INDEPENDENT2026

The Full Read · Article by Article

Darrell Issa

Rep · R–CA-48
0/7
🚫 Not Fit for Public Office
🚫 Not fit for public office. Fewer than three stars, and a critical Article fails (Open Books & Free & Fair Elections). This isn’t a close call. Expect to hear from us — often.

Editorial opinion — our judgment against the Seven Articles, not a legal disqualification or an allegation of any crime. Ratings terms · Challenge this review

1Open Bookscritical
40%☆ not yet
“…the property of the people.” — Cicero, De Re Publica
Own campaign is 18.5% PAC, but Runs leadership PAC 'Invest in a Strong and Secure America' (ISSA PAC) per campaign-finance records. Running a corporate-funded leadership PAC fails Open Books. (FEC/OpenSecrets 2026)
60
2Free & Fair Electionscritical
35%☆ not yet
“The ballot is stronger than the bullet.” — Abraham Lincoln
Voted to overturn the 2020 election (Jan 6, 2021 certification objection). Fails Free & Fair Elections.
60
3The Dignity of the Opponent
50%☆ not yet
“Treat humanity … always as an end and never as a means only.” — Kant
Career built on aggressive investigative combat; fierce and adversarial toward opponents but not documented using dehumanizing or vermin-class rhetoric.
60
4Fear Is Not Fuel
48%☆ not yet
“…the better angels of our nature.” — Lincoln, First Inaugural
Long relied on scandal-hunting and grievance framing (Benghazi, Fast and Furious, IRS), though paired with substantive oversight work.
60
5Truth & a Kept Word
50%☆ not yet
“…living within the truth.” A representative owes “his judgment.” — Havel · Burke
Mixed fact-check record on investigations; misrepresented attendance by proxy-voting from CPAC in 2021 while citing COVID.
60
6Against the Spirit of Party
42%☆ not yet
“The baneful effects of the spirit of party.” — Washington, Farewell Address
Reliable partisan in recent years; voted against Trump impeachment and the January 6 commission, showing little costly independence.
60
7Morality
55%☆ not yet
“The time is always right to do what is right.” — Martin Luther King Jr.
1972 arrests (theft charges dropped, weapon guilty plea), 1982 suspicious-fire insurance-fraud suspicion (uncharged), 2021 proxy-vote misrepresentation.
60

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2108 Rayburn House Office Building
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Scores are Independent 2026’s own editorial read against the Seven Articles — ≥60% earns the star. The first two Articles are critical: fail Open Books or Free & Fair Elections and there is no seal, whatever else holds. Each Article carries its founding quote as the yardstick. On bias →

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