pay cut.
In addition, there has to be some huge major pay cuts on those worthless deadbeat CEO's that are totally worthless and start paying the workers their fair wages. There has been enough of this slave labor bull crap and it needs to stop, especially when these companies make huge profits. What a scam.
Well, golly! I did not realize that Obama CONDUCTED the White House tours! No wonder he suddenly has so much free time- enough to take a vacation in the Holy Land.
A post on Cruz followed by a post on Issa. First a fruit, and then a nut. The vacuous and flailing food group.
Mr. Issa, since you seem so worried about the President's "free time", how many hours a week do you spend on the people's business? Note that this does not include time spent on fundraising for your own re-election but on the actual business of governing.
Excellent question! Given that the House has been meeting at most 3 days a week, when they are not on vacation, I'd say he considers his governing to be a part-time job. And he definitely does not earn his pay.
Even when in session they fund raise approximately 4 hours per day, in the afternoons mostly. They do it on OUR time, not theirs.
...how many hours a week do you spend on the people's business?
"Corporations ARE people, my friends!" Or was that "Corporations are my friends, people."
Issa is just a a symptom of the GOP as a whole, overwhelmed with the minute details so he can't see the big picture. And the only details that get thru to him are those from folks with deep pockets.
"announced a series of layoffs, effecting 185 workers," It should be AFFECTING. You EFFECT something, but you have an AFFECT on something.
You can rename Issa Spiro Agnew and he's just about as clean. Congress seems to feel they won't be held accountable as long as they focus on blaming Obama! Guess what? It didn't work for the Romneybot.
Sounds like the GOP is trying to deflect attention from the real world effects of the sequestration and get people to focus on something else, anything else. Typical. They have been pretty far removed from reality for a long time now.
Gee, just like the corporately owned media!
We have too much emphasis on numbers and not enough on the people the numbers represent. When we begin to see what is happening to real people, something may get done.
The press needs to keep talking to real people and pay less attention to numbers. MSNBC shows are good at posting charts and graphs, which do a good job of showing the numbers and trends, etc. But they would do well to include more real people, and not just the usual MSNBC contributors. Talk to some people who have lost jobs, benefits, or pay.
darrell is a dimwit. he would defend satan himself.
Darryl Issa is financed by the Kochs and elected by the Mormons and the retired Lifers. Keeping the idiots happy is all he has to worry about.
Also consider buying different security and remote car warmer systems besides this one. Issa is the founder of Viper...
http://www.viper.com/
He came and visited his company in Vista as shown in an article noted here in Sept. 2012. There is software being sold to interact with Viper. People need to know what they are supporting when voting and when buying things.
Now, I do not want people to lose jobs, but I do wonder how much he pays them. No, he can make a ton of low taxed money, but votes no minimum wage increase.http://www.ontheissues.org/CA/Darrell_Issa_Jobs.htm
I know that there is a minimum 25 and 30 year Age requirement for election to the congress and senate, respectively. However, I was curious as to whether or not there is an unpublished, minimum, Mental Age requirement that might be in the 16 to 18 year old range for all politicians and political aspirants.
From some of their statements, comments, and Voting Records, I would also judge many of these folks to be 100% nuts!
By my observation, many of the Republicans in Congress are, mentally, adolescents.