U.S. Senate Democrats Monday signaled they would continue to try and unofficially oversee the Bush administration. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan, D-N.D., and Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced several oversight hearings on a range of subjects next hear. The minority party in Congress argued the Republican leadership has skirted its responsibility for administration oversight as defined in the Constitution. But the hearings -- eight this year on subjects ranging from the deficit to U.S. contracting in Iraq -- have had little impact beyond political show because they are highly partisan affairs with no subpoena power.
Inadvertently, I think the democrats may have stumbled on to something, here. There should be permanent "committees of the opposition" holding frequent hearings to complain about what the majority do. Since the Congress and the President are separate, there should be one opposition committee for each. This continual barrage of *why* what is being done is "wrong" would force both the President and the majority party in Congress to detail why their decisions are "right". An annoying and noisy critic is often a good thing to help you improve yourself. |