The supporters of California's Prop 8 are so very sure of the merits of their case that they're resorting to threats to make sure that it's upheld by the state Supreme Court. An Attorney for the Prop 8 forces made it clear to the Los Angeles Times that if the Justices vote to overturn the proposition, they'll likely face a recall vote! Nothing like an old fashioned school yard bully mentality of 'Do it our way or else!' to get the case started, right?
Truly disgusting.
In other news, the health of our planet got a bit of a boost today. The House Committee on Energy and Commerce, chaired for the last two years by Congressman John Dingell of Michigan, will have a new Chairman in the upcoming Congress. Dingell will be replaced, thanks to a vote today by the Democratic members of the House, by Congressman Henry Waxman of California, a strong advocate for the Environment. Dingell, largely seen as a tool of the Auto Industry and of major electric utilities, had weakened any attempts to effect real change in the fight against global warming by representing the needs of the Auto Industry first and foremost.
Since the majority of power in Washington could be said to lie in the hands of Committee Chairs (they have the power to hold legislation back from getting a full vote in the House or in the Senate, for instance, simply by denying it a Committee vote to move it to the floor), this is a big deal, and not just for the environment. This particular committee also has oversight of health care programs, telecommunications, energy, and consumer protection. Having a strong liberal like Waxman chairing this Committee increases the chances for real change.
It's also an important change for another reason: Committees in Congress are largely chaired by the rule of Seniority. The longest serving members of the majority party typically have a lock on all Chairmanships. This has wrecked havoc in the past, for instance in the lead up to and during the Civil Rights movement when the most Senior members in the House and particularly in the Senate were long serving Southern Democrats, re-elected time and again without any real opposition, who were adamantly opposed to any change on matters of race relations.
Today, the Democrats in the House voted to set Seniority aside and go with someone who was better suited to the job. Let's hope that becomes a trend.
On another note, there are now more women serving in Congress than at any other point in history, including a record 17 women in the incoming Senate. But before we start celebrating that fact, Maria Cocco has an article about just how slowly we're moving towards gender equality in Government that is worth checking out.
Today is another Luke day on As the World Turns and I'll be back sometime tonight with a post about that.
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