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Hastings Won't Chair House Intelligence Committee

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2006
Posted on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 09:26:42 PM EST
Tags: Alcee Hastings, Nancy Pelosi, Blue Dog Democrats (all tags)
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It's official. Alcee Hastings is out of the running for Chair of the House Intelligence Committee. Nancy Pelosi doesn't want him.

Reportedly, despite the support of the "Blue Dog Democrats," Jane Harman is out as well.

That leaves, according to McClatchy news reporters:

Reps. Silvestre Reyes of Texas, Sanford Bishop Jr. of Georgia and Norm Dicks of Washington state. Reyes has the edge, Pelosi allies indicated. He was a 26-year agent and supervisor with the U.S. Border Patrol before his 1996 election to Congress, and currently is a senior member of the Intelligence panel.

Who are the "Blue Dog Democrats?" A group of 44 centrist Democrats in the House.

Yet Pelosi may need the Blue Dog Coalition as much as they need her, or perhaps more.

It is a make-or-break group that can affect Pelosi’s ability to get legislation enacted in the House. Their 44 votes account for about 20 percent of Democratic membership in the new House.

Blue Dog leaders made a point of stressing their independence from party leaders in their debut event Wednesday. “We’re not going to be a rubber stamp for anyone,” said Rep. Mike Ross, D- Ark, the Blue Dogs spokesman.

My view is they can either be Democrats and go with the flow or they can join the Republican party whose views are closer to their own. The American people elected Democrats this year to effect change. The last thing we need are Republicans in Democrats' clothing to bring us more of the same.

Update: The Washington Post has more, and reports Harman is definitely out.

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    Hastings Won't Chair House Intelligence Committee | 6 comments (6 topical)

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    My support of Harman (none / 0) (#1)
    by Big Tent Democrat on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 09:51:24 PM EST
    ALMOST got her over the top . . .

    Heh.

    Seriously, I do feel she should have been named Chairman for all the reasons I previously described.

    I hope she at least gets to remain on the Committee.

    Excuse me - (none / 0) (#3)
    by Kitt on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 11:39:34 PM EST
    Could we get beyond the sexism in language here?

    Seriously, I do feel she should have been named Chairman for all the reasons I previously described.

    Chair or chairwoman is appropriate; chairman is not - and, it's not the catchall, generic form. It's masculine. Seriously.

    Parent

    Absolutely (none / 0) (#2)
    by aw on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 11:10:02 PM EST
    The American people elected Democrats this year to effect change.

    We elected them and we will back them up. If they don't grow spines now, they never will.

    Those Blue Dogs (none / 0) (#4)
    by Kitt on Tue Nov 28, 2006 at 11:45:55 PM EST
    The last thing we need are Republicans in Democrats' clothing to bring us more of the same.

    Is it being Republican to want fiscal responsibility?

                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Of course, I'm not real keen on this statement either by Mr. Ross (D-ARK):

    "We're not going to be a rubber stamp for anyone."
    But yet they're asking Pelosi to do that because they're backing Harman.

    Blue Dogs (none / 0) (#5)
    by diogenes on Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 05:55:48 AM EST
    The Blue Dog Democrats were elected by their districts precisely because they were not like Nancy Pelosi.  If clones of Nancy Pelosi had run in those districts the Republicans would still be running the Congress.  If the American people had known in advance that electing Democrats would lead to Pelosi shedding her centrist facade by trying to ditch Harman and Hoyer maybe things would have turned out differently.  Isn't that why she didn't announce her leadership team before the election?

    This all starts getting a little silly... (4.00 / 1) (#6)
    by Bill Arnett on Wed Nov 29, 2006 at 01:18:07 PM EST
    ...when statements like this are made:

    If the American people had known in advance that electing Democrats would lead to Pelosi shedding her centrist facade by trying to ditch Harman and Hoyer maybe things would have turned out differently.  Isn't that why she didn't announce her leadership team before the election?

    The rethugs did everything possible to impugn the character of Speaker Pelosi BEFORE the election and Americans voted out the rethugs ANYWAY.

    And could it be, maybe, just maybe, that she might have thought it premature to appoint her leadership team BEFORE THE ELECTION WAS WON?

    Republican talking points if I ever saw any.

    Parent

    Hastings Won't Chair House Intelligence Committee | 6 comments (6 topical)

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