Automakers and Dingell vs. Waxman

by: Matt Stoller

Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 11:09

I'm surprised, given the amount of attention foisted on the US auto industry at the moment, how few people are actually watching the Dingell versus Waxman dogfight over the Chairmanship of the Energy and Commerce Committee. E&C is the policy-making committee that will probably have jurisdiction over a good amount of the rule-making around whatever bailout happens, since it handles CAFE standards, industrial regulation, etc. So whether it goes to the super-green but sensible Henry Waxman or the more traditional John Dingell matters quite a bit.

It's very hard to tell what's going on with the conflict. Since it's secret ballot, certain members are probably promising their vote to both, and others are lying about who they will vote for. What makes it even more difficult to suss out is that Dingell is waging his campaign through the media, and Waxman is not. I know that the big green groups think that Dingell is going to win, and they don't want to get involved in leadership fights because the perception is that they aren't policy-related and the lobbying is member-to-member involving chits and relationships that have nothing to do with policy. This same rationale does not seem to apply to K Street, which is perfectly willing to whip for Dingell.

What makes this tussle even more opaque is that Dingell is a very traditional committee baron who does not always make friends in his dealings, and that has left a lot of raw feelings among people you wouldn't expect. Waxman by contrast is pretty well-liked, though not feared. No one really has any idea how the votes will play out, but I am surprised that the blogs have taken so little interest in this fight. The 2008 freshmen are being absorbed into the House quagmire without any protest from our quarters, or even requests that they actually take a position to help a progressive chair one of the most important committees in Congress, the one that regulates climate change, media policy, net neutrality, and trade.

Given the pixels spilled over pony plans for the carmakers and Lieberman, this is just weird.

Update: I forgot to mention this.

Clyburn spokeswoman Kristie Greco disputed a Bloomberg News report circulated by Dingell supporters that the third-ranking House Democrat had endorsed Dingell, who is fighting to keep his post at the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Greco said the report misquoted her, and that Clyburn has not offered an endorsement in the battle between Clyburn and Waxman.

Oops.

Matt Stoller :: Automakers and Dingell vs. Waxman

Tags: Henry Waxman, John Dingell, (All Tags)

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Automakers and Dingell vs. Waxman | 7 comments

Tell us who to call (4.00 / 2)

and we'll make some calls. I'm already busy calling Senators about Lieberman today, calling some Congressfolk wouldn't require much more effort.

Of course, I do wonder whether constituent phone calls would have much sway in something like this. The secret ballot means no retribution, so they'd probably vote based on personal relationships and their opinion of whether Dingell or Waxman would help them achieve their specific goals better.

Waxman used to be my Congressman before redistricting, and he's been mostly stellar. I say mostly because in the 1980s he blocked any subway building in Miracle Mile/Beverly Hills because of hyped-up safety concerns. Only recently did he undo the legislation blocking such construction, so now L.A. may finally build a subway that goes from downtown to the beach. But I'd much prefer him to somebody in the pocket of old dinosaur industries.

by: existenz @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 10:25:15 AM CST

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I wrote my local Congressman and asked him to support Waxman. (4.00 / 2)

Couldn't hurt. I think the fact that it is secret ballot takes all political calculations out of it and allows people to vote their conscience. But it's possible that we can genuinely change some minds by talking to them. If they know a lot of their constituents are concerned by Dingell, they may become concerned themselves.

by: pualo @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 11:58:18 AM CST

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Amen (0.00 / 0)

Thank you for highlighting this. In a way, I think this is more important than any kind of Baucus and Kennedy battle in the Senate. Considering Waxman is playing this a lot closer to vest than Dingell, so all we hear about are Dingell votes. I don't think Waxman is going to prevail, but this seems like it could have been a winnable battle. Pelosi will publicly stick her neck out for god damn Murtha, but not Waxman? I am a fan of hers, but come on. This is one of those dig your feet in cases.

by: hazelrah @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 12:18:26 PM CST

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When will they vote on it? (0.00 / 0)

by: Kanamit @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 13:04:37 PM CST

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Battles just over the horizon (0.00 / 0)

This seems like a prelude to some of the battles we're going to have to fight in the near future over dealing with energy and sustainable development. For the past eight years the debate in the US has been really simple: either you're on George Bush's side and pretend that global warming doesn't exist, or you're on our side and you acknowledge global warming and want to do something to stop it. Obama has promised a cap-and-trade system and tougher controls on CO2 emissions that we desperately need, but we're going to have to work hard to make sure that the controls are tough enough, that enough cash is being put into renewable energy research, that lobbyists don't siphon it all into "clean coal" and ethanol. I've got a diary in the works about all this, and I'd be delighted to hear from anyone who knows anything more than I do about the cap-and-trade legislation that Dingell is currently sponsoring along with Rep. Rick Boucher. The fact that it's featured on the website of the right-wing Institute for Energy Research, and that they seem a lot more comfortable with Dingell as chairman than with Waxman, makes me highly suspicious.

by: Eurotrash @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 13:20:51 PM CST

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excellent NYT article (0.00 / 0)

In case anyone's missed it, the New York Times published an excellent article on this issue on Saturday.

The truth about Saxby Chambliss

by: nstrauss @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 16:45:53 PM CST

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To stand up for Dingell (0.00 / 0)

John Dingell deserves to keep his Chairmanship of this committee. He's the guy who passed the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. To paint him as anti-environmental is ludicrous. Is he close to the auto-industry? Yes, but it's an industry that employs one in every ten Americans so let's give it some consideration.

Furthermore this committee deals with so much more than the environment. It is the committee of jurisdiction for healthcare. Who better to finish the charge for universal healthcare than the man who has done it for fifty years?

by: zachmartin11 @ Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 23:43:53 PM CST

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Automakers and Dingell vs. Waxman | 7 comments