Democrats' cold cash quandary

Posted by Naftali Bendavid at 8:55 a.m. CST

Among the few pleasures of being in the minority is the freedom to take potshots at the majority. Among the perils of being in the majority is being a fatter target for those potshots.

Those roles have just been reversed in Congress, of course, and the Republicans are relishing holding Democrats to the high standards they professed so freely before November 7. Democrats, when in the minority, complained frequently of being shut out of the legislative process; now, Republicans say, the Democrats are doing the same thing to them. During the campaign, Democrats blasted a GOP “culture of corruption” and promised to run “the most ethical Congress in history”; now, Republicans say, they are falling far short of that.

The most recent flashpoint in this back-and-forth is the decision of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to appoint Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) to the influential House Committee on Homeland Security.

Close followers of congressional shenanigans will recall that the FBI has said it found $90,000 in Jefferson’s freezer. An FBI informant gave Jefferson $100,000 in fake bribe money, the Bureau said in court papers, and a search later found all but $10,000 of it in various containers in the congressman’s freezer.

That vivid story prompted Pelosi to remove Jefferson last June from the powerful Ways and Means Committee. The Democrats at the time were denouncing Republican corruption, and Pelosi’s move was intended to signal voters that Democrats would not tolerate wrongdoing. But it prompted a sharp protest from members of the Congressional Black Caucus, who noted that Jefferson had not been charged with anything. Punishing a congressman every time investigators make allegations, they argued, would be terribly unfair. But Pelosi persisted, and most House Democrats went along with her.

As last November’s election approached, many Democrats secretly hoped Jefferson, who has repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, would lose, sparing them the problem of how to deal with him. But he handily defeated a Democratic rival in a runoff.

In announcing that Jefferson would sit on Homeland Security, Pelosi noted that the committee oversees the Hurricane Katrina reconstruction and that Jefferson represents New Orleans. It would be unfair to New Orleans residents, Democrats say, to keep their congressman off that committee.

But Republicans—who well recall how Democrats made their lives miserable over corruption during the campaign—aren’t buying it. They are planning the unusual step of opposing Jefferson’s committee assignment on the House floor; ordinarily, a gentleman’s agreement prevents either party from challenging the other’s committee assignments. The Republicans will presumably fail, since they’re in the minority, but the challenge could embarrass the Democrats.

Republicans like House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio are making the most of the episode.
“The Democrats previously determined Congressman Jefferson is unfit to serve on the Ways & Means Committee, which oversees the nation’s finances and trade, so it is difficult to comprehend how they can approve of Congressman Jefferson’s fitness for a seat on the Homeland Security Committee, with access to America’s most sensitive and closely guarded intelligence information,” Boehner said in a statement.

This is not the first controversy Pelosi has faced over committee assignments. Shortly after the election, she bypassed the two Democrats next in line to chair the House Intelligence Committee. She refused to appoint Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.), reportedly feeling that Harman had not done enough to challenge the Republicans on intelligence matters. And she declined to name Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), a former federal judge who was impeached and removed from the bench.

In the argument over Jefferson, Democrats note that several Republicans are under investigation also, yet GOP leaders show no signs of removing them from committees. Pelosi also said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” that the Homeland Security Committee’s jurisdiction has nothing to do with the accusations against Jefferson.

Pelosi is struggling to balance a host of factors here—the Democrats’ desire to appear ethical, the will of the Congressional Black Caucus, a concern over precedents for lawmakers who face damaging allegations but have not been indicted.

In all, Pelosi told CNN’s Larry King, Jefferson’s new committee “is an appropriate place for him to be.” The Republicans hope the voters disagree.