Cooper to Vote Against Partisan Grandstanding

Rep. Jim Cooper has come out and said he won’t vote for a politically motivated and unnecessary contempt vote against Attorney General Eric Holder.  He released the following statement explaining the need for apolitical investigations, not the partisan grandstanding we are seeing from Republican congressmen:

In my opinion, the House is rushing to judgment on this important issue. After hearing testimony and reviewing documents, I am not convinced a case has been made to hold an Attorney General in contempt for the first time in our nation’s history. These are serious charges and I’m concerned that my colleagues will base their votes solely on the findings of a flawed investigation by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As a Blue Dog Democrat who has opposed both parties when I think they are wrong, I think Congress should wait for the Dept. of Justice’s Inspector General report, which is nearing completion. The IG has had the opportunity to dig much deeper than the Committee has been able to, and is doing so in an apolitical fashion.

Whether it was the Clinton administration where they spent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to find out that he committed adultery, or now their hyperbolic charges against President Obama and AG Holder; Republicans have a long and storied history with using the veil of “congressional oversight” to launch partisan witch hunts

What is certain is that none of this partisan political theater by the Republican Congress is doing one bit of good for Americans who are still looking for work after the Republican policies of the Bush administration (and now championed by Mitt Romney) crippled our economy.  It’s time we get back to working for the middle class and pass a serious jobs package, like the one presented by President Obama, and stop with the partisan gridlock.