It’s fairly common for Democrats to accuse House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) of orchestrating “witch hunts” — the accusations are based in fact — so to help formalize the congressman’s habits, one House Dem suggested a more expedited method. Colby Itkowitz reported:
Rep. Tony Cardenas (D-Calif.) is prepared to toss the likes of former IRS official Lois Lerner, U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder and White House political adviser David Simas into water to see if they’ll sink or swim. An above-ground pool (naturally, it would be unrealistic to have an in-ground one) would be placed inside the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing room.“We are picking winners and losers, when it is clearly obvious that witches can only be found by dunking them in water. If they float they’re a witch. If they don’t, installing a pool will allow us to retrieve the non-witch before he or she drowns,” Cardenas said in an actual press release. “Like the Chairman, I am interested in effective government oversight and reform. This pool will allow that to take place, wasting far fewer taxpayer dollars in the process.”
Under Cardenas’ proposal, the pool would have its own official name: the “Senator Joseph R. McCarthy Memorial Truth Pond.” A plaque near the pool would read, “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
When not being used on suspected witches, the pool, the California Democrat added, could be used by members and their staff recreationally.
Cardenas’ office told Itkowitz that it is, of course, a ridiculous idea, intended to “underscore the ridiculous” situation in which the House Oversight Committee finds itself under Issa’s tutelage.
Sarah Mimms, meanwhile, highlighted the likely origin of Cardenas’ idea:
No word from Issa on whether or not he found the idea amusing, though I rather doubt it.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."