As South Carolina Govenor Nikki Haley made the announcement that she had selected Rep. Tim Scott to replace Sen. Jim DeMint today, she made a point to repeatedly emphasize that Rep. Scott had earned the position. This was an example of protesting too much. Rep. Scott is a freshman in Congress whose resume is extremely thin. But, now that Allen West failed to be reelected, Rep. Scott is the only black Republican in Congress. The Republicans can be very aggressive with their affirmative action efforts, they just don’t like to admit it.
Nevertheless, the soon-to-be Senator Scott will be the first black person from the South to serve in the Senate since the Reconstruction Era. That he will represent South Carolina, the state that led the rebellion against the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, is more impressive. I certainly did not expect to see this happen in my lifetime. I’d be happier if I didn’t know that Mr. Scott was hand-selected by Sen. Jim DeMint.
He will do the bidding of the Good Old Boy network down there, which should be profoundly depressing most of the time. Perhaps there will be some hope for him somewhere down the line. He seems like a genuinely nice person of deep religious faith who has a permanent smile plastered on his face. If he ever gets the clout to be his own man, he might be reasonable on a few issues.
It was almost as stunning to lose Sen. Daniel Inouye today. It’s hard to believe that Hawai’i will have two new senators next year. It’s also hard to believe that Massachusetts will have two new senators next year. A lot of state delegations are losing power.
On the other hand, Vermont is really moving up. Patrick Leahy will take over the Appropriations Committee, which is the most powerful non-leadership post in the Senate. He’s also third in line for the presidency after Joe Biden and John Boehner. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is taking over the Veteran’s Affairs Committee.
Washington state has a lot more clout with Patty Murray taking over the Budget Committee and Maria Cantwell taking over the Indian Affairs Committee.
Oregon hasn’t done too badly, either, with Sen. Wyden taking over the Energy Committee and Sen. Merkley landing a position on the Appropriations Committee.
I think Diane Feinstein is going to wind up chairing the Judiciary Committee, which will add to California’s clout.
I think Michigan has the strongest (most powerful) Senate delegation, followed by Iowa, Nevada, Kentucky, and Vermont.
The weakest (least powerful) will be Hawai’i, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Nebraska.
In any case, the Senate is going to be a lot different next year. In some ways, it will be a lot better. But it’s not easy to lose folks like Daniel Inouye and John Kerry. They aren’t that easily replaced.
How odd that a legendary hero and a Teabagger clown pass through the Senate’s doors on the same day.
They couldn’t be further apart in their worldviews.
DeMinted hasn’t left yet. The Honorable Senator’s passing is not so besmirched.
CA, NY, NJ and IL will have significant clout too. Boxer will chair Environment & Public Works, and Ethics.
Why wouldn’t Durbin get the Judiciary gavel?
So Scott is basically Clarence Thomas being appointed to a Senate seat. At least he’s not replacing Thurgood Marshall.
Yup. O should have left K in the senate.
I a legendary hero?
He protested the return of the canal to Panama, “We stole it fair and square!”
He wasn’t kidding.
I agree it’s not easy to replace veteran, experienced legislators like Inouye and Kerry. On the other hand, aged senators (e.g., Inouye, Specter, Thurmond in the final term or two of their careers) are almost universally less effective than their younger selves.
The relatively large number of new senators—particularly on the Democratic side of the aisle—elected since the 2006 elections is, on the whole, an encouraging sign for the future vitality of the institution.
It’s great news for Democrats that the class of ’06 all got re-elected and now are (quickly by Senate standards) moving into leadership roles. The ’06 – ’12 classes have never known the “good old days” of Senate bipartisanship, and thus are more likely to push forward with rules reform, too.
Scott is a slave catching handkerchief head.
Period.
Old as time, the shinning and grinning Negro willing to shuffle for Mr. Charlie.
no shock here.
And eventually he will get as tired of the disrespect from his own party as J. C. Watts did.
About Kerry, has President Obama made any appointments yet? All I’ve heard is the Village rumor mill.
That he will represent South Carolina, the state that led the rebellion against the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, is more impressive. I certainly did not expect to see this happen in my lifetime.
It’s not just the Senate that is changing. It’s the South – or at least part of it – that is changing. The Atlantic Coast part of the south is trending blue, while the interior South is trending red. This pattern includes South Carolina.
South Carolina was, for a long time, the wingnuttiest of the wingnut states. In the 2012 elections, however, Obama got a higher % of the vote there than in any Interior South state, including former swing states like Arkansas, Louisiana, West Virginia, or Kentucky.
South Carolina is definitely the reddest of the Atlantic South states, but it is still following the regional trend.
I’m not impressed with the appointment of an Uncle Tom to be a US Senator.