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The Corner
President-elect Barack Obama may not have seriously vetted New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) for his selection as Commerce secretary, Byron York proposes after reading a Washington Post report that Richardson downplayed the significance of the investigation that led him to withdraw his name. ... READ MORE

Daily Kos
Democrat Al Franken is playing it safe by staying in Minnesota after declaring victory over incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), but that's not enough to keep RNC Chairman Robert "Mike" Duncan from accusing him of stealing Coleman's Senate seat through ... READ MORE

Townhall.com
Caroline Kennedy's Senate campaign has tanked, Amanda Carpenter proclaims after a new Public Policy Polling survey reported that 44 percent of New Yorkers have a "lesser" opinion of her than before she announced her desire to fill Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's (D-N.Y.) ... READ MORE

Firedoglake
Though Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) may have protested the pick, former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta will serve the nation well as CIA director, Attaturk proposes, noting Panetta's rejection of torture. Lisa Derrick, meanwhile, calls Levi Johnston, ... READ MORE

RedState
It's not hard to understand why President-elect Barack Obama would pick former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who has no direct intelligence experience, to head the CIA, given that Obama himself won the White House with no executive ... READ MORE

TalkingPointsMemo
President-elect Barack Obama and his team may have made a mistake by not calling Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the incoming head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, to tell her that former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta would be ... READ MORE

Power Line
President-elect Barack Obama's decision to tap former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, who has no direct intelligence experience, as head of the CIA may have cemented the agency's role as a political entity rather than an intelligence-gathering one, Paul ... READ MORE

MyDD
Though President-elect Barack Obama is taking some criticism for naming former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta--who has no direct intelligence experience--to head the CIA, it should be noted that several of his predecessors at the agency similarly lacked ... READ MORE

The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post's banner headline this morning tells readers that President-elect Barack Obama, by picking former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta and retired Admiral Dennis Blair to serve as head of the CIA and director of national intelligence, has made ... READ MORE

Drudge Report
The Drudge Report leads with a photo of storm clouds over the Capitol and a story telling readers that the Senate, on its first day of work in 2009, faces controversy over whether former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris and comedian Al ... READ MORE

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June 18, 2008

Issa Invokes Russert to Push for Offshore Drilling

@ 4:52 pm by Andy Barr

California Congressman Darrell Issa (R) said Wednesday that Tim Russert, the recently deceased host of “Meet the Press,” would reveal “the truth” about the offshore oil drilling ban if he were still alive.

“I think Tim Russert would have been just the right guy to hold people accountable who would talk about the 68 million acres that are ‘inactive’ when in fact 41 million are under current lease and use and are producing millions of barrels of natural gas and oil a day,” Issa said on the House floor.

“I’m going to miss Tim Russert because this debate is too important not to have a fact oriented, unbiased moderator who can in fact bring to bear the truth that we need to have.”

The decades old federal ban on offshore drilling has become a hot political topic in recent days after John McCain called for a lift of the ban Tuesday. President Bush put pressure on Congress to lift the ban Wednesday, calling the ban “outdated and unproductive.”

Democratic leaders have expressed skepticism that the plan would lower energy prices.

“Despite what President Bush, John McCain and their friends in the oil industry claim, we cannot drill our way out of this problem,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said.

Russert's memorial service was held Wednesday as well at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

6 Comments »

The Hill welcomes comment from anyone and will almost always post it whether it is favorable or critical, as long as it is substantive and advances debate.
  1. […] Tim Russert on the day of his funeral, California Rep. Darrell Issa (R), called for the revocation of the offshore oil drilling ban. As congressmen shared their memories of the late NBC newsman, Issa used his time on the floor to […]

    Pingback by Russert Would've Wanted Offshore Drilling, Says Congressman Issa (VIDEO) - Politics on The Huffington Post — June 18, 2008 @ 7:13 pm

  2. […] Congressman Darrell Issa couldn't even wait for Tim Russert to be put in the ground before exploiting his death for political gain: “I think Tim Russert would have been just the right guy to hold people accountable who would […]

    Pingback by crazydrumguy | readblog | » GOP Rep. Issa: Russert Would Have Supported Offshore Drilling — June 18, 2008 @ 10:04 pm

  3. […] episode we learn that Darrell Issa has a special ability to channel the late newsman from the sweet hereafter and convey his views about offshore […]

    Pingback by One Thousand and One Uses for Tim Russert | Bloggers For Change — June 18, 2008 @ 10:21 pm

  4. How very low can the slimeball republicans go?Issa is a creep to even utter the great Tim Russert's name……….Tim was a democrat…..would not endorse a republican "dirty proposal."

    Comment by jeanetra ott — June 19, 2008 @ 2:26 pm

  5. Ken Williamson makes so good points about this on http://www.posterspost.com.

    He makes a good case for drilling.

    The point is, we have no choice but to drill if we continue driving our vehicles.

    Comment by Sam — June 21, 2008 @ 3:50 pm

  6. It's too bad Gandhi is dead, he would have been the perfect person to call Issa a sleazebag.

    Comment by Sean — July 16, 2008 @ 12:39 pm

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