That gust of wind felt today was the collective sigh of relief from Republicans like myself upon hearing that Tom DeLay will not seek to reclaim his job as House Majority Leader. DeLay represents exactly what is wrong with Washington - bend the rules and exploit the system until it finally snaps. When your leader is viewed as the most unpopular man on the Hill, it's time for him to go. Republicans don't owe him anything, because he may cost them a lot more this Fall. If I had a wish, it would be to not allow Republicans from Texas and Democrats from Massachusetts from speaking on the House floor - they've wrecked America enough lately. So, farewell to the Hammer, time to grab another tool from the box.
Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) will no doubt keep his spot as DeLay's replacement. Being a Caucus leader, he's not on C-SPAN a lot, so about all I know is he looks a lot like DeLay. Someone's going to have to move up, so I'll give a short list of who I'd like to see.
The Green Guys
Tom Goodlatte-VA. Does a lot of bipartisan work. Big on the Ag Committee as well.
Steve King-IOWA. A major Ethanol proponent, which I think would help SC alot.
Bob Inglis-SC. Still under the radar a bit for keeping his term limit pledge - no way to get ahead in Washington! Very hydrogen focused.
The Handsome Guys
David Dreier-CA. Very tough on the Democrats, but so polished and sharp that you don't know he's putting you down.
Paul Ryan-WISC. A little young, but a very sharp guy that's up on the numbers.
Adam Putnam-FL. The Hammer for 2016. Was called " That Howdy Doody Looking Kid" by Marion Berry-MS ( Not the Crack-Addled Mayor of DC). Loves to spar with the other side, and does not back down.
The Ugly Guys
Tom Tancredo-CO. Too short, too bald, too ugly by his own account. However, has singlehandedly made Immigration an issue this year. Good consensus builder.
Peter King-NY. Chairs the Homeland Security Committee. Looks a little like a sloppy Steve Forbes, he's a good centrist, but with NY toughness.
The Ladies, or Gentlewomen
Ileana Ros-Lehtinen-FL. Don't ask me to spell it again. A consistent face on the floor of the House, and does a lot of bipartisan work.
Sue Myrick-NC. One of the few Bible Belt women in Congress. A female on the GOP side would be a good idea, but she has voted against the party on a few key votes.
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7 comments:
Is there supposed to be a picture? I don't see one.
No. I must have screwed up. You'll see that on a couple of posts. My computer will not copy jpegs, and it took a few tries to realize it.
Here's a name you forgot: the leader of the Conservatives, Mike Pence (IN). Mike's been making a name for himself for the last few years and would be an excellent choice to ride herd on the budget pork.
joshua,
I was going to add him, but I believe he is not running for re-election. Yes, he would be a good choice also.
Mike, your analysis is off the mark. There are many, but for example, Tom Tancredo is as much a consensus builder as Hugh Leatherman is a tall man.
Pence would be wise NOT to run because he and his influence can essentially pick the new Majority Leader if he can deliver at least 80 of the 100 or so members of the RSC. You only need 118 votes to win.
Pence would be wise to do some real horse trading here. Whether it's tax reform, more immigration, spending cuts, making Bush's tax cuts permanent, whatever, Pence and the RSC are in the driver's seat to set the agenda for the rest of the year.
Should be more immigration reform above, not more immigration.
I knew Tancredo would get some chatter going. Consensus builder was not as good a term as pushing an issue to the forefront of Congress.
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