A SLIGHT OVERSIGHT. Paul Krugman‘s column today makes the obvious but always crucial point about what’s at stake in three weeks:
There are two reasons why party control is everything in this election.
The first, lesser reason is the demonstrated ability of Republican Congressional leaders to keep their members in line, even those members who cultivate a reputation as moderates or mavericks. G.O.P. politicians sometimes make a show of independence, as Senator John McCain did in seeming to stand up to President Bush on torture. But in the end, they always give the White House what it wants: after getting a lot of good press for his principled stand, Mr. McCain signed on to a torture bill that in effect gave Mr. Bush a completely free hand.
And if the Republicans retain control of Congress, even if it�s by just one seat in each house, Mr. Bush will retain that free hand. If they lose control of either house, the G.O.P. juggernaut will come to a shuddering halt.
Yet that�s the less important reason this election is all about party control. The really important reason may be summed up in two words: subpoena power…
The current Congress has shown no inclination to investigate the Bush administration. Last year The Boston Globe offered an illuminating comparison: when Bill Clinton was president, the House took 140 hours of sworn testimony into whether Mr. Clinton had used the White House Christmas list to identify possible Democratic donors. But in 2004 and 2005, a House committee took only 12 hours of testimony on the abuses at Abu Ghraib.
If the Democrats take control, that will change — and voters should think very hard about whether they want that change. Those who think it�s a good idea to investigate, say, allegations of cronyism and corruption in Iraq contracting should be aware that any vote cast for a Republican makes Congressional investigations less likely. Those who believe that the administration should be left alone to do its job should be aware that any vote for a Democrat makes investigations more likely.
On that note, my boss Bob Kuttner has a feature in the October print issue of the Prospect that offers, I think, a pretty definitive overview of the American tradition of congressional oversight and the breakdown of that oversight over the last six years, as well as a thorough rundown of what we might be able to expect in terms of hearings and investigations from a Democratic majority armed with subpoena power. It’s highly worth a read.
–Sam Rosenfeld