Ryan J. Reilly, now at TPM, reports on the conservative controlled U.S. Civil Rights Commission's latest attempt to prolong the manufactured, partisan controversy over the New Black Panther Party case. The conservative partisans on the commission--both Democratic commissioners and Abigail Thernstrom voted against the recommendation--are asking Congress to give the commission power to appoint a special prosecutor to sue the Justice Department:
Under the Commission's proposal, Congress would amend the body's statute so that it can request the Attorney General appoint a special prosecutor or allow the Commission to hire its own counsel to represent it in court when there is a conflict of interest, including in the New Black Panther Party case.
So let's put this all in perspective. Despite coming out against financial reform and health care reform because of their meager efforts increase diversity or ameliorate racial health care disparities, this commission hasn't held a real field hearing exploring any major civil rights issues around the country since 2001 because the process is "time consuming." Now they want Congress to give them more legal power to investigate the Justice Department's handling of a voter intimidation case in which no voters were actually intimidated. The reason they don't already have those powers is because this isn't actually what the commission is supposed to be doing.
