Darrell Issa: My Job is to Make the President a Success
**Written by Doug Powers
Of all the things I feared hearing this morning, including “oops, we goofed, Alan Grayson actually won” and “I’ve never seen a patient who got poison ivy there, Mr. Powers,” something like this was at the top of the list:
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who will have far-ranging subpoena power in the new Congress as a result of Tuesday’s election, is going out of his way to dispel perceptions that he’s a partisan bombthrower who plans to use his newfound authority to paralyze President Barack Obama’s administration.
“I want to prove the pundits wrong. My job is not to bring down the president. My job is to make the president a success,” Issa said on a midnight conference call with reporters, just after House Minority Leader John Boehner’s victory speech.
My Slurpee just boiled over.
It’s the Democrats who are supposed to shove the olive branch, Rep. Issa — we don’t want you to serve your own to them complete with a candlelight dinner and a lightly chilled bottle of chardonnay.
That isn’t what yesterday was about. As you can see, this isn’t going to be easy.
Update: Issa’s last three tweets:
About last night 4: “About last night 1, 2, and 3″ are meaningless if the focus is remotely on “making the president a success” or “proving the pundits wrong.”
**Written by Doug Powers
Twitter @ThePowersThatBe
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It seems, sadly, the GOP majority will last only until the 2012 election and only delay our coming socialist paradise, then its full speed ahead.
Time for a new conservative party. Now.
Somebody needs to have a word with Mr. Issa.
On the other hand, maybe he’s up to something already and he’s giving them a head fake. I can have hope too you know.
These guys get elected throwing bombs and then once elected feel obligated to bend over backwards to prove that they didn’t mean it. Sure sign that one of two things are true: 1) that the politician is a brazen pathological liar/sociopath and/or 2) that the politician is living in a hermetically-sealed bubble completely detached from the real world.
No, you farking moron, your job is to protect, defend, and follow the Constitution.
1.Delta.10.Tango.
“Oh please liberal media, please tell me I’m cool! I can make you proud, honest!”
Start burning Issa’s phones, fax and e-mail! Rush had him on the ropes last week and Issa was stammering worse than Elmer Fudd, claiming that he wasn’t going to compromise.
Send this guy a dead fish in a newspaper. NO COMPROMISE with the Dems. In the words of our great Precedent “We Won.”
Let them moderate their positions. If Issa doesn’t wise up, let the Tea Party primary his a$$ in 2012.
I cannot believe they have started already. YIKES!!!
NO REACHING ACROSS THE AISLE!!!! NO BI-PARTISAN CRAPOLA!!!
Bi-partisan only means the Repubs will CAVE into the demands of the DEMON-NUTS.
STOP IT!
So why was he running as a republican again? Sheesh. This guy makes Juan McCain look conservative.
The point of power is to simply and effectively use it, not to talk about it. As opposed to many Democrats, Issa understands this basic concept.
Oh, c’mon, people. That was words. Political words.
I’ll wait to make any judgments about how squishy Issa and others will really be when I see their actions.
Ummm, Representative Issa – you realize that this election was simply phase I, right?
Clearly.
No, it appears he isn’t just going to compromise, he’s going to appease and go along and just smooooth out the rough edges of liberal legistation to make it palatable for the GOP to approve.
Now then, why didn’t he say this on Nov.1st so that voters across CA could have known and held his feet to the fire? I hate to start off a win by throwing ice on it, but this guy should have been shown the door….yesterday.
Apparantly Issa wants the olive branch inserted into him, he’ll just have to tilt his head a little to one side.
What do you expect? He’s from California.
So communism is your goal also?
Darrell Issa, your “job” has nothing to do with making the president successful in any way. Your job is to defend and protect our constitution, and to legislate in accordance to its dictates. If you have a problem with that, then there’s the door.
To paraphrase the “reverend” Jeremiah Wright: “I’m sick and tired of RINOs who just do not get it!”
Jackasses, you’re fired.
RINO’s, you’re on probation.
Somebody slap Issa up side the head with the Constitution. Our socialist/marxist POTUS can’t be allowed to push us any further away from the our principles.
REALLY? ? ? ?
Is that why I’ve made two trips to DC and burned up phone lines and internet connections?
NO IT WAS NOT!
I WANT THE MARXIST STOPPED!
Unfortunately, Mr. Issa is correct. Recall that Bill Clinton ended up with all the credit for what the Republican Congress forced upon him, which resulted in those great budget surpluses. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Democrat Congress screwed up things during Bush the Elder’s term, and George paid the price. So if Issa and the Republican House turn around the economy, reduce the deficit and reduce unemployment, guess who will make sure he takes all the credit for himself? None other than the biggest self-promoter ever to occupy the White House.
