Two years ago, a source on Capitol Hill who used to work in Representative Pete Stark's office told me a great anecdote about Representative Stark.
One day, a lobbyist from a large energy company entered the lobby of Representative Stark's office. When he heard who was in the lobby, Representative Stark yelled from another room "get the f*ck out of here!" When the lobbyist laughed a bit and didn't leave, Representative Stark came into the lobby and yelled again "no, get the f*ck out of here!" The lobbyist then left.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee, according to a House leadership aide.
The decision was made during a Wednesday morning leadership meeting following Rangel's announcement that he would temporarily step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the aide said.
Rangel (N.Y.) had come under growing pressure in the wake of several ethics investigations, and he faced a vote Wednesday on a GOP-backed privileged resolution to force his ouster.
This good news. Rangel steps aside while facing real ethics questions, which is both the right thing to do and helps Democrats look less hypocritical about fighting corruption in D.C. Also, it puts Pete Stark, who is as uncorruptible and as solid a progressive and as anyone in Congress, in charge of the committee.
On Thursday, July 30th, the Progressive Caucus held a press conference to draw a line in the sand when it comes to the inclusion of a strong public option in the health care bill.
