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.