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Republican Victory = Endless Fake Investigations & Abuse of the Legal System

October 1st, 2010

Another reason to get out the Democratic vote in November: Republicans are making no secret of the fact that if they get the gavel back in the house, they will “bombard the Obama administration with subpoenas.” Do not doubt that for a millisecond. Think that Republicans will jump right on stuff like jobs and the economy? Then you’re not very observant. They have other priorities, the same ones they’re been displaying for years now. They won’t change.

Most people think back on the 90’s and remember only Monica Lewinsky–and forget that Republicans were subpoena-happy back then, starting investigations at the drop of the slightest rumor. Every hint of scandal got a special prosecutor assigned, it seemed, and every rumor and conspiracy theory generated more hearings. Personal issues of staffers, hirings & firings, fundraising, investments–actual convictions were almost non-existent, but Republicans were probably happy spending most of their time abusing the legal system to search and dig and search and dig some more for any new dirt on the Clintons. For eight years, pretty much from day one to the day Clinton left office and beyond, Republicans engineered a non-stop barrage of smears, accusations, and prosecutions. Think I’m exaggerating? Republican Rep. Dan Burton issued more than a thousand subpoenas against Clinton and/or Democrats between 1997 and 2002.

The Democrats investigated the Bush administration only with great reluctance and deference, allowing them to testify without being under oath even with incredibly serious issues to deal with–torture, violating the Constitution, a complete failure to act to stop 9/11 despite a good deal of warning and evidence it was coming. Bush was never investigated for a host of very serious and very real scandals that dwarf the Clinton investigations in scope and scale. The fact that the Dems, despite having both houses of Congress and the White House, pretty much completely laid off the Bush administration after it departed, will have absolutely no influence on Republicans should they gain the House and the power to start another 90’s style tidal wave of phoney-baloney investigations. My guess is that they privately see the Democratic reluctance as idiotic weakness–a weakness they do not suffer from.

Already many have promised the return of the non-stop investigations–Darrel Issa, Michele Bachmann, James Clyburn, Jim Sensenbrenner and more–including the man who would be speaker, Boehner himself–have pledged outright that the barrage will start from day one, and they’re serious. And we’re not talking about real stuff, remember; unlike the Clintons, Obama doesn’t have much in the way of actual scandal. So the Republicans are going to sink even deeper into conspiracy-theory territory than they did in the 90’s. Obama’s birth certificate? Subpoenas! ACORN? Who cares if it doesn’t even exist anymore? More subpoenas! Remember those “Climategate” emails that were debunked? There will be investigations! The Stimulus? Subpoenas! Health care reform? Subpoenas! TARP? Subpoenas! Wait, aren’t those just Obama’s policies? No, they’re Obama’s scandals!!

Investigate! Investigate them all! Subpoena every piece of paper in D.C.! You think Obama doesn’t have any scandals? Well, just you wait–we’ll make it seem like he does! People will say, “With all those allegations, he’s bound to be guilty of some of them!” And who knows, maybe we’ll get lucky and actually find something they did wrong–and then we’ll make the investigations before that look like a freaking boy scout jamboree! If there’s one thing Republicans are good at, it’s smearing and creating the impression that something or someone they don’t like is corrupt. With legal powers to issue subpoenas, they will be gaining a weapon of credence to make those smears look like legitimate legal claims.

Now, ask yourself–is this an equivalency thing? Are the Dems just as bad? Let’s see: when Obama and the Dems took office, did they immediately start to investigate Republicans and abuse their subpoena power to discredit Republican policies? Hell, no. They jumped out the starting gate and passed the stimulus–and saved millions of jobs.

If you vote for the Republicans because you think the Democrats have failed and the Republicans will get results, then I’m sorry, but you’re a flaming idiot. There is simply no kind way to put that, but it must be said. Republicans will investigate (ample evidence above), they will grandstand (pass bills they know will fail, and never make realistic compromises), and they will obstruct (use the House in addition to the filibuster), and make things even worse than they are now.

Democrats, get off your asses and vote. I don’t give a crap if you’re disappointed–if you fail to vote, to vote in great numbers, then you will be horrified at the depth and scale of your error a year from now.

The choice is clear: one party is trying to dig the country out of the ditch, and the other one is trying to dig the ditch deeper so the ones trying to get us out look bad. Which way do you want to go?

2010Gop

2010Dem

By the way, feel free to copy, re-use, and distribute the above graphics. Attribution would be nice but not necessary.

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