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.
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I have known and and worked with both men, and Henry will tell you he learned much of the art of stopping Rethug administartion excesses from the job Dingell did with Reagan in the 80's. He gets a lot of heat for defending Detroit on Clean Air issues, but in addition to having introduced single payer national health care well before anyone else....he has moved mountains of good legislation, including landmark environmental laws,while fighting Republican deregulation efforts while in the minority..
Mentioning Lieberman in the same breath is an insult to a good, loyal Democratic titan who will be sorely missed when he retires... while I would agree its Henry's turn to take the gavel; people need to look at Dingell's total record - this legislative master can still be a force for change and there is much damage to undo, and with 60 plus days left to prevent.
Yeah, but we've got the biggest Blue Dog in the white House now, being the Chief of Staff. The only good I see in that is at least he's not got his foot/knife in Pelosi's back. She's already acting differently.
Let's get with it Pres. Obama..nam
Take that, Harold Ford.
Underestimate the power of the DLC at your peril.
The Blue Dogs and the DLC and other centerists will be a force in the new administration.
They hold the keys and nothing good will be done without them. They are principled and have solid support among the vast middle of the voters.
Defend the Blue Dogs at YOUR peril. We're taking their purse strings and by giving money to ACT BLUE we will vote them out of office. We are taking bonifide, genuine and real Democrat applications only. Sorry, DINO's need not apply.
geez Louis, how in the world are cautious, not even close to leftist, liberals "far-out left"
Far out left is rare in Congress. Nothing to compare with the ridiculous red-meat inciting Republican right. Are you daft?
Not even close. An equal to McConnell and that right wing fruitcake they have in control of Republican half of Republifools does not even run for office except on the true Socialist Party line. Saxby Chambliss? Bachmann? No one on our side comes even close to that reactionary absurdism, not even close on the other side. Believing the absurdism put forth by Rush, Hannity, Beck, Fox does not make their fantasy arguments true.
Stop being ludicrous, the rest of the world can't believe dumbos like you nay-sayers have so much influence in the debates here.
get a life, wingnuts. Or learn to read (facts)
I'm a far Left Liberal and damned proud of it. It's the stick in the mud, center of the road, don't know what I want, wish-washy centrists that just get in the damned way. We steer and the rest follow. That's the way it works. We got Obama through the primaries. You have us to thank, or it'd be Hillary or worse (although right now I can't think of what would be worse!).
so what's your thoughts on her as Sec of St..???
I am centrist but not "wish-washy" [sic]. Like many on the fringe, left or right, you overestimate your significance and your influence.
It's so great to see the change already starting. The brilliant people with experience he is appointing to his cabinet. The changes that are already happening in the Senate.
Obama!
Same old beltway crowd back in the cabinet...
He said & promised what he needed to get elected, and I congratulate him for that...
The next 4 yrs are going to be great fun for those like me..On Jan 22nd I will begin to ask
why everything is not fixed....? oh so delicious.
"what happened to the immediate pullout?"
dude.... you do realize he's not in office yet? And you expect everything to be fixed on inauguration day? AFter 8 years of the GOP ruining the country?
Do you also believe in majic wands, fairies and Santa Claus?
LOL!!!
How old are you, 12?
first of all, Obama never promised an" immediate pullout". Secondly, and maybe of some minor importance: He is not Cmdr in Chief yet! Where do you get this stuff? rush limbaugh?
HOORAY for Waxman!! This is about THE first POSITIVE comment I've written about Pelosi's "democratic" congress..
Waxman was THE HARDEST WORKING Congressman ("person") in Congress, as those of us know who just TRY to KEEP TRACK of ALL THOSE BUSH-Rove-
Here's a litlle HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE to ENCOURAGE Chairman Waxman:
#1. at the 1916 Battle of Jutland, half of each of German & British fleets blasting away at each other were obsolete coal-fired ships. Coal was already obsolete, and would soon be phased out for ships entireley.
#2. just prior to turn of 20th Century, railroad trains went from wood- to coal- to diesel-steam - to the current model, diesel-electric. IF the railroad industry could entirely convert to diesel-electric in the EARLY 1900s, America's auto fleet could do the same (gas/diesel powered hybrids) today!
#3. There ALREADY IS a factory, PRODUCTION _ALL-ELECTRIC_ car on the road - the 2002 Toyota RAV4-EV.
The reason that Toyota STOPPED MAKING THEM in 2002, is because GM _sold_ the battery patents to Texaco, bought out by Chevron... who SUED Toyota for $30 million to STOP PRODUCING THEM!
http://en.
