Let’s take a look at the power of the Progressive Caucus in the House, and let’s make an assessment of how they might fare in an Obama administration. The first thing that pops to light is the high percentage of House committee chairs that are currently controlled by progressives.
George Miller (D-CA) Chairman of the Education and Labor Committee
Ed Markey (D-MA) Chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming
Barney Frank (D-MA)- Chairman of the Financial Services Committee
Bennie Thompson (D-MS)- Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee
Bob Brady (D-PA)- Chairman of the House Administration Committee
John Conyers (D-MI)- Chairman of the Judiciary Committee
Henry Waxman (D-CA)- Chairman of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Louis Slaughter (D-NY)- Chairwoman of the Rules Committee
Nydia Velaquez (D-NY)- Chairwoman of the Small Business Committee
Bob Filner (D-CA)- Chairman of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee
Charlie Rangel (D-NY)- Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee
There is a small chance that George Miller might be offered the position of Secretary of Education. Rep. Miller is a close ally of Nancy Pelosi and she might be able to secure him that spot. There is also a decent chance that Nydia Velaquez might get some consideration for the position of head of the Small Business Administration. Other than that, I don’t see many prospects for these chairpeople getting promotions into the Obama administration. On the whole, that’s okay, because they have will have more clout where they are. Here are some other progressives that could have some influence in an Obama administration.
In 2011, either Neil Abercrombie (HI-01) or Mazie Hirono (HI-2) will have a good shot of replacing the centrist porkmeister, Senator Dan Inouye. Jesse Jackson Jr. could replace Barack Obama as one of the U.S. Senators from Illinois. He will also get consideration as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Rep. John Lewis (GA-5) could get a position in the Civil Rights division of the Justice Department. Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton (DC-AL) might get full voting rights as a representative of the District of Columbia, or she could become the Secretary of Transportation. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (IL-9) could become Obama’s replacement in the U.S. Senate. And Tom Udall will become a U.S. Senator from New Mexico.
That’s not a whole lot to look forward to as far as House progressives moving into positions of increased influence, but it’s not all bad, either.
Here are some other progressive possibilities in an Obama administration:
Interior Secretary: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Labor Secretary: Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
I know that it is fairly thin gruel, but it will help if we get Jeff Merkley, Al Franken, and Tom Udall elected to the Senate.
For now, this looks to be all the spoils we can realistically expect.
Tragically, on the foreign policy front we have the same old its-all-about-us-and-anyway-brown-people-on-the-other-side-of-the-earth-live-and-die-to-serve-our-ne
eds-and-desires imperialist gang we have seen before. Therefore not a whole lot will change for the Middle East and the rest of the Muslim world. As for Palestinians, they can just eat shit and die, despite Obama’s former associations with moderate Palestinian scholars like Rashid Khalidi and Edward Sa`id. I am not well versed when it comes to Latin America, but I suspect not much will change there either.
Obama can be expected to take a much more collaborative position with respect to Europe, though, so it’s not all bad.
I predict that you will be pleasantly surprised…if you are patient.
Damn, I’m addicted…heading out for a full day of GOTV here in NH.
Thought I’d respond to the Sec of Ed – it’s in the bag for Linda Darling-Hammond (Stanford prof.) Obama’s going to need some very competent people around him to turn back the last 8 years.
It’s exciting, yet somehow a little scary, to start thinking about this.
Why should we expect to draw an administration from Congress when we will need them to get Obama’s legislation through?
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would be better as Administrator, Environmental Protection Agency; there are a lot of regulations there that need to be revised. Enforcement needs some spine. And the EPA could strengthen its volunteer monitoring program.
Interior Secretary needs to go to a Westerner who has some understanding of the public land leasing provisions and how companies have been ripping off the government; also the sensitivity to prevent another small lessee “Sagebrush Rebellion”. I don’t know who this would be, but that is the person that progressives need. There are other parts of Interior that need serious rebuilding, but undersecretaries are well-enough suited for that–so long as they have support from the top.
Nydia Valazquez is a recognized expert in small business policy. If brought into the administration, she would be more helpful as Secretary of Commerce. That agency needs massive redirection toward support of small businesses. The major function of SBA is for startup capital for small businesses; it primarilies does loan guarantees. You need prudence more than policy chops here; Velazquez certainly could do it but it would not put her experience to best use.
We need to start looking for talent to staff out all of the presidential appointments. The Plum Book for 2004 gives you an idea of the types of positions the Bush administration made political appointments. There were some 3000 of them.
A key symbolic decision would be for the Obama administration to reduce the number of positions that are presidentially appointed. And concentrate of folks who can actually do the job instead of being rewards for campaigning (such as heckuva job Brownie in the Bush administration).
Not a helluva lot to go on for “progressives” there, but not too bad. (I’m sorry, but I refuse to play this word game. I’m a liberal. “Progressive” seems to be what Dems call themselves to avoid being called liberals. “Liberal” is a good word, and we should defend it.) I’m pleased, however, by what Obama’s economic team has been saying. Even the Clintonistas like Summers are leaning more heavily on social investment and solving the problem of falling wages instead of focusing on balanced budgets as they did under Bill.
The Reich-Stiglitz-Krugman wing of the economic left seems to have won out on those issues. And that is change I can believe in.
Rich Trumka the Sec/Treasurer of the AFL/CIO might be a better choice for SecLabor.
Stern may be a progressive, but he’s not a small d democrat and has traditionally overweighted his staff and electeds with Ivy Leaguers, rather than grooming the members for leadership positions.
Trumka was the first union leader to really go the the mat for Obama on the race issue. This is really a much see speech.
As former president of the United Mineworkers, he has significant experience dealing with pension and benefit issues which will be a huge problem for both labor and management over the next several years. He’s also not afraid to call a strike.
Trumka’s bio From the AFL-CIO website:
For Ben& Jerry at SBA
Unfortunately, the first candidate who seems to be getting publicly aired in Rahm Emmanuel as chief of staff. You yourself, Boo, have recently said how important that position is.
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/31/1620851.aspx
It looks like Rahm has at least a 33% chance of getting the job. On the other hand, most of the names that are being floated right now for cabinet positions appear to be unlikely. It looks like they are just fluffing egos at this point.
I have heard John Podesta’s name mentioned as well as Tom Daschle’s. I don’t how how publicly Podesta’s name has been aired.
My question is will we see a reasonable and progressive answer to drug policy questions that face the country and world? Who will be put forward to head the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP, which has outlived its usefulness and at least its Director should not be a cabinet-level position, and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which has become corrupt and should probably be made an arm of the FBI?
Only when we see these questions answered and see who is put forward to serve in these positions will we see how thoughtful a new administration will be on drug policy.
Who would you have serve as Director of the ONDCP?
Who would you have serve as Administrator of DEA?