As many of you know, I've had my "issues" with Gerry Connolly and one or two of his people. However, today I've got to give ol' Gerry mad props. Why? Check this out.
Rep.-elect Gerry Connolly of Virginia, who whipped the new members for Waxman, said 18 of the 26 members of his freshman class had committed to the Californian before the vote. "It would be fair to conclude a large majority of the freshman class was responsive to Waxman," Connolly said afterward.
That's right, Gerry Connolly not only voted for environmental hero Henry Waxman over fossil fool John Dingell, he actually "whipped" newly elected Democrats for Waxman. That certainly deserves praise, given how important energy/enviro issues are, and given how bad Dingell has been over the years on those issues. As Connolly himself said earlier today:
Whether it's fair or not, there was a perception that Mr. Dingell was obstructing getting things done in two critical areas, the environment and energy. That and the fact that he has protected the automotive industry.... The problem is, it's now melting down, and I think there's a reassessment going on about whether those particular policies were the right ones.
I couldn't have said it any better myself. Thank you, Gerry Connolly!
h/t to Ben Tribbett for alerting me to this
Environmentalists say Dingell has acted too slowly on global warming, despite releasing a bill last month. The measure was a poke in the eye to Waxman and Pelosi, D-Calif., since it would prevent states like California from setting tougher auto emissions standards than the federal government."Waxman's victory is a breath of fresh air - of clean air. It was a stunning defeat for the corporate lobbyists on K Street," said Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch. "It shows that a majority of the House Democrats are ready to work with the incoming Obama administration on effective global warming legislation."
In a statement congratulating Waxman, Dingell acknowledged that it is a "year of change." He renewed his commitment "to protecting and creating jobs, to providing health care for all Americans, to working to getting our state and nation's economy back on track."
Go Waxman!
And, kudos to Gonnolly if he really did help. I am a Byrne fan, but if Connolly did help Waxman he is beginning to earn some respect for himself.
Dingell's defenders said he had done nothing to deserve being dumped, pointing to the panel's busy workload over the last two years, including successfully enacting an energy bill that raised automobile fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020."I think it was highly inappropriate," said Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Va. "There was no obvious reason for it other than the desire for another person to chair the committee.
Our Change Agent-Elect in Chief has been saying for the last two years that we are going to have CHANGE. Today, we saw the biggest sign since November 4 that change is coming to Washington. If we can break the Washington iceberg, hopefully we can mitigate the deterioration of our environment.
Henry Waxman will help Barack Obama lead in the direction that makes most sense for our future. Government is supposed to serve the public interest, not the special interests. It is about time some politicians started fighting for us and winning.
At this point, I do not see a helluva lot standing in the way of meaningful legislation on climate change. The environment and all of us won a huge victory today.
I can see now that come January, George and President Cheney are going to get a royal send off when they board their helicopters after the Inauguration. The message will be unmistakably clear: So long. Good riddance.
You know, I was a big supporter of Leslie Byrne, something I'm very proud of.
I also, however, admire things Gerry has done in the past. Besides this vote for Waxman and other stands on the greening of Virginia that Gerry took, he stood up to those who were trying to demagogue the immigration issue. He declared that he would not let Fairfax become another Prince William County.
In addition, he proposed workforce housing which would buy up foreclosed homes and sell them to county workers, many of whom are first responders or teachers. That would help neighborhoods by eliminating the blight of abandoned homes. It would also aid the mortgage holders who were left holding the bag when homeowners had to default. And it would provide affordable housing to county workers.
And for all those things I admire Gerry.
But in terms of just two more examples that may help explain some things.... HIS "Cool Counties" initiative was his OWN passion first. Talk to any of his staff and they will confirm... He really lined up the support for it by a whole lot more than just writing a memo.... Add some history to when he was president of his home-owner's association (which I think was his first public office) and they found methane gas leaks in the Mantua neighborhood which would be a danger to the whole community....
This is not a surprise, just a confirmation, one of many I am sure are coming and quickly.
There is certainly a lot more to be done, but I think this reveals a lot about Connolly. This next Congress looks quite promising.