GOP Folds on Katrina Investigation

The GOP is showing its usual lack of intestinal fortitude and is giving in to the petulant Dems on the issue of a joint Katrina investigation:

Congressional Republicans signaled today that they have abandoned their plan to conduct a joint House-Senate probe of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

In announcing a joint probe this month, the Republican leadership had said it would be the most efficient way to investigate the administration's much-criticized initial response to the hurricane. But today, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) conceded that he could not overcome Democratic opposition to a joint investigation.

The Democratic leadership has refused to appoint members to a joint committee, citing the lack of equal representation of Democrats on the panel, and the lack of power to issue subpoenas that the majority opposed. Democrats also have insisted on an independent inquiry.

Democratic opposition has left Republicans little maneuvering room for mounting a credible probe. With the joint investigation apparently off the table, Republicans can only hope that Democrats will participate in each chamber's separate investigation. It was far from clear today that Democrats would do that.

There's a simple solution to this impasse - don't conduct any investigation. If the Dems don't want to cooperate, the GOP should simply announce that there will not be any formal investigation, and the leadership will not fund individual investigations by committees or subcommittees.

The Dems and the press would go wild, but that's the way it ought to be played. And as more time passes, the response of the Feds will look better and better with the release of more information. By the time they finally get around to an investigation, the original intent of the Dems to blame the president for the problems in New Orleans will be a moot point.