I’m giving Issa the benefit of the doubt. Those are only words to prvent the GOP from looking as vindictive as the Dems looked after taking Congress during Bush.
I think Issa will go after Obama pretty hard and his quote is a polite way of saying he will make Obama follow the rules and behave responsibly.
I could be wrong.
About what I expected from the Gang of Prostitutes.
We need a new party, folks. This is just one more confirmation that there’s one big government socialist party with two divisions, R & D.
If we want to get back to the Constitution, it’ll take being represented by people who believe in it.
GOP-RIP
Nobody here gets it. We, meaning the Tea Party, lost yesterday.
In this counterwave election, a natural and unremarkable reaction to the big Democrat gains of 2006 and 2008, Tea Party Senate candidates Buck, Angle, Miller, Raese and O’Donnell all went down to defeat.
So exactly why should the RINO’s fear the Tea Party? At all?
We failed to hurt them even in a year like this one.
You got Toomey and Rubio, though. Angle, Miller and O’Donnell’s loss had less to do with their politics and more for the fact that they were personally not very good candidates, or campaigners, at all.
Riiight. That’ll really work. Did you not see what just happened to our candidates when they actually ran in the general elections?
They got smoked.
So now you want to split those votes between the GOP and your new third party?
Forgot about Rand. Him too.
This has been my biggest fear for after the election. This is going to be painful to watch.
True. But this was supposed to be a landslide. Our landslide.
And of course we fielded some candidates who were a bit more rough around the edges. That is what a People’s Rebellion against the ruling elite always looks like.
Rubio won, Paul won. I think the Tea Party is just getting started. Can’t win all the battles, but you might as well savor those that you did win, and continue to fight the good fight.
RINOs are now on Double-Secret probation.
I *do* understand the frustration/consternation at the curious choice of words.
Yet *perhaps* – as this *is* coming from the Upcoming Subpoena Meister – this is merely a gesture of graciousness, to counteract any complaints of expected gloating/celebrating/threatening.
I agree it may not have been necessary to say this, but I see it moreso as a difussion technique.
Mike Lee, Utah
And all the other true conservative candidates. Just because they were clearly Id’d as Tea Party candidates does not mean we didn’t put a boatload of them over the top.
No, we just need to move on to phase two of retaking control of our party. I learned yesterday that MANY MANY people vote straight GOP just because they always have with no regard to the names on the ballot.
This was just the first step.
Call Issa’s office at 202-225-3906. I told his staffer he better knock this craps off.
Every time these people say stupid stuff, call ‘em. We cannot let this opportunity fail.
I’m not saying we should give up. I’m just pointing out we have given the RINO’s no real reason to fear us the way we had hoped. So do not get your hopes up regarding the next two years.
Sure, we beat them in many of the primaries, but when we go on to lose many of those general elections to the Democrats, we make the case for the RINO’s that the GOP voters should have voted for the ‘more electable’ candidates.
So it will be harder to get conservative voters who are on the fence to pick our candidate in the primary.
Yes, and Rand. So I suppose actually saying we lost is going overboard, but it was still disappointing.
I came to CA a Jerry Brown supporter, but by 1982 I loathed him. As much as any one person was responsible for turning me against the Left, it was Governor Moonbeam.
I suppose my extreme disappointment here in California might be getting to me. So I’ll shut up.
Rubio won, Paul won, & Toomey won as well.
Republicans won 60 seats in the house.
Yesterday was a huge win, Roland. Did we win everything we wanted? Of course not, but it was a damn good start. Buck up!
In addition to the U.S. House, lots of State seats were picked up yesterday, and that’s where you grow the next crop. Good people from there go on to bigger and better. It’s a long-term process.
Unseating an incumbent isn’t easy – yesterday wasn’t bad.
A few notes – no previous witches please. Do not let the press make masturbation the issue. No self-important multi-millionaires who are only picked because they are self-financing. No CEOs who ran their companies into the ground, then claim business experience…
But I digress. It was a pretty good day considering that two years ago a majority of the voters picked a muslim-sympathizing Marxist to be President, and an idiot to be Vice President.
One of the reasons that some of those Tea Party candidates lost was that they were fighting against both the Democrat Party and the GOP.
The GOP elite (Rove,etc) did everything they could to undermine Miller, O’Donnell, Angle, and Paul.
Against both establishments, we did pretty good.
