Thursday, November 20, 2008

Wax on, Wax off.


More bad news for Detroit.


In addition to looking like complete tools for each taking their own Gulfstream to Washington to plead for free money, the CEOs of America's car industry just lost one of their bestest and longest committee-chairing friends, Rep. John Dingell.


Looks like Waxman has taken over as head of the Energy and Commerce committee. As TPM notes, "the defeat of Dingell is a major victory for environmentalists, removing a key obstacle to real energy reform just as a Democrat with climate change high on his agenda takes the Presidency."
The big issue here, is Dingell's fall is a pretty big sign that change creeping around Capital Hill. Dingell was the incumbent chair and had seniority. Didn't matter. Marshall also makes a good point: with Waxman assuming the chair and his former chief of staff (Shiliro) now as Obama's point man on legislation, we may be seeing a real shift in energy and environmental policy.

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