Whipping the Whips

Nancy Pelosi is leaning hard on her own members to vote for the Democratic Bill for the Supplemental on Iraq. But she's still facing resistance from members who oppose the bill from both the Out of Iraq Caucus and from some of the Blue Dogs. So, The Hill reports that she's threatening them with taking away their choice committee seats. And some of the recipients of her arm-twisting are influential and senior Democrats. And they're not happy.

She has been hardest on members of the Appropriations Committee and her fellow Californians who oppose the measure. The Speaker pointedly reminded Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), a leading opponent of the bill, that she had appointed her to the Appropriations Committee, three Democratic lawmakers said.

The message was simple, the lawmakers said: Pelosi could also remove Lee from the panel.

During a meeting last week with appropriators, Pelosi reminded them that serving on the panel was a privilege, admonishing lawmakers from safe districts who feel they have the luxury to vote how they want without consequences — as opposed to Democrats elected in swing districts who do not, a Democratic appropriator said.

“The meeting with appropriators was a frank and open discussion where the Speaker addressed the magnitude of the vote in committee and the need to hold the Bush administration and Iraqis accountable and bring our troops home,” Pelosi’s spokesman, Nadeam Elshami, said. “It shouldn’t be interpreted in any other manner.”

The Out of Iraq Caucus is not happy. One of their leaders is Maxine Waters, who is herself a Democratic deputy whip.

Pelosi also has met with members of the Progressive Caucus several times in the past two weeks. A lawmaker said the tension between Pelosi and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), a chief deputy whip and a founder of the Out of Iraq Caucus, was noticeable. The two Californians sat at opposite ends of a long table in Pelosi’s office as Waters, her arms crossed, listened to Pelosi make her case for the bill.

Liberal Democrats also feel that House leaders have tried to isolate them as a power in the caucus. Some have complained that Democratic leaders accommodated the wishes of conservative Democrats in the legislation, but neglected liberals.

In particular, House leaders removed a provision requiring President Bush to seek congressional approval if he attacked Iran. Blue Dog Democrats wanted the provision stripped from the bill.

As the Washington Post reports, Waters is not the only deputy whip opposing the Speaker's will.

One of the Democrats' chief designated vote counters, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), is actively working against the Iraq war spending bill. The leadership's senior chief deputy whip, Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), spoke passionately against it on the House floor. And one of the whip organization's regional representatives, Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.), is implacably opposed.

Besdies twisting arms, the Democrats are adding lots of funding sweeteners to entice some balky Representatives to change their votes.

To get them off the fence and on the bill, Democrats have a key weapon at their disposal: cold, hard cash. The bill contains billions for agriculture and drought relief, children's health care and Gulf Coast hurricane recovery.

For Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), there is $25 million for spinach growers hurt by last year's E. coli scare. For three conservative Democrats in Georgia, there is $75 million for peanut storage. For lawmakers from the bone-dry West, there is $500 million for wildfire suppression. An additional $120 million is earmarked for shrimp and Atlantic menhaden fishermen.

So far, at least in public pronouncements, the $21 billion in funding beyond President Bush's request has earned Democrats nothing but scorn.

For more than a year, Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R) has tried unsuccessfully to secure federal funds to prevent salt water from intruding on rice fields in his lowland Louisiana district. So it came as a surprise last week when Boustany found $15 million in the House's huge war spending bill for his rice farmers. He hadn't even asked that the bill include it.

Maybe these are all worthy projects, but the reason they are in a supplemental bill to fund fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan is pure politics. When the Republicans did the same thing to pass their bills, Democrats were full of contempt. But that's the way politics works in Congress and whoever is in the majority will end up doing the same thing to get votes passed.

Although it's still doubtful whether they will get to 218 to pass their bill, I would be surprised if they didn't succeed. When the House leadership goes all out on a bill, they can usually pass it. However, since Bush has promised to veto the bill, it is rather moot. They'll never get to the 2/3 vote they would need to override the veto. So, Pelosi is twisting a lot of arms for no real legislative purpose, just for the symbolism of passing the bill she wants and to get that on the record. And I don't imagine that people like Maxine Waters, Barbara Lee, and John Lewis will appreciate hearing such threats on what, to them, is a vote of conscience.