CALIFORNIANS CALL SHOTS, SET AGENDA IN THE 110TH
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
The Hill, DC
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Dec 13 2007
When they captured control of the House last year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi
and other California Democrats redirected the geographic balance of
political influence to their own state from the once-dominant South.
The Southern drawls and Texas twangs of lawmakers like former majority
leaders and Texas Republicans Tom DeLay and Dick Armey have given
way to California lilts, as the 54-member California delegation –
the largest in Congress – works to change policy and how Washington
talks about issues. DeLay, Armey and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich
(R-Ga.) are all out of office.
Illegal aliens are referred to as undocumented workers by Pelosi
and some of her colleagues; corn, cotton and wheat now compete with
specialty crops – fruits, nuts and vegetables – for attention in the
farm bill; and oil subsidies and drilling have taken a backseat to
"green jobs" and the "greening of the Capitol."
Californians have "infiltrated all the different power centers in the
House so they heavily influence the dialogue," former Democratic Whip
Tony Coelho (Calif.) said.
The Bay Area Californians have known each other their entire
professional lives from having served in the California legislature;
most have known Pelosi since her days as chairwoman of the Northern
California Democratic Party. There is an esprit de corps, said Rep.
Sam Farr (D-Calif.), because they all helped Pelosi become Speaker.
The six-hour flight to and from California allows members to kick
back and relax with each other. Reps. George Miller (D) and Anna Eshoo
(D) occasionally fly on Pelosi’s military jet to San Francisco.
Even if they are not on the same flight, Miller, Eshoo and Farr will
ride to the airport together.
The dominance of California’s Democrats in the House also is emblematic
of the real and perceived differences between Red and Blue State
America.
The Golden State’s GOP delegation consists of 17 white males, one
Hispanic man (Rep. Devin Nunes) and Rep. Mary Bono, whereas the
Democratic delegation includes 18 white women, 16 white men, four
black women, nine Hispanics and two Asian-Americans.
Even though the state has the largest delegation in Congress, its
gender, racial and ideological diversity has led to mixed results.
"The delegation did not have a reputation for working together
except when it came to the Wine Institute," former Rep. Leon Panetta
(D-Calif.) said, only partly in jest.
Miller, an old-guard California Democrat and a former roommate of
Panetta’s in a Capitol Hill townhouse, said his friend’s description
was less true today because "the whole Congress is different and the
delegation no longer revolves around oversized personalities."
He credited Rep. Zoe Lofgren, the chairwoman of the California
Democratic delegation, who has organized a formal weekly Wednesday
luncheon in a room on the Capitol’s first floor. Pelosi occasionally
drops by and each week there is a different topic of discussion,
ranging from redistricting to emergency preparedness.
The top priority for Democrats in California at the beginning of this
year was ending the year in Iraq. Some Democrats in the delegation
wanted Pelosi to go further by adding more strings to the war-funding
bill that narrowly passed the lower chamber in March. There was
little doubt at that time that the measure would not become law, and a
similar version was subsequently vetoed. However, securing the votes
to pass the bill through the House was a major political victory for
Pelosi. After it squeaked by on a 218-212 count, Pelosi hugged and
kissed her colleagues – even a few in the California delegation who
voted no, including Out of Iraq Caucus founder Rep. Barbara Lee.
Several members noted that the delegation succeeded in limiting the
number of military bases that the Pentagon wanted to close in 2005.
Others said that there was cooperation across party lines in
coordinating the federal response to the California wildfires.
"I did several [media] interviews with [Rep.] David Dreier [R-Calif.],
and there was not a partisan word uttered," Rep. Xavier Becerra
(D-Calif.) said.
The cooperative spirit exhibited during the fires was unusual, as
several members said there is little bipartisan cooperation overall.
Lofgren said she has asked Dreier, chairman of the California
Republican delegation, for an occasional meeting, but one has not
materialized.
"It is hard to get the Democrats and Republicans to work together even
when [California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R)] wants us to act on
behalf of the whole state," said Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) in a
telephone interview.
Pelosi and her colleagues have failed to emulate Schwarzenegger,
who has challenged the orthodoxies of both political parties on
global warming and healthcare, among other issues. His brand of
"post-partisan" politics has not yet come to Capitol Hill, where
partisan warfare is as fervent as ever and gridlock often prevails.
Districts in California have been gerrymandered to the point that most
incumbents do not have to worry about competitive general elections. On
the other hand, the practice can make certain members, like Rep. Ellen
Tauscher (D), susceptible to primary challengers.
The Democratic delegation is much more liberal than the GOP delegation
is conservative, according to the National Journal’s survey in
2006. Seven of the 10 most liberal members of the House were California
Democrats, whereas only three of the 20 most conservative members
were California Republicans. (Bono is the most liberal Republican in
the delegation; Rep. Jim Costa is the most conservative Democrat.)
The delegation also includes more centrist California Democrats Reps.
Dennis Cardoza and Costa, who are good friends from California’s
Central Valley. Both are Hispanic and both are members of the Blue
Dog caucus, a conservative Democrat group.
During the leadership elections earlier this year, Cardoza gave
nominating speeches for Pelosi, but not for her choice for majority
leader, Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.).
Instead, Cardoza gave a nominating speech for Rep. Steny Hoyer
(D-Md.) for majority leader.
Sometimes the size and diversity of the delegation, as well as policy
differences, have led to political and personality disputes.
Pelosi and Rep. Jane Harman (D), a wealthy Californian doyenne herself,
have a tense relationship. Pelosi blocked Harman from becoming
chairwoman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence last year,
citing term limits. Some said Pelosi yanked her from the panel because
Harman was not a vociferous critic of the Bush administration, while
others claim that Harman sought the spotlight too often.
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and the late Rep. Juanita
Millender-McDonald (D-Calif.) warred for years, as have Waters and
Rep. Diane Watson (D-Calif.). Waters backed Watson’s opponent when
she first ran for Congress.
In the race to succeed Millender-McDonald, Waters and Watson split
again. Waters backed now-Rep. Laura Richardson (D) and Watson backed
Millender-McDonald’s daughter.
The state’s size and diversity, coupled with its penchant for ballot
initiatives and recalls, have yielded a more aggressive crop of
lawmakers.
For example, the stiffest resistance to any more funding for the Iraq
war has come from liberal Reps. Lee, Woolsey, Watson and Waters.
Their opposition is, in part, rooted in California’s tendency to
effect quick, immediate change through direct democracy, such as
public referendums.
"Part of the impatience to end the war in Iraq stems from the fact
that [the] state is used to faster-paced change," said Bruce Cain,
a University of California-Berkeley political scientist.
The state’s political culture – as much as personal pique – was at the
root of the turmoil in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) earlier
this year. Some of the newer lawmakers felt they did not have a path
forward to forge policy because seniority dictated who would lead one
of several task forces. A small group of lawmakers discussed ousting
CHC Chairman Joe Baca (D-Calif.) before their plans became public.
Controversy is a constant in the California delegation. Rep. Pete
Stark (D) made a tearful apology on the House floor in October for
suggesting President Bush was sending troops to Iraq to get their
"heads blown off for his amusement."
Rep. Adam Schiff (D), who represents a sizable Armenian population
in Southern California, introduced the resolution condemning Turkey
for the Armenian genocide that occurred during World War I. Pelosi
abruptly withdrew the resolution last month under intense pressure
from the Turkish government and President Bush.
"If you don’t strut your stuff [in the California delegation],
you’re going to wind up returning to oblivion," Darry Sragow, a
California-based political strategist, said. "They’ve been trained
differently. They’ve emerged successfully from a boot camp."