Dysfunctional Republicans

Washington, D.C.

SEN. Fred Thompson’s Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with investigating the DNC/Asian fundraising scandal, which is supposed to be an enormous Democratic vulnerability—but you’d never guess it from Democrats’ and Republicans’ respective behavior. At the end of January Democrats turned what is typically a pro-forma committee organizational session into a street fight on the ground-rules of the investigation. They demanded that the scope of the investigation be broadened to include GOP organizations, and won Republican agreement. They demanded procedural safeguards for themselves, and got them. They forced a party-line vote on the committee’s budget (Republicans voted for $6.5 million, Democrats $1.8 million), and now threaten a filibuster on the Senate floor if Republicans dare stick to their number.

Washington, D.C.

SEN. Fred Thompson’s Governmental Affairs Committee is charged with investigating the DNC/Asian fundraising scandal, which is supposed to be an enormous Democratic vulnerability—but you’d never guess it from Democrats’ and Republicans’ respective behavior. At the end of January Democrats turned what is typically a pro-forma committee organizational session into a street fight on the ground-rules of the investigation. They demanded that the scope of the investigation be broadened to include GOP organizations, and won Republican agreement. They demanded procedural safeguards for themselves, and got them. They forced a party-line vote on the committee’s budget (Republicans voted for $6.5 million, Democrats $1.8 million), and now threaten a filibuster on the Senate floor if Republicans dare stick to their number.