Congress Will Test Obama’s New Tone
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on January 23rd, 2009 5:38 am by HL
Congress Will Test Obama’s New Tone 
President Barack Obama has called for an end to “the petty grievances” and “recriminations” of Washington. John Conyers intends to find out if the new president really means it. Mr. Conyers, the powerful chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has spent years gearing up for a Bush administration witch hunt. Backed by a mob of congressional liberals, outside groups, and the New York Times, he’s counting on this new president to play along with payback. Consider it the first test of Mr. Obama’s promise of a new civility. Mr. Conyers’s own notion of civility has included holding no less than 70 hearings into Bush programs. Last year, he and 55 House Democrats demanded the Justice Department appoint a special prosecutor to conduct a criminal investigation into Bush interrogation policies. This year, they expect the incoming administration to finally give them satisfaction. Mr. Conyers also just introduced legislation to establish a Soviet-style “truth commission” to investigate (for starters) interrogations, wiretapping, Valerie Plame, Iraq intelligence, and the firing of U.S. attorneys. The body would be vested with a big budget and subpoena power. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, with no hint of a smirk, explained her party had a duty to the “truth.”
