Waxman Defeats Dingall, Blue Dogs Get Spanked
In a stinging rebuke of the Blue Dog caucus, Henry Waxman has defeated John Dingell for Chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Why, it seems like only yesterday the conservative Blue Dogs were sniffing that the Steering Committee which recommended Waxman were a bunch of unrepentant hippies who didn't reflect the overall makeup of the Democratic caucus. (In fact, it was.)
This is a huge defeat for the Blue Dogs, who have become the primary recipients of the massive corporate donations which used to flow to the Republicans. They were were hoping to use Dingell as a roadblock to keep any meaningful change from happening with regard to issues under the Committee's jurisdiction -- telecommunications and health care, energy and environmental protection, interstate commerce and consumer protection.
Though she never took a public position, nobody has any doubts that Nancy Pelosi orchestrated this.
This week the Senate voted to remain an exclusive club of self-protection and entitlement by letting the corrupt Bush enabler Joe Lieberman keep his gavel, but the House voted for progress.
Anyone who thinks that other members of the House aren't soiling themselves over this huge blow to the traditional system of seniority and entitlement hasn't been paying attention.
Jane Hamsher blogs at firedoglake.com. Oh Heavenly Day video by Patrick Dwyer courtesy Howie Klein.
Follow Jane Hamsher on Twitter: www.twitter.com/janehamsher
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Joe Lieberman is an Independent. He can do anything he wants. He is not locked into the Democratic tenets. They haven't treated him so well anyway. The only reason the Democrats kept him is for the vote. They are hoping for a count of 60. By the way, where's the change Obama promised? Isn't there one bright, new, young, energetic person brimming with fresh ideas available for a position in his cabinet? Instead, we get Clinton partisan retreads. Politicians are all the same, aren't they? They promise anything, deliver nothing.
Let's just be clear about a few things:
First, both John Dingell and Henry Waxman are extraordinary public servants. During their House careers, each of them has accomplished more for the public good than all of those who chaired House committees between 1995 and 2006 – combined.
Second, both Dingell and Waxman were powerful chairmen (Waxman of a subcommittee) prior to the great Gingrich debacle of 1994; yet neither abandoned ship for a lobbying job with a seven figure salary during the 12 long years of the Gingrich/DeLay unpleasantness. Thus demonstrating, pretty clearly, that both are blessed (or cursed) with a strong, stubborn conviction that doing good might just be as important as doing well.
Third, both of them are damned good politicians and brutal competitors; and there was a hell of a lot of politics and other considerations that went into the decision regarding the Commerce Committee chairmanship made by the Democratic Caucus.
Fourth, given the complex calculus of politics, issues, age and history that most Representatives probably used when deciding how to vote and that Dingell is not and never has been a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, describing the decision as a “huge defeat” for that Coalition seems more wishful thinking by the author than accurate analysis.
cont'd
Fifth, Ms. Hamsher uses a broad brush to attempt to characterize Blue Dogs as a monolithic group of money-grubbing successors to Tom DeLay’s K Street project; but looking at the Coalition’s members, one sees an array of talented, smart, good-hearted, effective Members of Congress. Just a few examples: Loretta Sanchez (CA) who’s a great Congresswoman but will always have a special place in my heart just for sending Bob Dornan packing; Marion Berry (AR) who knows more about Medicare, Medicaid and health care policy than any human being ought to but never forgets that it’s all about keeping people healthy; Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (SD) whose prairie pragmatism reminds me that another Democrat from South Dakota was responsible for the incredibly effective Food Stamp initiative; Heath Shuler (NC) whose legislative and political skills even won him the respect of this fan of the NY Football Giants.
So, sixth, even though I’m probably to the left of Mao and realize that many Blue Dogs do not hew to the liberal orthodoxy that I embrace, I also realize that folks like them are the reason that we can call Speaker Pelosi, Madame Speaker and that Dingell and Waxman were competing for a chairmanship rather than fighting rearguard actions as ranking Members.
The Republicans have gotten awfully good at reading people out of their party due to some perceived ideological impurity. Let’s try to get a few things done before we start attempting to emulate them.
Hooray! It's time to vote out those Blue Dog, so-called Democrats.
So you'll vote GOP next time...rig
You are not making any sense!
The market is down 20% since Obama won...wher
the next 4 yrs will be fun..Obama will have to do things...h
you can't vote "present" in the oval office...
Where is the new Treasury Sec? Rome is burning while you fiddle Mr. Pres-elect
Oh, so the economic meltdown is Barack Obama's fault? OMG, he hasn't even taken office yet and everything that has transpired in the last eight years is laid at his feet! Get real.
You are correct...
I'm looking forward to asking why Obama cannot perform the miracles he promised and it starts on 1/22....He cannot vote "present" in the WH...
BTW...the mkt fell in anticipation of Obama's win...and now it is in further bad shape as it contemplates tax hikes...un
And he hasn't voted "present" in the Senate, either. Duh.
I don't understand the subtle politics of the Illinois State Legislature, but I do know that his "present" votes represent a tiny minority of his overall votes, and that those votes made some sort of statement that goes beyond simply abstaining.
