House GOP Leadership Elections

I asked early this AM what the Senate’s reorganization plans are. Do we know how many committee seats Harry plans to take away, in light of the new composition of the Senate?

Jayack:
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Does the makeup of the committees, such as Homeland Security, reflect the proportion in the Senate, or are they 50-50 with the chair going to the majority party?

Lots of interesting stuff. Begich won in AK, so we have 58. Texas indicts Cheney and Gonzalas
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/18/cheney.gonzales.indicted/index.html
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Hillary’s gonna get state.
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I don’t know how important the indictments from the Texas grand jury are, but it’s better than nothing…

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Not-to-be-missed interview by 538′s honcho Nate Silver with John Ziegler on the Zogby “Push Poll.”
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Great, great stuff. The dude is a whack job — as in rustydog-level whack job. *Even more* of a whack job than Sarah Palin. Seriously, Do. Not. Miss.

Jay: I have inquire about that exact question and haven’t heard back. But my understanding is they will not finalize committee assignments until they know exactly how big their majority is — which means waiting for the Georgia run off and the Minnesota recount.
JNS

Mike Pence the quasi-moderate? Only in wingnut crazy land. Matt Yglesias has a helpful chart to place Pence in context. Matthew Yglesias » House GOP Leadership Gets More Conservative
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Yglesias also has some colorful things to say about Pence’s abilities. Matthew Yglesias » Mike Pence
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“There are very few members of congress with whom I’ve ever had the opportunity to discuss a substantive matter of public policy. But as it happens, one of them — the one with whom I’ve had the second-longest exchange — is Mike Pence (R-IN) who I’ve seen on television today repeatedly discussing the Republican Study Group’s “plan” for the financial crisis. And I can tell you this about Mike Pence: he has no idea what he’s talking about. The man is a fool, who deserves to be laughed at. He’s almost stupid enough to work in cable television.”

JNS, does Pelosi still feel the hot breath of Steny Hoyer on her neck? Are there still two distinct faction with dems in the house, Pelosi backers and Hoyer backers? Has she solidifed her position yet?

Hey JNS: “which means waiting for the Georgia run off and the Minnesota recount.” Any word on how soon Lieberman will be jetting to those locations to help the Dem candidates? Cause he’s now a Dem again and all that reconciliation kumbaya stuff?

James:
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Didn’t. Not. Miss.
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Loved it. As long as there are nutsqueezers like Zeigler out there, the entertainment will continue…

wvng
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I think she was calling Pence a wingnut who Boehner has used to help push the rest of them (quasi moderates) closer to wingnuttery

I saw Lieberman on teevee saying that he regretted certain comments made during the campaign. He looked like he regretted making that statement more than he ever regretted the original comments.

JNS, I would absolutely love to hear your response to this: The Washington Monthly- WHEN WAS THE GOP’S FACTIONAL WARFARE?

sgw, I don’t think so. Seems to me she says Boehner moved Pence farther to the right.
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Referee?

53, Yes. Yes, indeed. A steady, reliable source of popcorn is very much in order.
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Another topic, I wasn’t that familiar with John Larson (D-CT) but so far I am generally pleased. He passes my first-level screening test for Fitness to Hold Public Office, which is No on MCA and No on the various FISA renewal permutations. And he is replacing Rahm, who, I think everyone agrees, has been one big Pain In The A$$ for almost everyone wrt legislation.
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But, who knows more about Larson? What is the status of his column of vertebrae?
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Speaking of Rahm. TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Rahm Challenges Business Leaders: Let’s Do Real Health Care Reform

Oh, and James, thanks so much for the info about the “Make Link” plug in for Firefox. So simple even a child – or kathy and I – can do it.

wvng — sgwhiteinfla is right — pence is to the right, boehner is quasi-moderate. apologies if that wasn’t clear.

wvng — on the washington monthly link: I would argue that the GOP certainly has warring factions. The three legs of the Reagan stool are not in agreement these days and there’s no better example of that than Palin who energized social conservatives but put off many fiscal and defense conservatives. The Republican Main Street Partnership– for all that it’s membership is dwindling these days — was often a thorn in the side of Tom DeLay and Denny Hastert, just as much as the RSC. The RSC HATED the votes on Medicare Part D and NCLB. The RMSP HATED Terry Schiavo and all those wedge issue votes. And as soon as the Hammer left they became quite ungovernable — one need look no further than the bailout vote to see how much power the GOP leadership has over their members (ie, virtually none). Most of the moderates have lost or retired — some under the friendly fire of the Club for Growth. Look at the Senate: John Warner, Trent Lott, Mike DeWine — these were the guys who worked in the old school fashion of deal making — believing that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good and it was better to get a bill than not. They’ve been replaced by ideologues like Coburn and DeMint who prefer to blow the Senate rather than reach a compromise, whoever imperfect. If you haven’t read it yet Norm Ornstein and Thomas Mann document the loss of the center brilliantly in their book, “The Broken Branch.” I highly recommend it. Any way, back to my Senate Finance Committee hearing — the first of what I’m sure will be hundreds on universal healthcare.
JNS

I read the piece to suggest a wink-and-nod deal whereby Boehner would bring Pence along in leadership roles and Pence would soften, not cease, attacks from the right.

