TPM Reader EW has more on “dingbat oversight” …
Josh Marshall in his piece today, reflected on the Republicans obsession with sensational rather than substantive investigations. He was also right to point out that it isn’t just time and money they are wasting. These investigations function like a magician’s slight-of-hand deflecting the interest of the public from real issues.
On Wednesday, after meeting with Ambassador Rice, Senator Susan Collins was quoted on NPR as saying the events surrounding Ms. Rice’s appearances on the Sunday TV shows was “a tawdry affair.”
This struck me a strangely off-key. There may be many ways to describe what happened,
but “tawdry”–usually defined as gaudy or cheap–was not one of them.I think that Senator Collins, like her compatriots from New Hampshire, South Carolina and Arizona, long for the good old days, when a word like tawdry really did apply. O, for the glory days of endless Clinton “investigations.”
On Fox, Bengazi and “impeachment” were linked weeks ago. The first thing Senator McCain asked for was a joint special committee. Too bad the special prosecutor is no more.
They know that they aren’t likely to catch the President in the same trap that got Clinton, but they think if they can just keep throwing enough mud, something will stick. It worked last time.
Last week the movie, “Wag the Dog” was showing on one of the movie channels.
It was released at at time when Washington was focused on impeaching the President. At the same time, Osama Bin Ladin was getting his act together.
Serious attempts by the Clinton administration to address the growing threat were dismissed in media circles as “wag the dog” diversionary tactics.
Who knows what new problems will go un-addressed, while Republican senators going on another multi-year fishing expedition.
