Listen everyone, I know we're getting really worked up these hearings on Obamacare and the website but I just wanted to let you know you're doing a good job helping me with my campaign contributions. Next coming up on the agenda, we have the White House CTO Todd Park coming in. Make him feel welcome.
Brace yourselves for yet another saga of Darrell Issa's epic investigation and subpoena frenzy on the Obamacare website.
This time, Issa is threatening to subpoena White House Chief Technology Officer Todd Park. Not surprisingly, Issa is having trouble getting Park to cooperate.
Gee, I wonder why!
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
The White House’s refusal to make a top technology official available to Congress is drawing some heat on the Hill.
The White House declined this week to make Chief Technology Officer Todd Park available to testify at a House Oversight hearing next Wednesday on the rollout of Healthcare.gov. White House Assistant Director for Legislative Affairs Donna Pignatelli said Mr. Park is currently too busy helping fix the troubled healthcare website to appear, and suggested he testify in early December instead.
“Mr. Park is central to the work to improve the healthcare.gov shopping experience as quickly as possible, and he is devoting nearly all of his attention and expertise to assisting CMS in that critical effort,” Ms. Pignatelli wrote in a letter to the Committee dated Wednesday. “Pulling him away from that work even for a short time at this stage would be highly disruptive and would risk slowing the progress that has been made thus far to fix identified issues with the website.”
However, Issa, as usual, is not a pushover:
http://thehill.com/...
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) is threatening to subpoena a top ObamaCare official who declined to attend a hearing on the law's rollout next week.
Issa wrote Thursday that he might legally compel Todd Park, the chief technology officer at the White House, to testify if Park does not agree to appear on his own.
"Your role in the development and rollout of HealthCare.gov … uniquely positions you to provide testimony that will be valuable for both Congress and the public," Issa wrote in a letter to Park.
"If you continue to refuse to testify at the committee's Nov. 13, 2013 hearing, the committee will be forced to consider the use of compulsory process to require your attendance."
Elijah Cummings, Ranking Member of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee and now in a bitter working relationship with Issa on committee, fired back:
http://blogs.wsj.com/...
Mr. Issa’s letter gives Mr. Park until the end of the day today to confirm his participation at the hearing, or face the threat of a subpoena. That rankled the committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland. Mr. Cummings sent his own response to Mr. Issa on Friday, blasting the Fox News interview and Mr. Issa’s “unfounded accusations against Mr. Park” and White House Press Secretary Jay Carney.
“[I]t is reckless and highly irresponsible to make unsubstantiated public allegations by taking information out of context, especially when the Committee has information in its possession that directly contradicts these unfounded allegations,” Mr. Cummings wrote.
“Rather than rush to issue a subpoena to Mr. Park based on these unsubstantiated allegations, which could impair efforts to improve the website, I propose that we accept the offer to receive a briefing from Mr. Park this month and that we schedule an additional hearing in December to obtain his full testimony.”
By the way, when asked about the Obamacare website problems by Gretchen Carlson on Fox News, Issa is still calling White House Press Secretary Jay Carney a paid liar. He's just not saying "paid liar" and is making his language this time in a more "artful" way.
At 0:32 point of the video below:
"Gretchen, Jay Carney is paid to say things that aren't so."
So let's backtrack a bit on the history of the implementation of Obamacare and Healthcare.gov website investigation on Issa's watch per the recent diaries I've published:
1) Darrell Issa and Elijah Cummings fight over the IRS involvement in the implementation of Obamacare
http://www.dailykos.com/...
2) Darrell Issa Leads Investigation Into Obamacare Website
http://www.dailykos.com/...
3) Darrell Issa Leads Investigation Into Obamacare Website Part 2 - Questions Google and Others
http://www.dailykos.com/...
4) Darrell Issa Threatens HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius With Subpoena Over Obamacare Website
http://www.dailykos.com/...
5) Darrell Issa - "I've Lost My Patience" Regarding Obamacare Website
http://www.dailykos.com/...
6) Darrell Issa Releases 175 Pages and Documents of Obamacare 'War Room' Notes
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Now in case you guys aren't aware, Issa is well versed in IT so he might have an even more tense questioning session with Todd Park, the IT expert, if he does appear at Issa's proposed hearing.
Of course, whereas Issa may know IT, he won't let facts or real bipartisan cooperation get ahead of him in this continuing, never-ending investigation.
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Can't stand anymore of Darrell Issa?
Darrell Issa's Democratic challenger is Dave Peiser and here are the necessary links:
For more information on Peiser and voter registration statistics numbers of CA-49, links are below:
Dave Peiser for Congress: http://www.peiserforcongress.com/
Donate:
ActBlue: https://secure.actblue.com/...
Nationbuilder: https://peiserforcongress.nationbuilder.com/...
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/...
Twitter: https://twitter.com/...
Information: info@peiserforcongress.com
Here's the voter registration as of February 2013 by the actual CA-49 Congressional District, which combines parts of San Diego and Orange County. Note the number of Decline-to-State/Independents:
http://www.sos.ca.gov/...
Orange County:
Democrats: 22,239
Republicans: 44,833
Decline-to-State/Independent: 19,077
San Diego County:
Democrats: 84,282
Republicans: 107,221
Decline-to-State/Independent: 70,938
Total:
Democrats: 106,521
Republicans: 152,054
Decline-to-State/Independent: 90,015
Here's the recent polling per PPP showing Darrell Issa vulnerable thanks to the government shutdown:
http://s3.moveon.org/...
Disapproval: 49%
Approval: 43%
If you live in or near California's 49th Congressional District and want a reason to start voter registration drives or take part in them, note that San Diego County Democratic Party has a calendar that keeps track of all activity going on, whether local Democratic club meetings or voter registration drive events:
http://www.sddemocrats.org/...
Start firing up the base in CA-49!
5:42 PM PT: FYI, I just received an e-mail that Dave Peiser will be appearing tomorrow (11/9) at the Lake San Marcos Democratic Club. Diary with details on event here: http://www.dailykos.com/...