The Elections Aren’t Over
If you thought the 2006 elections were over, think again. Washington is bracing for a second round of elections – this time for key leadership positions on Capitol Hill.
As I reported yesterday, incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco raised some eyebrows over the weekend when she publicly backed anti-war dove John Murtha of Pennsylvania for House Majority Leader over her current deputy, Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland. Democrats were hoping they could keep the “honeymoon” going with a unified front, but Pelosi felt compelled to split the ranks and back Murtha for a variety of reasons.
Not only does her endorsement suggest that the pacifist wing of the Democrat Party continues to wield considerable influence, but a number of “good government” groups were stunned that she would support a candidate with a history of ethical lapses, going back to the ABSCAM scandal. After all, Democrats made ending political corruption a major issue in the campaign, and now Pelosi appears to be sending mixed signals about just how serious she really is when it comes to rooting out corruption among senior Democrats.
Stinging from last week’s bitter defeat, Republicans are also making their own leadership changes. News broke yesterday that outgoing Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman will be replaced by Florida Senator Mel Martinez, a co-sponsor of President Bush’s “comprehensive” immigration reform plan. In the Senate, Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell has a lock on the position of Minority Leader, while a race between Tennessee’s Lamar Alexander and Mississippi’s Trent Lott for the number two position of Minority Whip is taking shape.
(Source: Gary Bauer, Campaign for Working Families, End-of-Day; Nov. 14, 2006)
• Pray for God's will to be done in the selection of the chairmanships of each committee. These chairmen control which bills will be brought up for a hearing, and which amendments may be heard on each bill, too. Unchecked, the power of each committee chairman, in the House and in the Senate, is almost without limit!
• "The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous." (Prov. 14:19)
