Robert Novak on Pelosi
Robert Novak's new article, "Pelosi Power Play?" is pretty damn good. Here's the first part:
Here's the rest.House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning the establishment of a "select" committee on the environment and energy that would undermine the authority of Rep. John Dingell, the Michigan Democrat who was first elected in 1954 and is the senior member of Congress.
Dingell, a Detroit congressman closely tied to the auto industry, is reported by congressional sources to be furious about the Energy and Commerce committee that he heads losing jurisdiction to Pelosi's new creation. The select panel would also supplant the House Natural Resources Committee headed by Rep. Nick Rahall, who as a West Virginian is sympathetic to the coal industry.
The prospective chairman of the new committee would be Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, one of the most flamboyant liberals and uncompromising environmentalists in Congress.
