Ruh Roh: Democrats lose first Congressman in Fast and Furious stonewall

When Republican officials commit wrongs or are otherwise caught with their hands in the cookie jar, their party inevitably abandons them, sometimes to a fault. The Democrats are exactly the opposite; they stood by Bill Clinton during his impeachment - in both the House and the Senate. That's what makes this seemingly minor development more than just a little interesting.

Attorney General Eric Holder has a defector in his midst. A Democratic congressman has come forward to say Holder should honor the subpoena issued to him by Oversight Committee Chairman, Darrell Issa.

Via Daily Caller:

Indiana Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly told The Daily Caller on Tuesday that he supports the House oversight committee’s efforts to enforce the congressional subpoena of Attorney General Eric Holder over Operation Fast and Furious.

“One of the duties of Congress is to provide oversight of the Executive Branch,” Donnelly told TheDC. “There has been a serious allegation of federal law enforcement misconduct and we need to get to the bottom of this issue without playing partisan politics.”

Holder has demonstrably failed to comply with the congressional subpoena House oversight committee chairman Rep. Darrell Issa served him on Oct. 12, 2011. Holder has failed to comply with all 22 categories of the subpoena that demands he provide documents related to Operation Fast and Furious. With 13 of the categories, Holder has provided no documents whatsoever. When it comes to the other nine subpoena categories, Holder is still far from compliant, as TheDC reported late last week.

Those who are unwilling to imagine a scenario under which something could come of all this because the Democrats control the Senate, fail to factor in things like what Donnelly is doing.

Yes, it's true that Issa's contempt citation for Holder would be issued to Holder's subordinate. Yes, it's true that even if Holder were to be impeached, the Senate is controlled by Democrats. And yes, it's true that Holder and Obama are close friends.

None of those things will matter if the dam breaks. The loss of one Democratic congressman is not insignificant.