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wv–
I am really jazzed to see MakeLink has been successful for you! Thanks!
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pourmecoffee: And what do you think Pence will do in those leadership roles but to try and move boehner and the leadership to the right?

JNS, thanks for the substantive and, may I say, bloggish response. Consider that high praise.
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Now I’ll do the bloggish thing and press further. Cillizza argued that: “These are the problems of power, the same problems that Republican experienced following the 2000 election. The GOP’s inability to make peace between its warring ideological factions led to its decline in 2006 and fall in 2008.” Benen in response said: “In our reality, GOP policy makers were in line with the Bush White House every step of the way, and voted with the president’s wishes throughout the first six years of his presidency.”
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It hardly mattered what went on behind closed Repub doors when the public face was a united full speed ahead until they started losing.
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Regardless, the inside baseball of your response could be turned into a great dead tree evolution of the GOP piece. And I would use the word “evolution” in the title.

JN-S:
1. ITS membership – possessive pronoun, not the contraction “it’s.”
2. I would have thought you’d cite Craig rather than Coburn or DeMint as someone who’d “prefer to blow the Senate.”
3. “Whoever imperfect?”
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My intent isn’t just to provide Grammar Nazi snark – it’s to renew the call for the return of a Preview function to Swampland comments. Even the pros need the occasional opportunity for review.

JNS – Pence will certainly try and move Boehner to the right. I think the advantage to both of them in the relationship is in one word: certainty. It’s better for all sides to have your opponent and the rules of play known. They’ve worked out a loose agreement for blocking and tackling to see if they can gain some yardage together, and not get injured when they have to split ways. I note that Boehner mentions Pence favorably in his remarks today in the fourth graph from the bottom here.

JNS,
You are repeating the conventional wisdom, but it has no basis in the actual historical record. Every issue you mentioned had almost unanimous GOP support, when vote-time came down. And that’s when it counts, doncha know. From 2002-2006, there *wasn’t any* so-called Republican “Main Street.” They were ALL rightwing loonies, and they voted that way.
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You and your colleagues are busily revising history. I’d like to know why you are taking that upon yourself. To revive GOP credibility? Is that your job?
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“blow the Senate”?
You owe me a bucket of brain bleach.

Everyone’s right. As JNS mantions there’s a significant amount of factionalism within the Republican party (and even more withing their professed ideology). But as Steve Benen noted, until the 2008 primary season, such differences made absolutely no difference when it came to governing. Those few instances where there was public dissention were the very few instances where Bush decided to take a pragmatic stand and got his nose bit off by the wingnut brigade.

In each case, the hatred of foreigners was the driving basis behind the dissention.

wv – haha. but as a matter of fact when I tried to download make link it didn’t work for some reason so I’m currently clinging to creating links the old fashioned way

The GOP’s early Christmas gift to a nation weary of partisanship: more Eric Cantor.
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Thanks a pantload, guys. 

kathy, so do I about half the time, just so I can. Like now. Sorry MakeLink didn’t work for you, though. Please don’t be bitter while you cling.

Has America ever been more poorly represented by the total leadership of the House? It would seem hardly possible.

While The GOP scurries about, the Obama administration is taking shape. Here Steve Clemons interviews Tom Dashle, the nominee for HHS. Talking Points Memo | Daschle on Health Care Reform More on this from Benen – The Daschle news makes me even more encouraged about the prospect of a healthcare package actually passing

FlownOver: Don’t you mean Hanukkah gift?

Speaking of decisions the GOP needs to make, I do hope you all read Parker today. The selection of Palin seems to have liberated this woman. Giving Up on God – washingtonpost.com

Did anyone remember that Traitor Joe cut a $250,000 check for the DSCC just a couple months ago?
http://firedoglake.com/2008/08/28/lieberman-to-reid-will-250-million-be-enough-video/
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“Gee, that’s a nice gavel….be a shame if anything happened to it.”

JNS–
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Thanks very much. Makes sense, although I assume there are contingency plans.
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sgw–
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Sorry I missed that. IN meetings today. I think JNS answered your question better than I could have.

Everyone’s right. As JNS mantions there’s a significant amount of factionalism within the Republican party (and even more withing their professed ideology). But as Steve Benen noted, until the 2008 primary season, such differences made absolutely no difference when it came to governing. Those few instances where there was public dissention were the very few instances where Bush decided to take a pragmatic stand and got his nose bit off by the wingnut brigade.
In each case, the hatred of foreigners was the driving basis behind the dissention
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I’m gonna keep saying that the ability to hold the republicans in a bloc, with a Dem president, no universally recognized party leader, batsh!t crazy senators like Inhofe and Bunning, and a clusterwhatever on pretty much everything else, that Reid will have no problem getting stuff through that he wants to get through. (That last clause for Jane, Christy and their irate FDLers. There’s stuff we’re gonna want that they won’t want.)
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And Reid pulled his punches in the last session. He let them lose all those elections. If Gordon Smith and John Sununu and Norm Coleman and Liddy Dole and even Ted Stevens wanted to wrap their chains around Bush as the water was streaming into his little aluminum rowboat, to the point of not just voting nay but refusing cloture votes, then, hey, 58, 59, 60. We’ll take that, said Chucky and Harry.
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My concern is they are not concerned with any policy issue–that all they really want is to control the pork distribution. And that’s where WE come in. We need to make stinks when they do bad things.