Geithner Gets a Shocker on Capitol Hill
At a relatively mundane meeting with the Joint Economic Committee, Republicans put Timothy Geithner under fire yesterday and a great back and forth broke out with the much-maligned Treasury Secretary. Everything about Geithner yesterday screamed that he was ready for a fight. His posture was apathetic and his tone was sarcastic. At one point, he told Congressman Brady “I agree with almost nothing that you just said and I think almost nothing that you just said represents a fair and accurate assessment of where the economy is today.” To his credit, Brady had just called for his resignation.
(November 17, 2009 - Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North America)
Many skeptics believe that Republicans have now chosen Geithner as the new scapegoat and evil nemesis from within the administration, and if there is even an ounce of truth to that claim, Geithner looks willing to play the role. The truth is, regardless of some alleged plot to target key administration officials, our economy is still in the tank. Jobs have yet to recover, and Americans are growing tired of hearing about the “lag factor.” Our dollar is very much in jeopardy and we just watched our President play two hand touch with the Chinese rather than tackle football because he knows they control our purse. Even if there was a plan by Republicans to target Geithner, it seems inevitable that his office would come under fire given the state of the economy. Does he appear to be a good choice if in fact Republicans have actually chosen to target him? You betcha!
In regards to this little melee on Capitol Hill, I have to admit that if Geithner hadn’t had a hand in driving this country to the economic funk we currently find ourselves in, I would actually commend him for his actions yesterday. As is the case when liberal dem’s pull these kind of stunts, I am immensely annoyed when lowly congressmen decide to call for resignations and seize the bully pulpit to attempt to shame members of a president’s administration. We saw it repeatedly throughout the Bush administration and I sincerely hope that we do not see the trend continue through this one. We have an election process for a reason. When 2010 and 2012 roll around, Americans can decide with their votes whether or not the administration has chosen wisely its Cabinet officials. between now and then, Republicans have a duty to illustrate their weaknesses and to call them on their shortcomings, but lets leave the resignation talk for the other party. Advise and consent doesn’t mean that Congress can then wash its hands of heinous appointments. They too had a hand in Geithner’s selection. Geithner may be a misguided ideologue and intellectual elitist, but we can flesh that out for the American people without resorting to cheap publicity stunts like we saw yesterday. Targeting individuals that served at the leisure of our President is hardly the way to bring change to the current political debate and detracting attention, as well as blame, away from those individuals who are directly accountable to The People through the voting booth appears to be a foolish objective. Do we blame Geithner or do we blame the President and the Liberal Congress? You tell me which one matters most come November…
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Someone gave Geithner the shocker? Somewhat innapropriate venue no?
[...] At one point, he told Congressman Brady âI agree with almost nothing that you just said and I think almost nothing that you just said represents a fair and accurate assessment of where the economy is today.â To his credit, Brady had …Read More [...]