Now that he’s under the spotlight, Issa can’t get away with lashing out instead of answering tough questions
“Congressman Issa is more vulnerable than ever, and the pressure is getting to him,” said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law. “Issa’s constituents will continue to hold him accountable until he is retired from Congress in 2018, on his own volition or through the ballot box.”
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San Diego Union-Tribune: Issa’s Reactions Trigger Social Media Storm
For the second time in two weeks, Rep. Darrell Issa’s curt interactions with reporters have brought him national attention.
Last time, it was for bruskly brushing off a reporter who asked him how he planned to vote on a healthcare bill. This time, a reporter said the Vista Republican made an obscene hand gesture.
[…]
On Tuesday, Rachael Bade, a reporter with Politico that covers Congress, said on Twitter that Issa reacted crudely after she asked him about reports that President Donald Trump has pressured recently fired FBI Director James Comey to end an investigation into any ties former National Security Director Michael Flynn had with Russia.
“I just asked @DarrellIssa abt the Comey news and he flicked me off — literally gave me the middle finger — and kept walking. Said nothing,” Bade tweeted.
[…]
As of Wednesday morning Issa’s two tweets in response were retweeted just over 400 times, roughly 30,000 fewer than Bade’s.
The story has also given a new meaning to #flipthe49th, a recurring hashtag Issa’s opponents from California’s 49th Congressional District use on social media. It also raises a question about proper use of language: Is it flicked-off like Bade tweeted, or is it flipped-off?
Bade’s tweet brought out another interaction between Issa and a reporter.
“I was following Issa at the CA GOP convention years ago w/a voice recorder, after turning a corner he just pushed me,” Lee Fang, a reporter with The Intercept tweeted. “He waited until we were away from everyone else and no one saw it, he’s a thug.”
Issa’s office did not respond to a question about Fang’s tweet.
Regardless, the moment with Bade is second time Issa’s interaction with a journalist made national news.
On May 2, The Hill reported that Issa tersely dismissed questions about how he intended to vote on the latest Republican health care bill.
“None of your business,” the newspaper quoted Issa saying in response to questions from a reporter.
“None of our business? What about your constituents? Don’t they deserve to know how you’re going to vote on this?” the Hill said one of their reporters replied.
“You’re not a constituent,” Issa said in reply.
Whatever his responses were, the reports have become fodder for Democrats that see Issa’s seat as one they can pick up in the 2018 midterm elections. His opponents, Doug Applegate and Mike Levin, both commented on the exchange, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee called Issa “unhinged” and questioned if he was planning to end his nine-term career in Congress.