The Democrats in Congress are mighty happy that Barack Obama won the White House. So much so that they have begun a campaign of stabbing one another in the back.
Tuesday’s election may have made House Speaker Nancy Pelosi the most powerful woman in U.S. political history, but she isn’t getting much time to celebrate: Some of her colleagues are accusing her of plotting to overthrow a popular committee chairman, and the possible departure of Rahm Emanuel could bring new fights for spots on her leadership team.
In a move that shocked many of his colleagues, Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) announced Wednesday that he’ll challenge Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
Dingell is a popular “Old Bull” who will likely have the support of his fellow committee chairmen, who see Waxman’s move as a threat to the hallowed seniority system.
But there’s a history of bad blood between Dingell and Pelosi — she stripped him of authority over global warming issues last year — and some of Dingell’s allies suspect that Pelosi and her closest confidant in the House, Rep. George Miller of California, are behind Waxman’s insurgency.
One former Democratic lawmaker suggested this might be “Murtha redux” — a reference to suspicions that Pelosi engineered Rep. John P. Murtha’s unsuccessful run against Rep. Steny H. Hoyer for majority leader in 2006.
Nice to see all that hopey-changy message got absorbed by the Dems. In all seriousness, this sort of thing has the potential of crippling the Democrats from within.
So, I’m all for it!
