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How dirty is the Democrat Party? This dirty.
Democratic leaders, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), have denied a request from Rep. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), who lost both of her legs in the Iraq War, to waive the Democratic rule barring proxy votes. Duckworth, 46, is in the last stages of a pregnancy and her doctor won’t allow her to travel back to Washington to vote in person.
“A lot of people felt that Tammy’s patriotism and sacrifice to this country warrants special consideration. And I’m one of those people who think it’s hard to make an argument that it does not require special consideration,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said afterward. “She’s given parts of her body for her country, and if it came to a vote, I would vote to give her a proxy.”
“The fact is that we don’t know what’s going on in the lives of many people,” Pelosi told reporters on Monday. “You’re going to establish a situation where we’re going to determine who has a note from the doctor that’s valid or not. It’s really a place we shouldn’t go.”
Pregnancy doesn’t seem like a “note from a doctor” type of issue. It’s the sort of thing that Dems claim is a War on Women until they’re the ones fighting it.
But what is this really about? Green energy subsidies and money.
Behind closed doors, many Democrats suspect Pelosi’s denial could be related to her support for Rep. Anna Eshoo (D), a close friend and fellow Californian, in her race against Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) for the ranking member position on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.
That race is expected to be tight — both sides claim to have the numbers to win — and Duckworth had sided with Pallone.
“That’s the root of all of this,” Rep. John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) said as he left Tuesday’s meeting.
Big money was being pumped into this porkfest.
For a lawmaker hoping to land a top party seat on a key congressional committee, which matters the most? Seniority? Policy expertise? Legislative skill?
Or is it the ability to raise staggering sums of money—including from interests and industries they hope to oversee—that can be funneled to their colleagues?
The latest campaign finance filings from Reps. Anna Eshoo and Frank Pallone—veteran lawmakers vying to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Waxman as the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee—show that since last year and through Oct. 15, they have combined to distribute more than $1.2 million in direct contributions to the campaign coffers of House Democratic incumbents and challengers across the country.
And thus, Eshoo (who has the backing for the post of fellow Californian and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi) and Pallone of New Jersey (who has Minority Whip Steny Hoyer’s support) have been delivering chit-seeking donations to colleagues out of their personal reelection stockpiles, as well as their separate “leadership” political action committees. Many recipients have received money both from Pallone (totaling about $684,500) and Eshoo ($593,200)—and the donations continue to flow this week.
The money comes from special interests, ranging from pharmaceutical companies to Google to Green Energy. And despite Pelosi, Pallone outraised Eshoo which means he took home the big prize. (And so did his donors.)
Rep. Frank Pallone of Nerw Jersey beat out Rep. Anna Eshoo of California on Wednesday for the top Democratic seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a public defeat for returning Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and a victory for seniority as a primary factor driving committee races.
Eshoo had been Pelosi’s choice to succeed retiring Rep. Henry Waxman as the panel’s ranking Democrat, but was edged out by Pallone 100-90 in secret balloting by the entire Democratic Caucus. The Pelosi-controlled Democratic Steering and Police Committee had endorsed Eshoo for the post on Tuesday, 30-19.
In the lead-up to Wednesday’s closed-door voting, Pallone promised his colleagues that he’d fight to defend the health-care law from Republican repeal attempts, and said, “We have to be seen as the defender of the little guy,” according to a staffer in the room.
The little guy. And all the little guys who helped him get all that cash to spread around to his fellow Dems for a secret ballot.
Despite Pelosi’s attempt to suppress Duckworth’s vote, she lost. And America lost whoever won because corrupt special interests running the government means that we all lose.