The Masters of the House

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DATE : Wed, 15 Nov 2006 19:00:00 +0500
Entered in Database : 2006-11-15 14:00:00
length : 21924499
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Pulling the House to the left [Augusta R. Toppins]

Barney Frank

U.S. Representative, D-MA

Tom Lantos

U.S. Representative, D-CA

Charles Rangel

U.S. Representative, D-NY

Ike Skelton

U.S. Representative, D-MO

Carol Shea-Porter

Incoming U.S. Representative, D-NH

Extra Credit Reading

Richard B. Schmitt and Richard Simon, Democrats Are Set to Subpoena, LA Times, November 10, 2006: "Rep. Ike Skelton knows what he will do in one of his first acts as chairman of the Armed Services Committee in the Democratic-led House: resurrect the subcommittee on oversight and investigations ... Skelton (D-Mo.) intends to use it as a forum to probe Pentagon spending and the Bush administration's conduct of the Iraq war."Stirling Newberry, The Center of Attention, TPM Cafe, November 12, 2006: "We are now seeing from Time, Newsweek and other outlets arecycling of that same theory - namely that the Democrats, because of the 'conservative' tilt of the new freshman class are going to have to be 'moderates'. This prediction is just as off base. The American people voted for change, not for slight tweaking."Keith Kreitman, Democrats May Urge Contact With U.S. Adversaries, The Washington Post, November 10, 2006: "The incoming chairmen of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House International Relations Committee -- Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Rep. Tom Lantos of California, respectively -- have long argued that the administration's approach to dealing with adversaries has hamstrung diplomacy."Kelly Pakula, Lantos Welcomes Resignation, The San Mateo County Times, November 9, 2006: "'I don't think self-imposed isolation is a useful policy. Even the most powerful nation needs friends and allies and supporters globally.'"Charles P. Pierce, To Be Frank, Boston Globe, October 2, 2005: "[Frank says] 'I know the rules of the House as much as anybody. I am a wonk about how to get things done, more than about what to do.'"Engram What Americans Think about the Democratic Plan for Iraq, Back Talk, November 15 2006: "Sadly, John Murtha and John Kerry and the rest of the Democrats seem more likely to confirm their worst fears by confirming al Qaeda's theory of America."

3:48

The American people have increasingly argued, and I think we saw this on Election Day, economic growth goes forth in a way that is of no use to them. And that’s not healthy.

Barney Frank

16:07

I believe it is absolutely in our interest to talk to people we strongly disagree with.

Tom Lantos

27:55

We’ve got a lot of work to do on the Ways and Means Committee. We have to give you a tax code to make certain that we’re talking about economic expansion. We have a Social Security system that we have to deal with to make certain that remains secure. We have to look at Medicare and the alternative minimum tax…We have decided as Democrats that we’ve got to pay as you go, meaning that we don’t intend to spend more than we’re bringing in.

Charles Rangel

31:05

Our committee has never really worked together in a bipartisan way. It was unfortunate…I cannot begin to tell you how good I feel with the number of Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee who have shared with me in the last couple days how anxious and willing they are to work with me, to come up with bipartisan legislation.

Charles Rangel

34:30

Getting even means you don’t tend to get anything done.

Charles Rangel

35:37

I also believe, sincerely, that when a nation decides that our security is being threatened, and is prepared to go to war…they shouldn’t think that this war is going to be fought by strangers. They should think that it’s going to be fought by their children and their grandchildren and people from [their] communities. They should understand that sacrifice should not be restricted to those people who don’t have the same economic options. And so there’s no question in my mind, and few people challenge me, that if everyone knew in the Pentagon and the White House and the Congress that going to war in Iraq meant they’d have to put their kids into harm’s way, we would’ve never gone to war in Iraq.

Charles Rangel

38:55

Donald Rumsfeld will be callable, there’s no question about that.

Ike Skelton

49:20

We are going to have to address [health care] as the crisis that it really is. We know that this country pays two and a half times more than the other western democracies [for health care]; it’s a burden for small business, and a burden for families and it’s a burden even now for the large businesses. So I think the climate is right to start having a dialogue again. And what I have said to people is that while I personally support Medicare for all, and I will work for that, I will also work with anybody who has any plan to improve the lot of the average American family on health care.

Carol Shea-Porter

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