Kucinich Demands Retraction from Issa for Stimulus Barb
Sources familiar with the inner workings of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform say a letter from Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) to Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), in which Kucinich takes umbrage at comments made by Issa on CNN, is little more than an attempt to gain the ranking member slot when the change of power occurs in January. Issa is the presumptive committee chair.
The letter, which was sent on Nov. 11 and obtained by PJM, attempts to call Issa to task for saying the $787 billion stimulus amounted to little more than “walking around money” for Obama.
Sources close to the committee say Kucinich is simply trying to position himself as someone strong enough to stand up to Issa, who has reportedly run rings around Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), the current committee chairman and presumptive ranking member.
According to a story in the New York Daily News, congressional sources said some Democrats and the White House are worried Towns doesn’t have what it will take to counter Issa as chairman and are seeking his ouster.
In the way of Kucinich gaining the seat are Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-New York) and Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland).
Sources speaking on condition of anonymity say Maloney has made clear she wants either the No. 2 slot on Oversight or the No. 2 slot on Financial Services. Neither is a position she’s liable to get. The Congressional Black Caucus will resist her on Oversight, and to be the ranking member of Financial Services would require the ouster of Rep. Barney Frank — which is unlikely at best. Moreover, Cummings has let it be known he would like Towns’ job. Cummings is a power within the CBC and a leading candidate for the job if the 76-year-old Towns is shunted aside.
Enter Kucinich, who wants the job and is trying hard to show that he could restrain Issa. He is also trying to convince the Democrat leadership to take the hit with the CBC in order to put him in the job.
In the letter, Kucinich castigates Issa for using the term “walking around money”:
That term, as you may know, refers to the use by certain political campaigns of money for off-the-books, wholly unaccountable, and potentially illegal purposes. It does not begin to describe funds subject to the bimonthly scrutiny of the Government Accountability Office, which has issued no less than 10 reports on the use of stimulus funds; or the publications and websites of every Federal agency that committed stimulus funds; or the investigations and reports of the Inspectors General of those agencies; or the 50 state websites devoted to accounting for the use of stimulus funds in that state; or the various publications of the Council of State Governments; the U.S. Conference of Mayors, or the National Conference of State Legislatures.
I live in Ohio’s 10th Congressional District. As a consequence, I am quite familiar with Kucinich’s kooky ways. (I was also a resident of Cleveland proper decades ago, when Denny K made a mess of his brief tenure as the city’s “boy mayor.”)
My long experience with “Dennis the Menace” leads me to concur with those who see his recent letter to Congressman Issa as nothing more than a grandstanding ploy. Kucinich can’t easily run for president (yet again) in 2012 — in opposition to an incumbent from his own party.
So angling for a high-profile committee gig is probably the only option available to the spotlight-hungry, aging politician.
But, but, but… these things are carefully scrutinized by all these layers of government! You can TRUST the government! Yep, he’s a Dem. They do love the government, don’t they?
Kucinich is the guy who was living in his car in ’82, because he could not hold down a job in the private sector. The only steady employment he has ever had was as Mayor of Cleveland and as Congressman. But, his failure in the private sector cannot be HIS fault! He, himself, is awesome. It must be the system! Thus he embraces Marxist nonsense. He fortunately comes across as kooky, and so is not really dangerous.
It would be a boon to the nation if Dennis would go back to living in his car. Wait! He is so concerned about environmental issues and such, perhaps he should consider living on his bicycle. How does this goof-ball continue to get elected? He is so utterly useless that I cannot imagine any rational human voting for him.
It would be a boon to the nation if Dennis would go back to living in his car. Wait! He is so concerned about environmental issues and such, perhaps he should consider living on his bicycle.
Or, he should live in a van down by the river. (SNL reference)
As a resident of California, I wonder the same thing about boxer… how does she continue to get elected when she’s proven to be a crook.
Here in Ohio, Dennis the Menace throwing a tantrum on whatever subject is before the house is about as newsworthy as the revelation(s) that rain is wet, or snow is cold. Actually, Dennis has spent his entire career being indignant- mainly about the existence of people who do not think exactly like him.
The only good thing about Kucinich getting the slot he wants is that he will probably be at once so obnoxious and so bizarre in his demands for “vital spending” that he will probably do an even better job of discrediting the “progressive” philosophy on what to do with taxpayers’ money than The One, Pelosi, Reid, etc., already have.
