On November 13th, eastcoastmoderate said: “Of the 29 new house member of the Democrats, 15 have joined the DLC, and another 9 consider themselves blue dogs. Boo-Man you are in total denial.” Was I in denial? Or did Joementum’s biggest booster not know his head from the hole in his ass?
What will be the largest of the ideological caucuses in the new House Democratic majority?
Why, of course, it must be the “centrists” affiliated with the Democratic Leadership Council’s “New Democrat Coalition.” Yes, that’s got to be the case because all the commentators at the Wall Street Journal keep saying that centrists were the big winners on Tuesday.
Er, no.
Well, then, it must be the more conservative Democrats who identify themselves as “Blue Dogs.” Surely, that’s the answer because all the folks on Fox News keeping talking about them.
Nope.
The largest ideological caucus in the new House Democratic majority will be the Congressional Progressive Caucus, with a membership that includes New York’s Charles Rangel, Michigan’s John Conyers, Massachusetts’ Barney Frank and at least half the incoming chairs of House standing committees.
The caucus currently has 64 members — up 14 since last year — and its co-chairs, California Democrats Lynn Woolsey and Barbara Lee, say they expect that as many as eight incoming House Democrats will join the CPC. The number could actually go higher, as several candidates in undecided House races ran with strong progressive support. (The CPC worked with labor and progressive groups to assist a number of candidates in targeted races around the country this year, reflecting the more aggressive approach it has taken since the caucus was reorganized under the leadership of Lee and Woolsey and hired veteran labor and political organizer Bill Goold as a full-time staffer.)
The caucus will need an infusion of new members — not because those associated with it lost elections Tuesday but because they won. CPC members Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Sherrod Brown of Ohio will be leaving the House to become U.S. Senators. Interestingly, the two members of the “Blue Dog” caucus who ran for the Senate, Hawaii’s Ed Case and Tennessee’s Harold Ford, both lost.
Says Lee: “Some inside-the-Beltway commentators, columnists, and conservatives want the American people to believe that last Tuesday’s election results have especially empowered moderate-to-conservative elements within the House Democratic Caucus in the 110th Congress, but that is an incomplete picture of the new political landscape on Capitol Hill.”
She’s right. The convention wisdom may say that the new crop of House Democrats is conservative or centrist: Political Correspondent Gloria Borger: “the people coming in are going to be these moderate conservatives”; New York Times columnist David Brooks: “For the most part they exchanged moderate Republicans for conservative Democrats.”
But, as is so often the case, the conventional wisdom is wrong.
House winners like Jerry McNerney from California, Ed Perlmutter from Colorado, Bruce Braley from Iowa, John Sarbanes from Maryland, Keith Ellison from Minnesota, Carol Shear-Porter and Paul Hodes from New Hampshire, John Hall from New York, stood for election on platforms that echoed the commitment of the CPC to bring the troops home from Iraq, promote economic fairness, make elections more honest and government more ethical, and promote energy independence. Many of the new members of the House, including New York’s Yvette Clarke, won hotly-contested Democratic primaries by associating themselves with Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha’s advocacy of rapid withdrawal from Iraq.
Do the math. While the Blue Dogs are predicting that the membership of their caucus may grow from 37 to 44 members, and the New Democrats hope their membership will edge up from the mid-forties to over the 50 mark, the Progressives are looking at the prospect that their caucus — the most racially and regionally diverse ideological grouping in the Congress — could number more than 70 members once the new House is seated.
It actually looks like the DLC/Blue Dogs (which overlap) and the Progressives will be adding a similar number of members. I haven’t discovered any list of commitments, so I can’t predict the exact numbers. Plus, there are still several unresolved races that could add a seat or two to the Democratic caucus. But, as I have mentioned repeatedly, the Progressive Caucus in the House has just achieved more power than at any time in its history. THIS IS THE MOST PROGRESSIVE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES EVER.
Don’t believe me? Go below the fold and look at how few Progressives DON’T hold either a chair, a leadership position, or a seat on Appropriations. Compare that to the Blue Dogs and New Democrats.
