Reid Between The Lines
It seems that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter’s defection to the Democratic Party hasn’t been all kisses and cork-pops. Thanks to Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid, considerable rancor has set in amongst Senate Democrats resulting from Reid’s promise to Specter that he would retain his considerable seniority; Seniority that could result in Arlen Specter acquiring a chairmanship of a committee or subcommittee.
So, what we have is another example of a back-room politics at the expense of anyone not inducted into the inner party. Harry Reid’s maneuverings to inveigle Arlen Specter might even be at the expense of Specter himself. For, it is the duty of the Democratic caucus to decide on seniority issues in the Senate. As one anonymous caucus member put it, “He was a cooked goose. He was going to lose to Toomey, and we were going to beat Toomey. We did him a favor by allowing him to remain in the Senate.”
Needless to say, the caucus will be voting against giving Specter seniority over the others, saying, “That’s his deal, not the caucus’s.”
Whew.
But not everyone in the Senate is commenting anonymously, not hardly. Maryland’s Barbara Mikulski says, “I won’t be happy if I don’t get to chair something because of Arlen Specter.”
Arlen Specter’s seniority would actually leapfrog most of the Appropriations committee. Appropriations Committee member Tom Harkin is none too pleased. Harkin, four years Specter’s junior, said that Specter “won’t be” more senior than him on the Appropriations Committee, “It doesn’t work that way.” And even though Reid promised no one would lose a committee chairmanship this year (111th congress), he said nothing of what the future will bring. Harkin assured reporters that he’s “Not going to give it up then, either.”
It seems safe to say that Arlen Specter feels nice and cozy in his relationship with Harry Reid. He said, “I feel comfortable relying on the arrangements I made with Senator Reid. I’ve talked to many Democratic Senators in the past couple of days, and they have all greeted me with open arms.”
One wonders if that includes the likes of Herb Kohl (Wis.), Barbara Mikulski (Md.), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Dick Durban (Ill.), Dianne Feinstein (Cal.), Ben Nelson (Neb.), Patty Murray (Wash.), and Tim Johnson (S.D.), along with Tom Harkin, all of whom hold subcommittee chairmanships.
But if Harry Reid is defeated in the 2010 mid-term, perhaps all bets will be off regarding Arlen Specter gaining seniority over other Democrats. Beating Reid is the only way to know for sure.
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