Blue Dogs accept compromise on rules to curb Pelosi power

Blue Dog Democrats pushing to strip Speaker Nancy Pelosi of
appointment power within the House caucus reluctantly accepted a compromise
offered by Pelosi on Thursday.

The Democratic Caucus approved an amendment to its rules to
allow members of the Steering and Policy Committee to elect leaders of the
panels, who had previously been appointed by the party leader, Pelosi
(D-Calif.).

Led by Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Blue Dogs had wanted the
chairman and vice chairman of that committee to be elected by the full caucus, but
they agreed to the compromise when it became clear their proposal would not win
a vote of House Democrats.

{mosads}Before a caucus meeting on Thursday, Matheson withdrew three
other proposals to rein in Pelosi’s internal authority, including a bid to have
chairmen of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Rules
Committee be fully elected positions within the caucus instead of de facto
appointments by the party leader.

A day after 43 Democrats voted against Pelosi for minority
leader, the developments marked a clear indication of how much clout she
retains in a more divided caucus. The meeting on Thursday was the third
consecutive closed-door session for House Democrats grappling with the loss of
their majority.

Asked after the meeting if he was satisfied with the
compromise, Matheson replied: “No.”

He acknowledged that “there was movement” by party leaders
and the caucus in response to the concerns raised by the Blue Dogs, and he said
there was now a greater awareness of the issues surrounding appointment rules. “The
good thing is I think we’ve generated a lot of discussion, and there’s a lot of
understanding that maybe the caucus ought to look at a lot its rule structure.”

Matheson was also appointed to the caucus committee that
deals with its organization and structure.

As for dropping his other proposals, Matheson said: “Look, I
can count votes.”

Earlier Thursday, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), an
ally of Blue Dogs who was elected minority whip, said that “more openness and
inclusiveness was necessary” within the Democratic caucus.