Oh, yes, the power to investigate

One power that the Democrats will certainly use beginning soon after they take command is the investigative
authority lodged with every committee and most subcommittees. That power will be used to spotlight many of
the areas that the Bush Administration successfully hid from sight and to focus public attention on abuses
by big oil, the drug companies and military contractors, often with the implicit cooperation of the Bush Administration. All those whistleblowers whom the Bush Adminstration first ignored and later fired if their findings became public will find a welcome audience on Capitol Hill and every effort will be made to assure massive media coverage. Rebuking the Executive Branch for its failures is one of the ways in which Congress has traditionally enforced its Constitutional standing, even when the White House is in friendly hands. But when the opposite party controls the White House, mercilessness is the order of the day. Tearing Bush and his Adminstration down will serve to prepare the ground for the Presidential election of 2008.