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Rumblings of Power Shift Begin Among Democrats ( This could be fun to watch )
Wall Street Journal ^ | * NOVEMBER 6, 2008 | SUSAN DAVIS and GREG HITT

Posted on 11/06/2008 8:18:32 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman made a bold power play Wednesday by signaling that he will challenge Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the dean of the House of Representatives, for chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.

In challenging Rep. Dingell, Rep. Waxman is seeking to upend a long Democratic Party tradition of assigning chairmanships based on seniority. Rep. Dingell joined the House in 1955 and is the second-longest-serving member in the chamber's history.

[Waxman, Henry]

Henry Waxman

The move could become part of a broader realignment of the party's leadership in Washington, as the country begins the transition to a Democratic administration. Wednesday, President-elect Barack Obama drew from Capitol Hill as he began to build his White House team, asking Rep. Rahm Emanuel -- a fellow Illinois Democrat -- to serve as his White House chief of staff.

Congressional aides said Rep. Waxman -- who is close to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another Californian -- called Mr. Dingell Wednesday morning to notify him of his decision to pursue the chairmanship. Rep. Waxman is the second-ranking member of the panel.

Dennis Fitzgibbons, a longtime Dingell aide and staff director for the committee, said Rep. Dingell is focused on preparing his agenda for next year, which includes policies to address climate change, food safety and health care. "His focus is on accomplishments and the agenda," Mr. Fitzgibbons said.

Mr. Waxman issued a statement Wednesday that, while not referencing Mr. Dingell, said, "We will need the very best leadership in Congress and our committees to succeed." He faces two hurdles to ousting Mr. Dingell: a majority vote by the 50-member Democratic Steering Committee, and then its ratification by the full Democratic Caucus.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Extended News; Government; Politics/Elections; US: California; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: dingell; obamatransitionfile; pelosi; waxman
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1 posted on 11/06/2008 8:18:33 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

The scroungy jackals are starting their fight for the spoils of the rotting carcass.....


2 posted on 11/06/2008 8:21:07 AM PST by EagleUSA
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Gads....even drawings of that jerk are ugly.


3 posted on 11/06/2008 8:21:19 AM PST by Psycho_Bunny (By Obama's own reckoning, isn't Lyndon LaRouche more qualified? He's run since the 70's)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

4 posted on 11/06/2008 8:21:59 AM PST by xcamel (Conservatives start smart, and get rich, liberals start rich, and get stupid.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Internal fights? Oh boy! I hope the Democrats fight internally for the next four years -— wild dogs fighting over the kill.

What a picture for the electorate.


5 posted on 11/06/2008 8:22:49 AM PST by Roses0508
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Dingell is done, he just doesn’t know it. Emanuel must not have gotten his phone number yet.


6 posted on 11/06/2008 8:23:08 AM PST by Crawdad
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
The buzzards are gathering around the body politic.

With the economy so bad, there are slim pickings.

7 posted on 11/06/2008 8:23:09 AM PST by syriacus (There would not be so many undecided voters, if Obama's plans were less confusing.)
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To: Psycho_Bunny

Hair Club for Men poster boy?.....


8 posted on 11/06/2008 8:23:43 AM PST by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
In challenging Rep. Dingell, Rep. Waxman is seeking to upend a long Democratic Party tradition of assigning chairmanships based on seniority.

Waxman's through relying on his good looks to get ahead.

9 posted on 11/06/2008 8:24:18 AM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: All; NormsRevenge; Grampa Dave; SierraWasp; BOBTHENAILER; Marine_Uncle; blam; SunkenCiv; ...
Related thread:

Waxman attacks Dingell: Now it gets interesting for Democrats

10 posted on 11/06/2008 8:25:44 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; EagleUSA

And it is said that “Pedicure” Waxman is very vindictive and eager to pursue criminal investigations of Bush.


11 posted on 11/06/2008 8:27:40 AM PST by theDentist (Qwerty ergo typo : I type, therefore I misspell)
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To: syriacus

With the economy so bad, there are slim pickings.

This is a good point.....Hussein can have this mess! He’s not going to get far when households and businesses are tapped out.....


12 posted on 11/06/2008 8:28:21 AM PST by AngelesCrestHighway
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Isn’t this like trading one dumbass congresscritter for another and still winding up with a bag of bad gas? I say let the demorats go on and kill each other and save our ammo for Pelosi and Reid.


13 posted on 11/06/2008 8:28:31 AM PST by geezerwheezer (get up boys, we're burnin' daylight!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Waxman represents the youth movement among congressional dems.

One of the best things Republicans did in '95 was term limit committee chairs. It's been Night of the Walking Dead the last two years watching the democrat fossils stumble back into power. Obama, unfortunately, is right in step with them; despite being a generation younger, he too seems to have learned nothing in 30 years.

14 posted on 11/06/2008 8:28:49 AM PST by sphinx
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To: Crawdad
Dingell is done, he just doesn’t know it. Emanuel must not have gotten his phone number yet.

Yo Dingell ate mah baby.
15 posted on 11/06/2008 8:29:04 AM PST by Sig Sauer P220 (Thanks to the robber barons in D.C. and on Wall St. I've been forced to become a minimalist.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

So who is going to challenge Pelosi? Or Reid?


16 posted on 11/06/2008 8:29:23 AM PST by HighlyOpinionated (I carry a pistol because my rifle won't fit in my purse.)
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To: EagleUSA; Psycho_Bunny; xcamel; Roses0508; Crawdad; syriacus; AngelesCrestHighway; dead
Excerpt from the article linked at post #10:

*****************************

Jodi Seth, a Dingell spokeswoman, responded:

"Tearing a leadership apart is something the Republicans should be doing after their big loss. It shouldn't be the first order of business for the Democrats after a historic election."

Gotta love it!

17 posted on 11/06/2008 8:30:39 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (No Burkas for my Grandaughters!)
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To: syriacus

America’s buzzards, have come home to roost.


18 posted on 11/06/2008 8:31:02 AM PST by syriacus (There would not be so many undecided voters, if Obama's plans were less confusing.)
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To: theDentist

.....Waxman is very vindictive and eager to pursue criminal investigations of Bush.
::::::::::
Another mentally-deranged liberal who casts no image in a mirror. This demoRAT fool should be making horror flicks.


19 posted on 11/06/2008 8:31:12 AM PST by EagleUSA
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

Hillary is laying in wait to challenge Reid for Senate Leader. She’ll line up her allies and bide her time until the Reid-Pelosi tag team is near death, then she’ll pounce. Might be the next election, or sooner than that if the Congress-Senate poll numbers become more putrid than they are now.


20 posted on 11/06/2008 8:31:33 AM PST by randita (2 Chronicles 7:14)
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