Dec 16 2008
Did Pelosi Rebuff Obama on Dingell Leadership Race?
Politico has a rather cryptic paragraph in an analysis of the relationship between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and President-elect Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Here is the cryptic paragraph:
In a recent conversation with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Rahm Emanuel offered some advice on a Democratic House leadership race. Pelosi’s response, according to several Democratic sources: It is “an internal House Democratic Caucus matter, and we’ll handle it.”
Democratic insiders say there’s no animosity between Pelosi and Emanuel, who’s leaving his post as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus to become the next White House chief of staff.
But the speaker is laying down the law nonetheless.
In talks with Emanuel and others, sources say, Pelosi has “set parameters” for what she wants from Barack Obama and his White House staff — no surprises, and no backdoor efforts to go around her and other Democratic leaders by cutting deals with moderate New Democrats or conservative Blue Dogs.
Specifically, Pelosi has told Emanuel that she wants to know when representatives of the incoming administration have any contact with her rank-and-file Democrats — and why, sources say.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1208/16622.html
First off, it’s a great article. And it fills in some holes for me trying the understand the dynamics currently at play in Washington, D.C. I have made no secret in the past of identifying myself as a moderate/pragmatic/centrist Democrat. And it is no secret that Nancy Pelosi has made a very strong push to marginalize moderate/pragmatic/centrist Democrats in her House caucus.
What is interesting about the article is that it suggests an attempt by the White House at influencing a House Democratic leadership race. I don’t think that any close observer of politics can read that without immediately thinking about the race for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee between Henry Waxman and John Dingell. It was, essentially, the only contested House leadership race.
Waxman, of course, won. It was a strong rebuke to Dingell, and by extension, moderate Democrats. Liberal Democrats very much have control of the House Democratic caucus now. However, they do not have a failsafe majority. There are enough Blue Dog conservative Democrats and Democratic Leadership Council moderate Democrats in the House that, combined with the reduced Republican minority, bills *could* be passed over Speaker Pelosi’s objection.
So, if President-elect Obama decides to govern as a centrist, he could, conceivably, govern over Pelosi’s head. This would be pretty ballsy. And it might further alienate Obama’s left-wing powerbase. But it might also widen Obama’s rather fragile electoral majority.
Personally, I am heartened by the idea that Obama attempted to intervene - possibly - on Dingell’s behalf. And it would be consistent with his support of Sen. Joe Lieberman in the Senate. Of course, time will tell if Obama truly intends to govern as a centrist. But the path is there.