If the Republicans win the House in November, which now seems likely, word is out they mean to attack the President by subpoenaing documents related to his administration’s actions and policies since coming into office. The aim here is two-fold: embarrass and weaken the president in preparation for his 2012 reelection bid; and distract the public from a deep recession for which the Republicans have no real cures.
This is dirty politics, of course. But so what. As Harry Truman trenchantly noted: “If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.” The question now is whether the Democrats will respond by playing their usual masochistic role, squealing about the unfairness of it all to an uncaring public, or maybe, just maybe, this time around taking a simple preemptive step that frustrates yet another Republican political coup.
Here’s what might accomplish that. After losing the House there’s a couple of months of a lame duck session during which the Democrats will still control doings in that chamber. So why not during this period do their own subpoenaing? Why not demand documents from the Bush and Cheney years, which they could have done in the last year and a half but didn’t?
There’s 100 percent certainty, nay, a 1,000 percent certainty, that the Republican leadership will howl at the inequity of this, and tie it up in court for the short period until Republicans take actual control of the House in January and these subpoenas are squelched. Which is fine. Because the squelchers will then not have the political cover to do their expected subpoena number on Obama and Company. Even down in the Beltway rabbit hole, such a no-for-us but yes-for-you attack won’t wash.
Please, Mr. President, please Speaker Pelosi, do not play the noble abused victim yet again. Bite ’em on the foot before they bite you on the butt. The only good defense in the town that decency forgot is a nasty, no holds barred offense.
In the coming embarrassment play, the party that subpoenas first, wins.
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