From the standpoint of anyone who wonders what motivates progressives to consistently ignore reality in favor of their dogmas, Kucinich is a gift from on high. Simply because he never shuts up. If you want a spokesman for “progressivism” who does not understand the concept of “When you’re in a hole, stop digging”, Dennis is your man.
This new session promises to be even more entertaining than the election. So, who wants popcorn?
clear ether
eon
I’ve always thought of Dennis as Ralph Nader but without the humor.
Ralph Nader has humor??? NO WAY!!!
Nader was born without a sense of humor. Kucinich had his removed because it got in the way of being perpetually indignant about, well, everything. A small difference, but a rather significant one.
cheers
eon
“The letter, which was sent on Nov. 11 and obtained by PJM, attempts to call Issa to task for saying the $787 billion stimulus amounted to little more than “walking around money” for Obama.”
So, what’s wrong with this statement? I would go one step further. The only thing the $787 billion “stimulus” stimulated were a bunch of union jobs and a bunch of pork that the Democrats had been dreaming of since Obama came into office. It had absolutely NO effect on the economy or the unemployment rate. This is why the Democrats had to go into the lie of jobs “saved or created,” is figure nobody could measure or prove. If I were Issa, I would force Dennis Kucinich and all of the other Democrats responsible for this vote to defend it. Make them prove why this money wasn’t just thrown out the window, especially after Obama admitted to the New York Times that there was no such thing as a “Shovel-Ready Job,” which is how he sold this bill. I would love to see some Democrats try to explain that. They’ll probably choke on their own tongues if they tried.
A Democrat be truthful? From the inception of the party they have been allergic to the truth.
ALL of the money given away by the Democrat-controlled Congress and the Obama administration went to pay off Democrat constituencies for their support. GM was “given” to the auto unions and the NEA received billions while legitimate investors were aced out. Anyone paying attention can see that.
Nothing the Dems can do in committee. GOP will have the votes so all they have left is big mouthed Dem liberal crying about “children”, “racists” and that their coffee has gone cold.
If the $787 bil, or whatever it really is, is not “walking around money” then just where are the results? Same place as the recent Summer Stimulus funds I guess.
Give Kucinich a key spot, the worse the insanity the more the spotlight. Let the Normal People view another liberal[?] nut job.
Little Dennis suffers from a Napoleonic complex, except that Bonaparte was much taller. Cleveland voters had the opportunity to remove this worm from office and blew it. He outlived his right to continue to hold it many elections ago. The rest of Ohio voters threw most of the other bad politicians out of office. Cleveland’s next chance to show they have some intelligence in the voting booth will be 2012 when another radical liberal, Sherrod Brown, is up for re-election in the Senate.
Somebody get a net. Prince Mishkin’s on the loose again.
Somebody get a net. Prince Mishkin’s on the loose again.
To: The Honorable Dennis Kooknick
From: The Honorable Darrell Issa
Subject: Get a grip
Dennis,
Dude, you are such a horse’s ass!
Best wishes,
Darrell
If Dennis Kucinich wants to be taken seriously, he would not attack Issa over superfluous semantics; however, this is a trite political gimmick in a sad, pathetic attempt to raise his profile.
Dennis is a nutjob, plain and simple. With a Obama attention mentality. How does he keep getting elected? Is his district full of Crackheads?
Cummings at least might get some work done.
The only reason he seeks what Issa wants is so he can cover his tracks for the last 2 yrs. under Obama other than that do you think there’s any reason to want to be a do gooders for the general public like they all campaign on to get elected. He along with the CBC and others in their party are very afraid of Issa as I would be as well if I were in there shoes !!
Let the games (hearings) begin!
I already am enjoying Rangel’s ethics hearings. He can no longer afford a lawyer? It’s just an ethics hearing. If you weren’t such a crook, you wouldn’t need a lawyer.
Sic ‘em, Issa! Bring in Michelle Malkin to help. Lordy, but she goes after the rot!
Poor Charlie. Paid for his lawyers and then they walked out on him. Seems they should be charged with fraud too. Taking his money without defending him (what they were hired to do) is just as dishonest as the things he is charged with, and has admitted to doing. A crook being victimized by other crooks, er, lawyers.
One thing that really ticks me off about Dennis is———his wife!
My band got a gig playing an UAW picnic. Dennis was there to shake hands, as he was running for Mayor. I’m over 6’3″ tall. I shook that little twerp’s hand pulled him up close so he had to crane his pencil neck back to even see my face, and told him, “I’d never, ever vote for you.” Ya shoulda seen the look on his face!
Ouch! the truth hurts, little man.