Nov
19
2008
One of the more overlooked moments of this past presidential election took place just prior to Barack Obama’s Democratic National Convention acceptance speech. Inside a cavernous stadium, something strange happened. Sheryl Crowe and other famous musicians had taken their seats. But a series of working-class voters from swing states like Ohio enraptured the audience.
It was the highlight of the campaign for me. Let’s face it, Barack Obama was not the working man’s favorite in the primaries. That honor was given to Hillary Clinton. But when these workers spoke strongly and eloquently, it seemed as if Obama was on our side.
This, of course, remains to be seen. The current battle between John Dingell and Henry Waxman shows how tenuous the balance between moderate and liberal Democrats have become. And that battle seems to have taken the focus of auto industry supporters away from today’s terrible hearing.
If you didn’t see it, the heads of Ford, GM, Chrysler and the UAW testified before Congress. But few of the CEO’s comments made it to the evening news programs. Instead, harangue after harangue rained down from the assembled paragons of Congressional virtue.
And one of the biggest problems was the fact that the CEO’s had flown in on private aircraft. Rick Wagoner’s flight apparently cost GM $20,000.
Those were not the people to fly to Washington. They should have put my brother-in-law, my uncle and my neighbor on a coach flight. They could’ve brought pictures of their families with them to show the world how important this really is.
Nov
19
2008
The Associated Press reports that Henry Waxman has bested John Dingell in a committee nominating vote related to control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. The vote total was 25-22. Several Democratic leaders abstained. Now, Dingell will appeal to the entire caucus. The final vote will happen tomorrow. Excerpt and link:
WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokeswoman for Rep. Henry Waxman says he’s been selected by a key leadership panel to replace veteran Chairman John Dingell as head of a crucial House committee with jurisdiction over energy and global warming.
Karen Lightfoot says Waxman and Michigan Democrat Dingell still will square off Thursday in a vote of House rank and file Democrats. But based on a 25-22 vote in the leadership panel Wednesday, Waxman has to be considered the favorite to topple Dingell, the longest serving House member.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20081119/FREE/811199973/1069&rssfeed=RSS01
Nov
17
2008
Derek Walbank at the Lansing State Journal has, in my opinion, the best Michigan-centric political blog in existence. And he was just promoted from Lansing to Washington, D.C. So, I was curious what he thought of the Dingell vs. Waxman race for Chair of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Well, after posting the question in his comments section, Derek wrote an excellent review of the race. Be sure to check it out:
http://noise.typepad.com/election_countdown/2008/11/waxman-v-dingell.html?cid=139521744#comments
Nov
17
2008
Congressman Barney Frank, a member of the House Democratic Party leadership, is backing Congressman Dingell in his fight to maintain his chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Here’s the link from Roll Call:
http://www.rollcall.com/news/30216-1.html
Nov
15
2008
The battle between John Dingell and Henry Waxman for control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee is the subject of a segment from this week’s edition of NPR’s Living on Earth. Listen to the section by clicking the link below:
http://loe.org/audio/stream.m3u?file=http://stream.loe.org/audio/081114/081114Dingle.mp3
Nov
13
2008
Here are the latest links related to the Dingell vs. Waxman battle for control of the House Energy and Commerce Committee:
http://yglesias.thinkprogress.org/archives/2008/11/the_waxman_dingell_showdown.php
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15565.html
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081113/METRO/811130463/1409/METRO
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/11/12/161017/41/592/653333
Maybe the most interesting scenario - and one with probably zero credibility in the real world - is the idea of bumping John Dingell to the spot of Secretary of Labor. I would assume that Congressman Dingell would be hostile to this idea, but here are some interesting thoughts:
First, Dingell is getting older. Would achieving a cabinet post be a fitting capstone to a long career? And would a position at Labor help him to create a soft landing for thousands of Michigan residents tied to the hobbling auto industry?
Second, this would open Dingell’s seat. I don’t know exactly what the rules in filling his seat would be. But one could imagine a scenario in which Debbie Dingell takes over the seat if Dingell were offered a cabinet position. And, perhaps, a deal could be reached to give Debbie some of Dingell’s seniority.
Finally, I wonder how much the deal for an auto industry bailout is impacting this leadership battle. Would Dingell ever consider a cosmic bargain by, say, trading his spot in exchange for another $25 billion worth of bailout.
This, I would say, is a highly unlikely scenario. But Dingell can count votes. If he sees that he is on the losing end, would he decide to go out with a bang?