And the idea that "Rome is burning?" Why don't you ask the current President why he isn't doing more to put his own fire out?
Waxman's win is a breath of fresh air, especially after that Lieberman stink blew through the Senate.
Pelosi should continue in this vein and consider the Blue Dogs to be obstructions to progressive ideas that the majority voted for. Perhaps the Dogs should be renamed Pink Mastodons, soon to become extinct.
Pelosi is too shrewd of a politician to do this. If she tries to minimize the Blue Dogs, they will just come back and bite her. They are a strong enough force that they can influence what happens in Congress. Pelosi , like Reed with Lieberman, knows you don’t want to drive people to the opposition. It is better give the dog a bone and have it vote with you most of the time then to kick the dog and have it turn on you.
When the person is riding shotgun with the baddies, you do want to disarm him, and that is what Pelosi did with this vote.
Some are accusating Obama of going back on his "change" message. What he promised to change was the rotten policies of the last eight years, not the things that were right about previous administrations! He is choosing some very good people who will put their hearts and souls into reversing the damage done by the still current one. Please remember that Obama can't do anything officially till after the Inauguration. Give the man a break!
As for the "Blue Dogs," they can bay the moon for all I care. Let's see some progress in Congress! Those of us who cared about getting Obama in will, I assure you, care enough to keep pushing hard for congessional cooperation with him!
Glad this one worked out. Thank Gawd!
Aww right, get some Cali power in there. Finally, the leading edge gets to lead!
You go, Rep. Waxman, tobacco their a$$es
Yeah, but the blue dogs are now clearly taking over the White House.
Finally! We have a REAL Democrat in there! No more repubescents to worry about. It's good to be King (Democrat). Ha Ha! We're going after the rest of them Blue Dogs now. This is going to be great!
As an owner of a business involved in renewable energy, I certainly applaud the selection of Henry Waxman. Hopefully now our elected officials will walk the walk on a progressive and effective energy policy for our country.
I love reading the comments by posters like the skater! Keep up the angst there, skater! May you waste hours and hours of your life over the next 8 years posting absurd comments on an internet thread where President Obama and his administration will never see them. Enjoy the zero effect your thoughts will have.
thanks bcinbigd..
I just get a real kick out of getting under the skin of all you liberals..
are going to be a real hoot...!!
Hope you enjoy all 8 years, skater! LOL!
I"m just laughing at another clueless republican. Now that your ilk can no longer destroy our country, I don't care what you loons say.
Dear Rightard:
One word:
SCOREBOARD!
I'll bet you'll be buying Joe the Plumber's book, LOL
(for those of you who haven't heard the news: http://www
"all you Liberals" ! Amazing Skaterdon, you just do not get that the age of idealogues sniping at each other is over! (In two years Obama did not utter the word "conservatives" once.)
The age of introspection and thinking has begun. Now if we can just recover from eight years of egocentric stupidity.
My previous post was supposed to be a reply to skaterdon66's post, "Hmmmmm...
No one on the progressive that I know expects miracles from Obama. It's those on the right that wish to do nothing but name call and denigrate that seem to think that anyone who supported Obama thinks he's the Messiah that will work miracles. Quite honestly, neither candidate would have been my choice. But the dangers of McCain were too great to not vote for Obama (Palin in line to be POTUS? Please!).
Insanity is doing the same thing expecting different results. The Republicans have run this country into the ground with the help of the Democrats. Anyone with one iota of business sense knows that change is incremental, especially when dealing with corporate and political cultures. I much prefer the uncertainly of Obama with the potential for some fresh air than the certainty of more failed Republican, open-market, no regulation, get away with as much as I can, I'm in it for me and damn the rest of you politics.
We all inhabit this planet. We're all in this together. A very simple example on an issue that creates lots of emotion: We all end up waiting for hours on end in emergency rooms. If access to preventative and simple medical care were available to all, people wouldn't be clogging emergency rooms with issues that could have been handled with a simple office visit and an antibiotic early in the process. Patriots are willing to to what's best for the common good, not just what's good for them.
Right on, nvprog! Very well said.
The most common reason I hear for opposing universal health care is that "they don't want going to the hospital to become like going to the DMV."
To which, I respond with "If you'd been to a hospital or ER recently, you'd know that it's already WORSE than going to the DMV."
correct... the difference being you don't have to know how to parallel park or speak english
the ERs are clogged with the so-called 47 million that are uninsured.
Look around "skeeter". Emergency rooms are inefficient primary care providers. The rest of the industrialized world has a better way, and they're leaving America in the dust.
I wanted to get rid of Joe Lieberman as much as anybody, but ultimately it wasn't smart. I would rather he was there to break a fillibuster on a key piece of global warming legislation than to gloat over punishing him. You have heard of cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Agreed. Retaining Lieberman was actually a very astute political maneuver -- equal parts Solomonesque and Machiavellian. You'll notice that Joe has been on his "tour of contrition" lately.
i despise the man but think they made the right decision.
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