THAT BATTERY PATENT is running out - the Congress SHOULD MAKE SURE that ALL auto- and battery manufacturers SHOULD BE ABLE TO PRODUCE as many as possible!
That patent should be seized by the government, and NEVER allowed to fall back into the hands of the oil companies again.
Good for the Dems. We need to start honoring our traditions and acting more like Progressives. Look at the triangulation of the Clinton years. All it got was to move the country even more to the right. If you examine the latest Gallup, you see the Republican Party's image has gone from bad to worse over the past month. Only 34% of Americans in a Nov. 13-16 Gallup Poll say they have a favorable view of the party, down from 40% in mid-October. The 61% now holding an unfavorable view of the GOP is the highest Gallup has recorded for that party since the measure was established in 1992.
What does that tell you? It sure doesn't suggest that we should become more conservative, more right wing and more Bush-like. Up with Waxman. Blue dogs better sniff the wind. That smell is the rot of the Republican party.
"Look at the triangulation of the Clinton years."
Wait until you see Obama's upcoming triangulation to push through cap and trade. He'll share hugs with McCain, talk about this as a "market solution" to appeal to right wing market idolizers, meet with big business honchos who think they can game the system to push out smaller competition.
Obama is no talk about health care, stopping outsourcing tax breaks, nada like that.
Cap and trade has worked well on sulfur dioxide; no reason it won't work on CO2. Sorry, but market solutions work when government sets a level playing field. The key is setting the level for ALL the players. That's where it often falls short.
Many of our big CEO's have proclaimed their readiness to move hard into a green economy. They just won't do it against a barrel price that's $150 one day, $60 the next. You cannot commit a shareholder-held company to a multi-billion makeover when the price signal you're working against is always changing.
You know, during the campaign I got very tired of Republican "mind readers" who said, "Obama wants to do this, he has no intention of doing that..."
I'm still tired of it.
If you can read Obama's mind and you claim to know what he thinks, why don't you find out his password, empty out his bank account, and buy yourself a yacht?
I would love for the blue dogs to be our next target to oust. Maybe then they will join the republican party where they belong..
You don't really mean that...The GOP would love for the blue dogs to join them on votes...
Let me clarify, vote the blue dogs out, put in progressives ..I believe blue dogs hurt us as far as votes are concern more than they help us. I want to vote them out..
Waxman showed through the steroid hearings to be one tough cookie. It looks like the furthering ot the liberal agenda is shaping up quite nicely.
Wow!! tough in a steroid abuse hearing..I
Waxman showed in the steroid hearings to be a huge publicity hound. Hearings about steroids in sports when the country was collapsing are not sound governance in my opinion but steroids got his mug on TV every night!
Since we're in this financial mess, why hasn't Obama named his Treasury Sec..?? HHS and Homeland Security, & Chief of Staff..and AG could have waited..
Maybe he's just too busy finding an interior decorator that Michelle will aqpprove..
I see you got your hannity fix today.
so why hasn't he named his T. Sec ??
Since Treasury Secretary will clearly be an important appointment, don't you think it's actually a good thing that Obama hasn't seemed to act hastily in making his choice? Perhaps for Obama, some of the appointments that have been made already were clear to him for various reasons. I for one am VERY glad to have a president-elect who deliberates cautiously and thoughtfully--it's a huge change from the past 8 years.
Although I'm not impressed at all with Obama's transition moves thus far, it's important to understand the process here. Obama may very well have a name he wants at Treasury. But he is also very intent for the most part in keeping names out of the public until the vetting process is complete. So he may indeed have a Treasury pick and is just waiting for the background check to be completed before announcing.
Right, Obama should name someone for Treasury quickly, without enough vetting. That would be...maver
does my heart good to see the top tier dems fighting already!!
This is what CHANGE looks like. The status quo had a bad effect on both the Democratic and Republican parties. Now there is a little housecleaning being done. Its about time. Hopefully this is just the beginning.
The myth of a 'center right" nation is about to be SHOT TO HELL!
So why is Obama bringing all this Clinton people back?
That doesn't sound like what you just explained?
You're right...CH
My concern about Obama is that he may be too cautious, too calculating, too much into, to use a Clintonesque term, triangulation. He hasn't convinced me yet in what he believes. I also find it disquieting the number of former Clinton officials he has surrounded himself with. Is this part of the politics of change or politics as usual?
"He hasn't convinced me yet in what he believes"
So did you vote for him?
