Lost in the news of missing planes and basketball, yet another Republican official completely abandoned his sense of professionalism in a public arena.  Between scandals like Chris Christie’s Bridgegate and questionable abortion quotes from men like Todd Akin, this seems to be a disconcerting habit that members of the GOP continue to display.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, demonstrated an unacceptable lack of respect for tradition, his colleagues and the entire Democratic Party in a March 5 committee hearing.

Elected officials are expected to maintain a certain standard of decency during their interactions with each other.  Even the staunchest of political rivals understand the importance of mutual respect.  Issa, however, disregarded these norms completely when he cut off Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) mid-sentence during the hearing.

At the hearing about the accusations of the Internal Revenue Services’ targeting specific individuals, Issa spent the majority of the time peppering Lois Lerner, a former IRS official, with questions.  Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Issa then promptly declared the hearing adjourned without ever giving the Democrats an opportunity to speak.

Cummings attempted to ask for a continuation of the hearing, but Issa refused and had Cummings’ microphone turned off mid-sentence.  While the enraged Cummings continued to speak, Issa led the rest of the Republicans on the board out of the room.

Issa has singlehandedly fueled the IRS investigation for months.  He claimed to have evidence showing that the IRS’ actions were really an attempt by President Barack Obama to silence conservative critics.  Cummings, on the other hand, said he has evidence against Issa’s claim. This could have been a factor in Issa’s decision to silence Cummings at the committee hearing.

The blatant disrespect caused several Democratic officials to call for Issa’s removal as committee chairman.  Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio) wrote a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) calling Issa “a disgrace” and maintaining that he “should not be allowed to continue in a leadership role.”

Boehner, however, backed Issa’s position as chairman. While Boehner’s statement didn’t explicitly defend Issa’s actions, it established overall support for the controversial committee chairman. Democrats are universally offended by Issa’s behavior and the House Rules Committee has “absolutely reached a boiling point,” Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) said, according to a March 6 Washington Post article.

In the aftermath of Issa’s actions, some Republicans have complained that focusing on the conflict between Issa and Cummings is distracting people from the content of the hearing itself.  They’ve been raising concerns about Lerner’s reluctance to answer the questions posed to her and claiming that Democrats are trying to divert attention to Issa’s poor conduct.

But the reality is that Cummings intended to ask about the possibility of having Lerner’s attorney speak for her.  Had he been allowed to pose this suggestion, there’s a very good chance that more information would have been gleaned from Lerner and the Oversight Committee may have gotten some answers.  Instead, what resulted was another iteration of an incredible lack of professionalism on the part of a GOP official.

The larger issue here is that without at least a modicum of respect between opposing parties, bipartisan cooperation is almost impossible.  Republicans can’t complain about Democrats’ unwillingness to work across the aisle if they continue to ridicule and disrespect them in such public settings.  If the officials of the GOP don’t realize this, they risk continuing to paint the entire party in a negative light.

Chris Piemonte is a senior political philosophy major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].

Published on March 18, 2014 at 1:50 am