The most feared Democrat in Washington

[n2doc]

`Old bull' won't take any bull
Rep. John Dingell marks turf as renewed head of Energy and Commerce Committee

By William Neikirk
Tribune senior correspondent
Published November 27, 2006

WASHINGTON -- When Rep. John Dingell last headed the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a large photograph of Earth hung imposingly behind him.

Taken from the moon, this stunning view of the planet evoked awe and wonder from visitors to the committee's hearing room. But amused Capitol Hill insiders knew the real reason it was there.

"It was called Dingell's jurisdiction," said Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), a congressional staff member in the 1980s. And that appeared to be the impression the Michigan Democrat was trying to create--that the world was his committee's oyster.

Now, after a dozen years in the minority, the 80-year-old Dingell is preparing to ascend to his old throne of power next year, ready to legislate and investigate with a wide berth.

That alone may be enough to cause apprehension among some of his potential targets, including those involved in fraud, waste and abuse of federal dollars, those who pollute the air and water or those who are lax in enforcing the law. In the past, Dingell and his panel discovered, for example, that the Pentagon paid more than $600 apiece for toilet seats.

Some found him roughshod and overzealous; no one found him timid.

He is among several veteran Democratic lawmakers, known as "old bulls" among many in Congress, who will become committee chairmen thanks to the Democratic Party's victory in the midterm elections.


more:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0611270197nov27,1,5193415.story
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[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Last week it was Charlie Rangel

The week before that it was Henry Waxman, and before that Nancy Pelosi and John Conyers. It's going to take a few weeks, but by Spring they'll have exhausted the list of every Committee Chair in the House.