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Posts published in “Day: May 13, 2009”

Slowdown in Interior nominees

May 13, 2009

Not much noted amid the headlines about other Obama Administration nominees - some sliding through, some held up - is the story of David Hayes, formerly of the World Wildlife Fund and chairman of the board of American Rivers and once an Interior official in the Clinton Administration. Not an especially controversial guy, evidently, but not to the liking of certain interests. Turns out that Utah Senator Bob Bennett has put a hold in his nomination, which could freeze it in place for some time.

Ray Ring of the High Country News has posted a piece on this, including some review of what underlies Bennett's actions, that's well worth review. Ring concludes: "No doubt there are other Senate Republicans who think Hayes is OK ... but they're also gunshy of the rightwingers they would face in their primaries. Another reason the rightwingers fight this round so fiercely: They're gearing up for the upcoming battles over Obama's call for raising taxes on the oil and gas industry."

The key players aren't specifically Northwestern, but the impact surely is.

The bipartisan WA legislature?

May 13, 2009

By the numbers, the Washington legislature is a very partisan organization - overwhelmingly Democratic, dominated by one party a little more than the legislature in Oregon, though a little less than the legislature in Idaho.

But Representative Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, makes an interesting case today in the online Seattle Post-Intelligencer that the Washington legislature is more bipartisan in practice than many people think.

"I enjoy watching the criss-cross traffic on the Floor of the House as Reps from one side walk over to consult with a colleague of the party opposite.
The votes tell the same story. The House had 857 recorded votes in the 105 day session just ended. I've not recounted, but my guess is that about 800 of those Yea or Nay questions gathered 90 or more of the 98 Representatives to the same conclusion," he writes.

Of course, most votes in most legislatures are pro forma, acceptable to pretty much everybody, and the measure really comes in those tougher calls when the caucuses tend to break apart. And it's probably easier for someone in the majority party to make this sort of an argument. Still, his take on this is worth the read.