U.S. Representative Neil Abercrombie is now chair of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Tactical Air & Land Forces.
U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin
U.S. Representative Xavier Becerra
U.S. Representative Madeleine Z. Bordallo is now chair of the Small Business Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform & Oversight.
U.S. Representative Corrine Brown is now the chair of the Transportation Subcommittee on Railroads.
U.S. Representative Sherrod Brown is now a U.S. Senator from Ohio.
U.S. Representative Michael Capuano
U.S. Representative Julia Carson
U.S. Representative Donna Christensen is now chair of the Resources Subcommittee on National Parks.
U.S. Representative William “Lacy” Clay is now Chair of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Federalism and the Census.
U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver
U.S. Representative John Conyers is now chair of the Judiciary Committee.
U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings is now chair of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Criminal Justice & Drug Policy.
U.S. Representative Danny Davis is now chair of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Federal Workforce & Agency Organization.
U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio
U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro is now Chair of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Agriculture & Rural Development as well as Steering Committee Chair. She also has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Lane Evans
U.S. Representative Sam Farr has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Chaka Fattah has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Bob Filner is now the chair of the Veteran’s Affairs Committee and of the Transportation Subcommittee on the Coast Guard & Maritime.
U.S. Representative Barney Frank is now Chair of the Finance Committee.
U.S. Representative Raul Grijalva is now chair of the Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
U.S. Representative Luis Gutierrez is now chair of the Finance Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations.
U.S. Representative Maurice Hinchey has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Jesse Jackson, Jr. has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee is now chair of the Judiciary Subcommitte on Immigration, Border Security.
U.S. Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones
U.S. Representative Marcy Kaptur has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Carolyn Kilpatrick has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich is now the Chair of the Education & the Workforce Subcommittee on Workplace Protections and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on National Security & Emerging Threats.
U.S. Representative Tom Lantos is now the chair of International Relations.
U.S. Representative Barbara Lee
U.S. Representative John Lewis is now the chair of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Oversight as well as Senior Chief Deputy Whip.
U.S. Representative Ed Markey is now chair of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications & the Internet.
U.S. Representative Jim McDermott is now chair of the Ways & Means Subcommittee on Human Resources.
U.S. Representative James McGovern is now chair of the Rules Subcommittee on Rules & Organization.
U.S. Representative George Miller is now the chair of the Education & the Workforce Committee as well as Steering Committee Chair.
U.S. Representative Gwen Moore
U.S. Representative Jerry Nadler is now chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.
U.S. Representative Eleanor Holmes-Norton is now the chair of the Transportation Subcommittee on Economic Development & Public Buildings.
U.S. Representative John Olver
U.S. Representative Ed Pastor is Chief Deputy Whip and has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Donald Payne is now chair of the International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights.
U.S. Representative Charles Rangel is now the chair of the Way & Means Committee.
U.S. Representative Bobby Rush
U.S. Representative Bernie Sanders is now a U.S. Senator from Vermont.
U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky is Chief Deputy Whip.
U.S. Representative Jose Serrano has a seat on the Appropriations Committee.
U.S. Representative Louise Slaughter is now the chair of the Rules Committee.
U.S. Representative Hilda Solis is now chair of the Commerce & Industry Subcommittee on Environment & Hazardous Materials.
U.S. Representative Pete Stark
U.S. Representative Bennie Thompson is now the chair of Homeland Security.
U.S. Representative John Tierney
U.S. Representative Tom Udall
U.S. Representative Nydia Velazquez is now the chair of the Small Business Committee.
U.S. Representative Maxine Waters is now chair of the Finance Subcommittee on Housing & Community as well as Chief Deputy Whip.
U.S. Representative Diane Watson is now Chair of the Goverment Reform Subcommittee on Energy & Resources.
U.S. Representative Mel Watt is now hold the chairs of the Finance Subcommittee on Financial Institutions & Consumer Credit and the Judiciary Subcommittee on Commercial and Administration.
U.S. Representative Henry Waxman in now chair of Government Reform and chair of the Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Health.
U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey is now the Chair of the Education & the Workforce Subcommittee on Education Reform.