NYT's Oversight Investigations Lobbyists Would Love to See

Over the weekend, the New York Times ran a column from Brian Friel, who usually writes at Congressional Quarterly, about what investigations people can expect once Republicans take control of the House in January 2011.  Friel ran down a fairly commonplace list of controversies that new chair Darrell Issa has already discussed publicly as concerns, such as the White House offers to Joe Sestak and Andrew Romanoff to exit their primaries, the Friends of Angelo program, climate-change science and its influence on policy, and especially the Department of Justice’s handling of the New Black Panther Party voter-intimidation case and the possibility that officials committed perjury and obstruction of justice in the initial probe into the issue, although Friel fails to mention that aspect of the probe.

Friel apparently didn’t think too much of these subjects for investigation, because after listing them, he wrote a section titled “INVESTIGATIONS WE COULD REALLY USE.”  He consulted with  “14 good-government watchdogs — veterans of the oversight process, former public officials and academics” to produce his alternative list, which include some worthy subjects such as Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, but mainly touch on subjects and issues that already belong to other committees, such as Veterans Health, agency performance, and the very process of oversight itself in Congress.  Not much of this has to do with the executive branch or holding it accountable for abuses of power.

Perhaps the clue as to why could be found in the list of the 14 so-called watchdogs:

The oversight experts consulted were: Joel Aberbach, Steven Aftergood, Ryan Alexander, Danielle Brian, Dan Donovan, Linda L. Fowler, Philip G. Joyce, Donald F. Kettl, David Marin, Conrad Martin, Patricia G. Mcginnis, David Osborne, Andrew Rudalevige, Gerry Sikorski.

Let’s meet three of them, shall we?

• Patricia McGinnis — This is a laughable example of a “good government watchdog,” as McGinnis works informally for the White House.  In July, we discovered that the Washington Post violated its ethics policy by giving McGinnis an opinion slot in its blog archipelago without disclosing her connection to the Obama administration.  It appears that Friel and the Gray Lady have the same problem.
• David Marin – Marin works as a lobbyist for the Podesta Group, run by Tony Podesta, which has seen its profits go up 40% since Democrats came to power.  While Marin does have some credibility on government watchdog efforts — be sure to read his bio for the full story — having a principal from the lobbying firm co-founded by the Center for American Progress and high-profile progressive activist John Podesta is hardly providing a disinterested, outsider point of view for oversight goals.  The Podesta Group does very well with the current administration and leadership in place, and they have an interest in seeing its priorities continued. As Politico reported in February 2009, Marin’s role has been more cheerleader than watchdog since Obama’s election:  “PAM STEVENS and DAVID MARIN WANT YOU TO KNOW: “The Susan G. Komen for the Cure® Advocacy Alliance applauds the inclusion of crucial health care support in the economic stimulus legislation that was passed by both houses of Congress today. The $789 billion stimulus package makes critical investments in biomedical research and provides vital aid to states struggling with growing budget deficits.” “
• Gerry Sikorski — He’s now also a lobbyist at Holland & Knight, which represents Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Minnesota and Tennessee, and the American Arbitration Association, which might do all right under ObamaCare, although BC/BS probably won’t, as we have already seen.   But Sikorski’s inclusion in this group is somewhat laughable for reasons other than his status as a lobbyist.  He got voted out of his Congressional seat by Minnesotans after they discovered that he had committed 697 overdrafts in his House Bank checking account in the scandal that took out a number of incumbents in 1992 and 1994.  Now he’s an expert on government oversight?  Please. Sikorski also donates a lot of money to Democrats — including the previous chair of Oversight, Henry Waxman.

I’ve researched a few more, and while I haven’t discovered the kinds of issues noted above, they do tend to represent the progressive side of the spectrum.  Perhaps Brian Friel should get out more.

If anyone is interested in the publicly-stated agenda of the House Oversight Republican caucus, check out their website for the details.