So Jason Chaffetz shook Hillary Clinton’s hand in a nice showing of bi-partisanship at the inauguration today. Isn’t that great?
Nope
At first glance, the Fox News screengrab that Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz posted on Instagram appears like a nice moment of bipartisanship between him and Hillary Clinton.
But the image he shared showing him shaking hands with Clinton was, it seems, just an excuse to throw a pointed dig her way.
In the caption with the photo, he wrote: “So pleased she is not the President. I thanked her for her service and wished her luck. The investigation continues.”
Are Republican voters such horrible people that a politician has to defend shaking a former Secretary of State’s hand with this kind of mean-girl garbage? This is what we call a Statesman today?
Beyond the tasteless social media behavior, this obsession with Secretary Clinton’s emails is dangerous. Before the election he was promising years of investigations into Hillary Clinton
“It’s a target-rich environment,” the Republican said in an interview in Salt Lake City’s suburbs. “Even before we get to Day One, we’ve got two years’ worth of material already lined up. She has four years of history at the State Department, and it ain’t good.”
Jason Chaffetz embodies all that is wrong with Washington D.C.
The Oversight Committee should be a boring committee with little activity because if no wrongdoing is present, then the Committee should have nothing to do. This is similar to being a police officer in a safe community that has no crime. But this is not how Chaffetz envisions his role. The Oversight Committee, he says, is “where the action is,” and he views it as “the tip of the spear.”
This is an astounding abuse of power. It is like a police officer using the power of his badge not to prevent crime but instead to harass his personal enemies.
Chaffetz has turned the Oversight Committee on its head. Instead of identifying government abuse and misapplications of taxpayer money, his Committee is committing abuse and is wasting taxpayer money. He is engaging in the very acts that he is charged with preventing.
I always hear that these terrible politicians keep being re-elected because “the Democrats ran a bad candidate.” The Democrats ran a great candidate against Jason Chaffetz (a former Nuskin, pyramid scheme spokesperson)
I am Stephen Tryon: a career citizen, veteran with a Bronze Star medal for valor in combat, successful business executive, gun-owner, author, and proud Democrat. I believe in our Constitution: a framework for government based on the principle of individual liberty. We have a republic where individuals are supposed to be free to make the best life they can, and love and worship as they wish, consistent with the same freedom for all others. We are all supposed to enjoy the equal protection of our laws.
Republican rhetoric undermines constitutional principles. A few years ago, Texas Republicans officially condemned efforts to teach critical reasoning in public schools, and the national party platform this year advocated teaching the Bible in public schools. In other venues, phrases like "free speech" and "religious freedom" are used to pander to intolerance and bigotry. The right wing of the Republican party apparently doesn't understand the Constitution, or doesn't care about it. I encourage all American's to reject their philosophy.
With degrees from West Point and Stanford, a Senate fellowship, and a track record of success in government and in business, I am ready to start solving problems and stop blaming others. I will work to raise the minimum wage, improve access to higher education, ignite economic growth with partnerships between businesses and communities, and make our district the focal point of clean energy research and development.
Chaffetz does not belong in public office. In a decent world this Instagram post would be the end of his career. Sadly, in this one it will propel him forward.