HOUSE REPUBLICANS AS OBSTRUCTIONIST AND CONTEMPTUOUS OF DEMOCRACY AS THEIR SENATE COUNTERPARTS

Yesterday I wrote a short piece called "NOT ONE REPUG VOTED IN FAVOR OF ESTABLISHING AN INDEPENDENT NON-PARTISAN COMMISSION TO INVESTIGATE KATRINA AFTERMATH." Which was basically a quick rant about how the Senate Republicans are desperate to cover Bush's ass in the wake of his criminal negligence around Katrina and therefor voted en masse-- with the only non-nay GOP vote coming from Louisiana's disgraceful David Vitter who abstained-- to block a non-partisan independent investigation in favor of a committee whose results they can determine.

Just a matter of hours later their brothers and sisters in the House shoveled out more of the same in regard to Bush's disastrous war in Iraq. If you want to go back to the August Archives, there's a piece called "SOME DEMOCRATS DO CHALLENGE BUSH'S PUSH TOWARDS FASCISM" (August 29) which talks about Barbara Lee offering a "Resolution of Inquiry" that would force BushCo to reveal all the dubious shenanigans they were up to in regard to the propaganda campaign in the build up to the attack on and occupation of Iraq. Much of this comes under the heading "the Downing Street memos." Bush, of course, is as likely to give this up as Cheney is going to let us know how much of the Bush Regime's so-called "energy policy" was dictated by Ken Lay and other BushCheney campaign high rollers.

Anyway, yesterday House Repugs killed the attempts of Democrats (and a Republican or two) to look at the documents on the Iraq invasion and on Karl Rove's decision to illegally expose CIA operative Valerie Plame. The party-line votes to kill the inquiries in the House Judiciary Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, insure that they will not be publicly debated on the House floor. DeLay and his capos are desperate to avoid either of these crucial matters coming before the whole House because they fear there are enough Republicans either sick of Bush's lies and manipulations in regard to Iraq and the Plame case (or who are just in fear of being defeated by disgruntled voters in 2006) to guarantee that one could succeed-- something that would be a death blow to whatever is left of the Bush Regime's credibility.