By Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist
The heavy-handed push to pass health care reform through a reluctant House is causing a rash of problems from resignations to mini “insurrections.”
According to a report by Congress Daily (CD), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi denies that her caucus is in chaos, but admits that the past week hasn’t been the best of times. Not only did two leaders in her party resign amidst scandal, but there is rising animosity within the party for what is perceived to be her “lack of sympathy” for House members who are being forced to walk the plank for health care reform.
CD’s Billy House writes that Pelosi and other House members from safe districts in California, who hold key chairmanships and other leadership posts, are insensitive to the concerns of colleagues from other states.
“Across the Caucus, there is growing dissatisfaction and resentment – not so much directed at Pelosi – but with her cadre of CA liberals seen as continually driving her House agenda, regardless of the hits the rest of us will have to take,” one House Democrat said.
House reports that the Californians cited most frequently – and with the most angst – are Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Education and Labor Chairman George Miller, both with key roles in healthcare legislation. Also mentioned are Ethics Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Anna Eshoo, Foreign Affairs Chairman Howard Berman, and Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra.
“She seems to only be listening to this small cadre, and the rank and file are expected to simply fall in line,” complained another senior Democrat who said this is contributing to animosity within the party over being asked to cast a “yes” vote for a health care bill that is becoming radioactive with voters.
This mounting anger over the California cadre is being partially blamed for the “mini-insurrection” that was ignited within the party over the announcement that Rep. Pete Stark would assume the chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee after Charlie Rangel (D-NY) was forced to temporarily step aside due to alleged ethics violations. Concerns that Stark’s “bombastic style” would hurt the committee forced the Speaker to reneg on the appointment and allow Rep. Sander Levin (D-MI) to assume the post instead.
In the midst of this chaos, she is struggling to find the votes to pass the highly unpopular health care reform bill in a House full of members who are becoming increasingly intimidated by all the talk of a catastrophic loss in the polls this fall. One senior House Democrat described the fear as “palpable and pervasive.”
But in public, the Speaker is putting on a good face. When asked by reporters if she felt like she was now leading “a party in crisis” she insisted that “the issues that transpired in the last few days, they are behind us” and says she is feeling “very strong.”
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