The Miraculous Henry Waxman

We're told by no less a source than Time Magazine that Henry Waxman is a man to fear, and I believe it because Time tells us his powers are truly awesome:

The walls of his Washington office are covered with framed pens that Presidents from Ronald Reagan to Bill Clinton used to sign the laws that Waxman helped make a reality: the Clean Air Act ...

Wow. The Clean Air Act was passed in 1963, 11 years before Waxman even got to Congress! That's power! (Time apparently is refering to the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1977.)

But seriously, Time is right: Waxman's got power, subpoena power. As incoming chair of the House Government Reform Committee, he will be the only committee chair in DC who can issue subpoenas unilaterally; no committee vote needed, and it's too late to change the rules.

Waxman's viciously anti-business and pro over-regulation, so expect a lot of his subpoenas to be directed at companies that have committed the sin of winning too much market share or earning too much profit.

But the real hatred that burns in Henry's heart is Bush, the war, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Halliburton. So how far will he stretch his subpoena powers to make these guys miserable? Oh, about this far:

Hat-tip: Real Clear Politics
Related Tags: Politics, Waxman, Democrats, Bush, War on terror