This week we have a special Soapbox Sunday. We have the distinct privilege of yielding the floor, or rather the soapbox, to our good friend and guest commentator Barely Partisan. A true Beltway insider, Barely Partisan, provides a lil bit of perspective from on top the Hill. We hope to hear from him again soon.
This is the Worst Week Ever for the Old White Man! I know, it seems unbelievable, right? What does “the Man” have to worry about? After all, politics is the historic playground for “the Man,” especially since the U.S. Congress largely runs on the seniority system. However, just consider below.
Ever since the election of our friend, President-Elect Barack Obama (D), the stock of the old white man has dropped (literally & figuratively). Let’s take a look at all the political hits we have seen.
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) was ousted as the chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. This sent shock waves through the Senate, the chummiest club of old white men ever. The soon to be chairman-emeritus is 91. He is known as “big-daddy” (a name he coined himself) for bringing home the “bacon” to his beloved West Virginia. The colleagues of the President Pro-Tempore of the Senate, and longest serving senator in U.S. history, have been circling his still warm carcass for most of 2008. They were concerned that he was not fit to lead the committee which dished out all of the funding. Despite their efforts, he was able to push back until earlier this month. He released a statement, seemingly of his own volition, which said that even he felt like change should effect him. You would think that this stalwart of the Democratic party would have cemented himself in his position, but a stronger Democratic majority only meant that he would no longer sit in the big seat in full committee hearings. He retains the gavel in the Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, but that’s merely a consolation prize. This is even sadder, despite his age, because all observers of the Senate know all you need to do is keep on breathing as long as you have good staff; and Sen. Byrd has good staff. It just wasn’t enough to keep the reigns of his powerful committee. No more respect for seniority. Not even 91 year olds. Replaced by who? An 84 year old senior member from Hawaii.
Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AL) proved that this period of time and effects on the OWM are bipartisan. Though this former head of the Senate Appropriations Committee and President Pro Tempore of the Senate was convicted of seven felonies just a short while ago, he was still favored by many to win re-election to the Senate for the seventh time. This is the man that championed statehood for Alaska. This man, through his advocacy, has brought Alaska whatever progress it has received during its entire existence in the Union. However, his greed and poo r book keeping have proven his downfall. When Sen. Stevens finally conceded, the next morning saw him yielding the Senate floor for the final time. His words were moving, and he said he could see himself removing the cloud that currently surrounds him, and his respect for the institution of the Senate was firmly intact. That is ironic since if he won re-election, some in his own party would have moved to have him removed—not wanting to be associated with a convicted felon, all despite the fact that he is appealing the decision on several reasonable grounds. The longest serving Republican senator in history has, too, fallen at age 85.
If Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) said in public, “I had a hand in making the President-Elect,” I would give him some credit. Don’t forget that 2004 Democratic Convention belonged to Sen. Kerry. He was the nominee at that point. He allowed the African American state senator from Illinois the opportunity to speak, just as 2000 Democratic Nominee Al Gore provided then-Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. four years before. The difference is that we’re still reading about Barack Obama, and our children will continue to read about him in history books. Without “that speech,” the President-Elect would have still been a senator from Illinois, with no problem. No real Republican stood in his way. However, the President-Elect might have had a harder time getting elected without that electrifying opportunity. He would have been just as popular or as well-known as his history making counterparts. How much do you know about Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick (D) or New York Governor David Patterson (D)? That’s how much you would know about the President-Elect without that magical July 27 night of 2004. Don’t forget the Massachusetts junior senator came out early to endorse the President-Elect. So, it was no secret in DC that Sen. Kerry desired to be Secretary of State. He felt it was the job he was made for if he couldn't have the one he interviewed for four years ago. He has spent years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee under the tutelage of the Vice-President-Elect. You know how many purple hearts he has. He has been on both national and international stages. Instead, the disciplined Transition staff (I believe) purposefully leaked that Sen. Clinton is the next State Department chief. It was their way to tell all the other pretenders to the throne to “keep your resumes. We found our gal.” Sen. Kerry, kingmaker. Downed at age 65.
The Vice-President-Elect turned 66 this week. If the Transition Team didn’t release a photograph of the President-Elect giving him a dozen cupcakes, then we would not have seen him at all. I know the goal is to stay out of the media, and his lack of recent20exposure is not the reason why he has found himself on this list. Rather it is the appointment of pending appointment of Sen. Clinton as Secretary of State. That appointment marginalizes Mr. Biden. Wasn’t he picked because of all of that foreign policy experience? Wasn’t that going to allow the incoming President the ability to pick some one symbolic of change for the State Department because the Veep would always be there to make sure the international message was clear and crisp (unlike the soon-to-be Veep's message on the campaign trail). Now, what’s the use of having the Senate Foreign Relations Chairman the #2 executive in the country? The Clinton family will loom huge in the Cabinet room and around the world. If I were the Veep-Elect, I would tell my scheduler to block off lots of time to listen to Senate debate. It seems like he will do more than open it, close it, and break ties. That scheduler might need to buy a few Snickers, because he is going to be hanging around the favored OWM club a lot. The Vice-President-Elect is starting work for new branch of government at age 66, but this week his level of influence in the Obama Administration, too, bit the dust.
Rep. John Dingell, whom will become the longest serving Member of the House of Representatives EVER early next year, was ousted by his number two on the powerful Energy & Commerce Committee this week. Though interested Hill observers and staffers saw this coming for the last two weeks, no one could do anything to stop it, not even Chairman Dingell. E&C is important not just because 60% of all House of Representatives legislation goes through that Committee, but with the problems concerning the automotive industry, the senior Dingell’s top billing is even more important. When Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA), likely with the tacit approval of his House Speaker and fellow Californian, went after Dingell’s gavel it split the House Democratic caucus in half. Dingell set up a “whip team” to try to save his job. He also quickly sent correspondence to the President-Elect looking forward to working with him on healthcare reform, a major Obama initiative. This whole situation was made even worse because Dingell just recently had a replaced hip replaced again. Reportedly while Rep. Dingell was recovering, Rep. Waxman started his campaign to move from the big chair in the Government Reform Committee to E&C. (Besides, what Democrat wants to be the one to call in those that work for the next Administration and make sure they are doing their jobs? Shortens the honeymoon.) So, after two series of votes, Rep. Dingell’s grip on the powerful E&C gavel eased at the ripe old age of 82 to be replaced by a 69 year old Jewish man.
There are others, honorable mentions, like Sen. Saxby Chambliss running for his life in Georgia (at age 65), Attorney General Michael Mukasey (whom collapsed literally last night of apparent exhaustion at age 67), Senator Harry Reid (whom was totally marginalized by the President-Elect when he was forced to not even tap Senator Joe Lieberman on the hand this week for his insubordination), and every head of an American automotive company, but the men mentioned above could not have “believed” that a new era of “change” would effect them like this. You know it is a rough week in American politics when it is a rough week for “the Man.”>