The GOP will become the third party once it becomes clear to everyone that they are working for the same goals as the commun, er Democrats.
I think now is the time to get started on primary opponents to all those RINO’s in the House and Senate that kept their seats, as well, of course, as all the democrat seats.
Yesterday was only Round 1. Find good opponents NOW, vet them mercilessly, then get behind them. 2012 is closer than we think.
You RINO commenters who see yesterday as a defeat for the Tea Party are really obtuse. Listen to what your RINO leaders are messaging today. Monday, we were outsiders cussing at them off stage. Today, we are on the stage shoulder-to-shoulder and face-to-face with them. And we are determined to push them off of the stage.
Yeah, we suffered a catastrophic defeat. Hahahahahaha!!!!!
What are things Darrell Issa and Chris Matthews have in common?
I’ll take I shouldn’t have said that for $400, Alex.
I voted for Rubio, West, and Scott. All three won. Who’d you vote for?
I might suggest that Issa and all those r’s in dc join Michele Bachmann’s Constitution Caucus. If it isn’t in our Constitution, don’t vote for it! If those in dc who have done things that isn’t in the Constitution, find out why(aka not defending our borders, suing a state for doing the job the feds should be doing) and have hearings. We voted yesterday to try to see our Republic gets back to what our Founder’s gave us.
L
Exactly right. The GOP was no help to the candidates they didn’t like. What they did was to insult the voters’ choices. The more I hear from Rove, the more I want him to go away too. He’s getting as tedious as the dem’s spin misters.
We put some good young conservatives in the pipeline. Rinse and repeat in 2012, 2014… This isn’t a one election deal.
Again, slam the go-along-get-along when ever they say something stupid. Every one here should get on the horn to Issa.
Just tweated the dope.
It didn’t take long, did it, for the GOP to start caving in. I’d say Rep. Issa needs a new assignment or an attitude readjustment.
Issa is simply setting the stage to use an ice pick in between the ribs.
“All warfare is based on deception.”
What Issa said was brilliant. Think of the MSM’s reaction if he had said what you would like him to say. He’s just “shaping the battlefield.”
Michelle, enjoy your Slurpee. It is just fine.
Sorry about that.
There. Fixed it for you. Heck, even Rush isn’t holding back anymore.
Bear in mind that Issa’s district is in the coastal zone, which means a little more surfer-dude and a little less NASCAR than you may want. Give him a break – he has to keep the hippies from revolting. As far as replacing him – consider the alternative that we had: HOWARD KATZ. Want to mount a campaign to Issa’s right? Consider this: Richest Members of Congress 2009. Hope you have a nice piggy bank.
“The President will be better served if he listens to the American people”
or something like that… says it much better and puts it on Obama. Republicans must master the language of “We own Washington now” without saying it directly. It consistently makes Obama and the Democrats look bad.
Floating the “President… success” just sending the wrong message regardless of intent.
Actions louder than words. Let’s keep our eyes open and watch Issa carefully.
That’s exactly what Chrissy Mathews said right after obama got elected. That it was his job to make sure this President was a success.
National Republican Senatorial Committee betrayed O’Donnell and Joe Miller-
rove ‘dissed’ Palin and other strong R women-
issa is now throwing in the ‘olive branch’-
republican elites-guess the message we sent was not received!
RINOs- out!
Carol-CS
man there are some hyperbolic reactions on here. Let’s judge by his actions not his rhetoric.
Taking a concillitory tone on election eve isn’t a bad strategy. What Issa said in no way makes me think he wouldn’t turn the screws on Democrats who run afoul of the law or ethical requirments.
Making sure the President is a success to me means “Making sure the President follows the Constitution and the law.” He puts it in a way that the media can’t paint as extreme.
Relax people. I don’t think Issa is going to be a Ozombie.
also keep in mind that that Republicans in CA got their butts handed to us. We elected Brown, Boxer, all D’s on statewide races, likely failed to flip hopeful house districts, eliminated a 2/3rds majority for a budget and we failed to repeal our stifiling state carbon limits. So the political climate here is very different than the rest of the world. Last night, CA basically handed the keys to the public employee unions who own the Democrats. There will be no real reform on education, border security, or the pension catasptrophe. The only plus is that it is all on the Dems and the ship is sunk.
Let me see if I understand Mr Issa.
Converatives came out in droves to put the Republican party in charge of taking our country back.
Issa immediately gives us the finger.
We conservatives lead with your heads and continue to not understand how we end up looking like crap and having two black eyes. We revere Reagan and should. I also revere Nixon. He knew how to deal with snakes. The MSM are not our friends. We need to be as Sun Tzu once said, “Without discernable shape.”
