leadership

Poll shows little faith in government, media

by Michael Fumento on November 3, 2009

in Odds & Ends

A new Harvard poll, in a ranking of 13 leadership categories, found Congress and the media ranked 11th and 12th respectively. They probably would have been even lower had there been a category for used car salesmen.

Can he terminate protectionism?

by Fran Smith on March 26, 2009

in Economy, Trade

It seemed like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t have guts, despite his super-macho screen image.  Yesterday, however, he wrote to  members of the California Congressional Delegation, the country’s most powerful delegation in terms of the key leadership positions they hold, where he urged them to restore the pilot Mexican trucking program to avert trade retaliation.

Schwarzenegger pointed out how Congress’ termination of the program will hurt the economy and jobs, particularly in California:

. . . we must not allow safety to serve as a smokescreen for protectionist measures that cause more economic harm at a time when this country already has serious challenges to overcome. . . .  The termination of the pilot program has not made U.S. roads safer, but it has hurt the economy of California and the nation as a whole.

Beyond my concerns related to this particular episode, I am troubled by the disturbing signals it sends to our most valued trading partners.  In times of economic distress, the one sure way to worsen the plight of American workers is to retreat behind arbitrary and disingenuous protectionist walls.  Now is precisely the time for Congress to further open markets to American products rather than raising additional barriers to trade.

See earlier posts on Mexican trucking here, here, and here.  Will Democratic leaders stand up to the Teamsters on this issue?  Don’t count on it — too many are indebted to the unions for their 2008 win.

The Shock of the Not New

by Richard Morrison on January 12, 2009 · 2 comments

in Politics as Usual, Zeitgeist

It was, of course, inevitable that after a general election, political observers would be talking about everything in Washington suddenly being new. A new president(-elect), a new administration, a new New Mexico corruption scandal; none of this comes as a surprise. What is interesting, however, is that some people are also referring to the “new leadership” in Congress.

Now, as we all know, leadership positions in Congress are often based on seniority, especially in that plush assisted living community known as the U.S. Senate. This means that in order to climb your way to the top of the mountain and become a committee chair, it takes time. The faces you’ll see presiding over hearings during the 111th Congress will generally be the same ones that have been frightening small children in our nation’s capital for decades.

So, just for the record, lets take a look at some of the dewy-eyed youngsters who will be running things in the 111th and how long they’ve been avoiding getting real jobs:

Judiciary – Patrick Leahy (VT) 34 years
Foreign Relations – John Kerry (MA) 24 years
Appropriations – Daniel Inouye (HI) 46 years [+4 years in the House]
Budget – Kent Conrad (ND) 22 years
Homeland Security – Joe Lieberman (CT) 20 years
Environment & Public Works – Barbara Boxer (CA) 16 years [+10 years in the House]
Energy & Natural Resources – Jeff Bingaman (NM) 26 years
Health, Education, Labor & Pensions – Ted Kennedy (MA) 47 years
Armed Forces – Carl Levin (MI) 30 years
Intelligence Select – Dianne Feinstein (CA) 17 years
Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs – Chris Dodd (CT) 28 years [+6 years in the House]
Rules & Administration – Chuck Schumer (NY) 10 years [+18 years in the House]
Agriculture – Tom Harkin (IA) 24 years [+10 years in the House]
Veterans Affairs – Daniel Akaka (HI) 19 years [+13 years in the House]
Small Business & Entrepreneurship – Mary Landrieu (LA) 12 years
Commerce, Science & Transportation – Jay Rockefeller (WV) 24 years
Finance – Max Baucus (MT) 31 years [+3 years in the House]
Indian Affairs – Byron Dorgan (ND) 17 years [+11 years in the House]
Ethics Select – Tim Johnson (SD) 12 years [+10 years in the House]
Aging Select – Herb Kohl (WI) 20 years

According to my rough calculations, that makes 479 years worth of, um, experience among the current Senate committee chairs. If we expand that to include total Congressional tenure, we bump the total up to 564 years. This is, of course, not counting years spent as Lieutenant Governor, State Tax Commissioner or Municipal Animal Control Supervisor.

If you’re one of those sentimental people who thinks institutional memory is important, then you may very well be happy with this state of affairs. Whatever else it is, though, “new” it most definitely is not.