Pests

I guess because it pisses the hippies off that Leibovich saw fit to "profile" Darrell Issa.

WASHINGTON — As a sign of the pride Representative Darrell Issa takes in annoying the Obama administration, consider his account of a recent exchange with Rahm Emanuel, a former congressman and now the White House chief of staff. In describing the episode — a chance encounter outside the House gym — Mr. Issa smirked and raised his middle finger.

“That’s the only thing Rahm did when he saw me,” Mr. Issa, a California Republican, boasted in an interview in his House office. He waved the unfriendly digit in the air like a trophy before folding it into a nub (to mimic Mr. Emanuel, who lost part of his finger in a long-ago meat-cutting accident). More annoying? Mr. Emanuel, through a spokeswoman, said the incident did not occur.

Ha, ha, ha, he's missing a finger! But what's really funny is how often folks claim to have run in to Rahm Emanuel while showering. Now that should lead to calls for a congressional investigation.

Much is made in the article about Issa's felonious youth, but, oddly, the piece fails to mention a particular tick of the Times -- excoriating politicians for lying about their military service. Another omission by the paper from New York is Issa's attitude towards Ground Zero workers.

But I digress. Issa, who has said he will unleash a blizzard of subpoenas on the Obama administration and take us back to those fun years of 1998, has been shameless tireless in going after the alleged Sestak "deal" with the White House.

Mr. Issa calls himself a Reagan Republican, but his true compass these days seems to be whatever gets under the administration’s skin — and gets him on television. His highest-profile pursuit has been to investigate the White House’s attempts to “clear the field” of Democratic challengers in Senate races in Colorado and Pennsylvania. According to an internal report, White House officials had urged Representative Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania — through former President Bill Clinton — not to challenge the incumbent, Arlen Specter. They dangled possible unpaid positions in the administration as an incentive (Mr. Sestak ran anyway and won).

But, sadly, The "Reagan Republican" has a short memory.

Issa hearts New York's Bravest

Darrell Issa to New York firefighters: "Drop dead."

WASHINGTON - A California congressman drew the fury of New York lawmakers yesterday - after he said the feds shouldn't pay another dime to help the 9/11 emergency responders who became ill after working at Ground Zero.

"I have to ask why . . . the firefighters who went there and everyone in the City of New York needs to come to the federal government," Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican, said during a House subcommittee hearing.

"How much money has the federal government put out post-9/11, including the buckets of $10 and $20 billion we just threw at the State and the City of New York versus how much has been paid out by the City and the State of New York?" Issa asked.

I guess it's a sign that our long, terrible nightmare has ended and we're so over 9-11. No reason to be nice to New York City anymore. Thank God for that.