Personally, I think this approach is deliciously devious. Issa may prove me wrong, but I really do not think so.
Gearing up to go RINO hunting in 2012.
Tell Issa “you can’t make a silk purse out of a sows ear!!
The only way you can do that is to make him a TEA Party Conservative.
Good luck with that.
Wait. This thread is about Michelle O?
Issa’s clueless remark is a stunning reminder (in case any were needed) that there are still plenty of RINO’s stumbling through the Serengeti. With the help of MM, Doug, and others, we need to keep a VERY CLOSE EYE on our friends AND our opponents.
Go in 2011. RINO’s need to be shot during primary season. We don’t want any of them standing in 2012.
Prior to this statement show me one ACTION Issa has taken to make him a RINO? Is Phil sharing the Kool Aid today?
One little thing rubs us raw and we all start running around threatening and screaming RINO. Not a recommneded response. I suggest we wait and see.
We have to stop the lame duck session first. Lots of potential damage that can be done there. Reid and Pelosi still are in charge and they are a wounded animal.
Helping the President succeed implies helping him to “fundamentally transform” America.
That’s what we are desperately trying to stop. We don’t want him to succeed in “transforming” our country to his vision of the People’s Paradise of the former USA.
Some of loved the country the way it was BO (before Obama).
How stupid is ISSA? Seriously?
Too many of these idiots have been in Congress too long! He proves that 10 years is just too long.
Your job is to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States!
It is that simple. If you don’t know that then you should resign and go home.
I totally agree, but wouldn’t you also agree that Issa is a bit tone deaf, not thinking through how his statements sound to an energized and attentive base? In a way, it’s a self-inflicted wound that could’ve been avoided by about 3 mins worth of wordsmithing:
In other words, his concern in that quote seems to be around countering the media narrative that the GOP goal is “obstruction” with a positive spin on their agenda. He could easily have done that without starting a panic, IMO.
I’ve been thinking about this lately. Reid was never a huge liberal in the past. He was had views more in common with Lieberman than with Pelosi. I suspect he bought into the whole “country is shifting left” business the MSM tried to sell us and decided that he was going to try to ride that wave to extend his political life. Specter used that same logic to a slightly different end.
Lieberman, on the other hand, watched the leftward lurch and realized he was now stuck in the middle and had more in common with the RINOs than the Dems.
I suspect that Reid’s original positions will take over and he’ll follow the pendulum swing back to the middle in an effort to save himself in the future.
I don’t think Reid is willing to go too far out on that lame duck limb.
Someone in Mr. Issa’s district – please inform him that helping Obama be “a success” is known (in therapy) as being “an enabler,” and as Obama’s “enabler,” Issa will next election be held as accountable as Obama, RINOs, and leftists for the damage done to the nation.
Of course, if Issa isn’t capable of understanding Tuesday’s vote as not wanting Obama to be “a success,” he’s equally incapable of comprehending what an “enabler” is, so save yourself a phone call and put his name on your list of people to vote against next election.
Well, just a minute here Mr. Powers, please.
Just WHO gets to decide the definition of “success” here. If Obama turns into a success by MY definition of the term I should complain? I think not.
I think that is also about as likely as a nitrocellulose cat surviving a blowtorch.
{^_-}
There is another theory.
The Dems may be employing the Clinton “politics of personal destruction” defense. If Issa has ANY skeletons in his closet you can bet someone is looking into them at this very minute. This would be typical Chicago politics. Look for it with ALL the new chairmen in the house. The Dems will use every dirty trick in the book the next two years.
Back in the days of Lil Abner in the funny pages, it was dogpatch’s idea that they sent the most useless, stupid individual in the town off to Washington D.C. just to be rid of him. Some days when I see Boxer, Murray, and Pelosi going to D.C. I think they may be right. But then again, it is California and California light.
Great, just what we need. More “strategery”. Because that worked SOOOO well for us the last time around.
How about just doing the right thing for a change? Or is that just a little too much of a brain strain for all the clever sophisticates among us?
I mean, really, when Obama tells his supporters that we’re his “enemies” who need to be “punished”, a reaction like Issa’s is just a way of saying, “Please! Slap us around some more! Yes, our self-respect really is that non-existent.”
HAHAHA!
Wow. Darrell Issa is on Real Time with Bill Maher right now.
I have to say, any worries I had about this guy, in such a critical position in the House, of being a bulldog are totally out the window. He is a puppy.