Lieberman's Weak Record on Oversight
By Jason Leopold
ConsortiumNews.com
November 13, 2008
Most of the attention on whether Joe Lieberman should be ousted from his Senate committee chairmanship has focused on his disloyalty to Democrats and his control of homeland security issues, but there’s also the question of how well he has handled his panel’s broad government oversight responsibilities.
In contrast to his House counterpart, Rep. Henry Waxman, who has chaired dozens of high-profile hearings on the Bush administration’s wrongdoing the past two years, Sen. Lieberman has not held a single hearing on Executive Branch malfeasance nor has he issued any subpoenas demanding information from the administration.
That means Lieberman’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has passed over for hearings issues such as warrantless domestic surveillance, Iraq contracting fraud, “enhanced interrogation” of detainees, and the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.
Lieberman has seemed determined to ignore issues that put Bush – and especially his “war on terror” – in a negative light. In 2007, Lieberman did hold one hearing on "reconstruction challenges in both Iraq and Afghanistan."
A lifelong Democrat, Lieberman alienated many in the rank-and-file with his enthusiastic support for Bush’s “war on terror” and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2006, Connecticut Democrats rejected Lieberman as the party’s Senate nominee, but he kept his seat by running and winning as an Independent who promised to caucus with the Democrats.
(More here.)
ConsortiumNews.com
November 13, 2008
Most of the attention on whether Joe Lieberman should be ousted from his Senate committee chairmanship has focused on his disloyalty to Democrats and his control of homeland security issues, but there’s also the question of how well he has handled his panel’s broad government oversight responsibilities.
In contrast to his House counterpart, Rep. Henry Waxman, who has chaired dozens of high-profile hearings on the Bush administration’s wrongdoing the past two years, Sen. Lieberman has not held a single hearing on Executive Branch malfeasance nor has he issued any subpoenas demanding information from the administration.
That means Lieberman’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has passed over for hearings issues such as warrantless domestic surveillance, Iraq contracting fraud, “enhanced interrogation” of detainees, and the bungled response to Hurricane Katrina.
Lieberman has seemed determined to ignore issues that put Bush – and especially his “war on terror” – in a negative light. In 2007, Lieberman did hold one hearing on "reconstruction challenges in both Iraq and Afghanistan."
A lifelong Democrat, Lieberman alienated many in the rank-and-file with his enthusiastic support for Bush’s “war on terror” and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. In 2006, Connecticut Democrats rejected Lieberman as the party’s Senate nominee, but he kept his seat by running and winning as an Independent who promised to caucus with the Democrats.
(More here.)
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