His belief in "spreading the wealth", sums up his beliefs quite nicely.
Income has been migrating to the wealthiest 1% for the last 8 years, away from the middle class who hasn't seen a concomitant increase in their income at the same time that they have become more productive. Obama wants to spread the wealth, so you are exactly right.
Your belief in spreading the poverty sums up your beliefs up as well. The country is tired of the sad economic philosophy of the uber right that got us into this mess.
what you'll find out hopefully soon is that Obama believes in "Spreading the Health." Health care reform is long overdue. And that, I believe, will demonstrate his beliefs quite nicely.
BTW, most repubs I know don't have a problem opening their government check from disability, social security, medicare, medicaid, reduced school lunches, unemployment, etc......w
Bushie has been giving tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans. Obama wants to let those tax cuts expire. During a recession, (depression?), this makes sense. That is what Obama said he will do. Anything else you heard about Obama's plans, is Republican lies.
"He hasn't convinced me yet in what he believes."
He has announced what his legislative agenda will start with, what he considers most important. He signaled cap and trade, and unspecifically the economy and bailout in his well-honed election eve speech. People who are waiting to hear about the "change" overlooked the very change he said. Within 24 hours he re-signaled with the suggestion of RFK Jr. as EPA head cap and trade. RFK Jr. is a cap and trade proponent and his environmental tract for Obama mentioned nothing about the environment except carbon. He might get cold feet though, not wanting to waste the political capital of the Kennedy cachet on cap and trade.
Apparently the Europeans were not assured enough. From yesterday ""Several European countries reportedly approached Obama's transition team to ask that he signal his intentions to diplomats who will gather in Poland next month to craft a successor to the 2005 Kyoto Protocol. "" So Obama made the video revealed yesterday that assured the world, and resuscitated the carbon trades markets, that his first order of business is cap and trade--
" a new chapter in America's leadership on climate change . . . that will start with a federal cap and trade system.Now is the time to confront this challenge once and for all,” Obama said. “Delay is no longer an option. Denial is no longer an acceptable response.”
"He hasn't convince me yet in what he believes". Isn't that a way of saying, "We don't know enough about Obama"? It's too late. He was convincing enough to be elected.
You sound like one of those people who couldn't make up their mind who to vote for and drove us all nuts during the entire campaign season, acting as if YOUR vote is the most important one on the planet. Get over it. You aren't going to get everything YOU want. Why would anyone care if you're not convinced in the grand scheme of things? Sheesh.
And get facts straight, please. His cabinet isn't 100% Clinton people, not even close.
Dingall was too beholden to the auto industry; anyone who actively fought against increasing fuel mileage standards shouldn't head a committee on energy and commerce. While I don't mind having a more conservative segment to the democratic party, the "Blue Dogs" should realize that some of the same conservative principles they espouse are the ones that got many Republicans swept out of office a few weeks ago. They should also remember how Joe Lieberman lost the Dem Primary to Ned Lamont in Connecticut a couple years ago as he veered way to the right in regards to Iraq and Homeland Security.
so tell me again how Joe got his Senate seat? Oh yea, he beat Lamont and continuued his Iraq war stance...A
He would never have won re-election if the Republicans had voted for their own candidate. They threw their own under the bus just to make sure Lamont was not elected.
70% of the Republican vote went to Lieberman. That's how he won.
November 20, 2008
Rangel: Pelosi Played Role in Dingell's Defeat
@ 11:21 am by Hill Staff
Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) accused House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of having a role in Thursday's defeat of Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) for control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
"I assume that not playing a role is playing a role," Rangel, Chairman of the House Committee on Ways and Means, told the Washington Post after the Democratic Caucus voted to oust Dingell.
"It's just been buried," Rangel said of the long-standing principle of seniority for Democratic leadership in the House. Rangel had backed Dingell's bid to retain his chairmanship.
Seniority might be one factor to consider, but certainly should not be the only one.
Just because you've been there forever doesn't mean you have the best ideas.
Never heard of "Rookie of the Year?"
If Nancy Pelosi helped make the decision it must by the right one . . . for the 9% of people that approve of Congress.
Trust you're not implying that the Waxman is a rookie...
From 2007
"Congress will act upon cap-and-trade legislation in this Congress," Pelosi said.
Before, merely a solicitation for campaign contributions from the traders and carbon derivative bundlers of Goldman Sachs, Lehman, European outfits.
Now, it might all come true! Giving dollars to China for hot air China and India claim they did not emit. Seriously. Not kidding.
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