Apparently a Republican won the 2018 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight.
State Representative Weston J. Newton (R-SC), was selected for the 2018 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight for his role as chairman of the South Carolina House Legislative Oversight Committee. Newton of Bluffton, South Carolina, was nominated for the award by South Carolina Speaker of the House James H. ("Jay") Lucas.
So that was at the state level. I strongly doubt any Republican at the federal level would qualify.
Then again, given the nomination criterion of bipartisanship, and the Republicans’ complicity in covering up Trump’s crimes, Democrats at the federal level, as they strive to uncover the truth, might not qualify either.
Of course we would all be grateful to the Democrats in the U. S. House if in their oversight efforts they open people’s eyes to the extent of Trump’s corruption and cowardice, even as Republicans hypocritically whine about bipartisanship and civility.
It’s of course theoretically possible that Republicans might genuinely cooperate with Democrats to uncover the full truth of Trump’s treason.
In practice, though, given Republicans’ desire for more extreme judges and more tax cuts for the wealthy, genuine bipartisanship is very unlikely.
We must encourage our congresspersons to investigate Tongo Tongo and Yakla to expose that the incidents there were much worse than the overhyped Benghazi.
Yesterday, I wrote a letter to my congresswoman and I might also write letters to Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) and Gary Peters (D-Michigan, Levin’s successor).
Being disqualified for the Levin Award would be a small price to pay for the gratitude of a nation rightly worried about the survival of democracy, and independence from foreign powers.
Meanwhile, at the state and local levels, there may be a few Republicans interested in actual honest bipartisanship. I can’t think of any here in Michigan, though.
So Democrats in the Michigan legislature might not qualify for the Levin Award either...
These are the criteria against which nominees for the 2019 Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight will be judged:
- The candidate must be or have been a member of a legislative body at the national, state, tribal or local level, and must have played a central role in the conduct of an oversight investigation by such legislative body.
- The oversight investigation must have been conducted on a bipartisan basis and the candidate must have played a significant role in ensuring the bipartisan nature of the investigation.
- The oversight investigation must have been focused on obtaining the facts underlying the subject of the investigation and the candidate must have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to that effort.
- The candidate must have provided recognized and significant leadership in the conduct and achievement of the investigation.
- The candidate must have exhibited a high degree of integrity and a commitment to legislative comity and civility.
If you can think of someone who meets these criteria, please nominate them at the Levin Center’s award nominations page. This year’s deadline for nominations is August 1.