The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> GET A MOVE ON br> Democrats continue to look for ways to leverage their control of Congress for campaign gains. According to committee staffers on the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus is looking to hold hearings late in June on U.S. corporate competitiveness in the global economy. But some members of that committee want to turn them into a rally against U.S. multinational companies. "Baucus has the right idea. He understands some of the economic and tax issues our global companies have to deal with," says a Republican staffer on the committee. "But he's got some colleagues who just don't get it." /p>

Democrat staffers with ties to the offices of Sens. John Kerry and Ron Wyden, say that both men want to turn Baucus's well-intentioned effort around, including panels on U.S. multinationals' abuse of the environment, human rights, outsourcing of jobs, among other ills. "It's one panel of speakers on how U.S. tax and regulatory policies are hindering American competitiveness and two panels on the evil of the American corporation," says a Democrat staffer on the committee.

Increasingly, Democrats in both the House and Senate aren't satisfied with holding impromptu press conferences in the hallways of the Capitol or using allotted time when the House and Senate are in session to gain political points for their supporters. Instead, they are attempting to use the more impressive venues of House and Senate hearings to create political theater that will satisfy the far-left wing of the party.

"They see guys like [Henry] Waxman and [John] Conyers in the House getting all that attention in their hearings, and they want some of the love," says another Democrat staffer. "It's poisoning the hearing process and isn't helpful on any level. It probably won't end until after the election."

p> THE OBAMA ONE-TWO br> Revs. Jeremiah Wright and Michael Pfleger

topics:
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Environment, NATO, Africa, Oil