Page 44 - Committee Assignment News Today

I dont under sfimt uniestimate boehner, yes, this is a new group of players at the table. nobody in the party had to deal with before. quite frankly, rather honestly since i helped get a lot of them there in 2010. i understand where theyre coming from. are you looking at a group of individuals who for the first time in congress have not been co opted into the system and get along to get along. they were sent to washington to do a particular thing, which was basically to control the government. t...

About her responsibility and lets wait and see what the report says but anyone, i think, republicans in particular want to play this political game on what was a terrible convenient, i think that will be the blow back that will come back on them and not be a smart move. >> governor rendell, chris you thank you so much. we apologize for the audio problem there with chris. thank you, guys. wall street should perhaps watch out. the latest on senator-elect elizabeth warrens new committee assignmen...

Leverage. >> people do not need to be confirmed by the larger senate to get their committee assignment. there isnt any public review process is there? >> they kind of do. the way it works, harry reid will put forward a slate of committee assignments. and then the entire democratic conference or caucus will vote on that slate. so in theory, its true. the democratic caucus could reject harry reids slate. it just never happens. because these appointments are done in consultation with the committee ...

People seem to assume this would be a smooth process and she would end up on the committee. they didnt see wall streets leverage. >> people do not need to be confirmed by the larger senate to get their committee assignment. there isnt any public review process is there? >> they kind of do. the way it works, harry reid will put forward a slate of committee assignments. and then the entire democratic conference or caucus will vote on that slate. so in theory, its true. the democratic caucus could ...

Pressured to go the party line. then i had a lengthy conversation on monday with harry reid, talked over the weekend to my old friend george mitchell from maine who had been majority leader. when i asked george mitchell about, you know, am i going to have to vote with the party every time? he laughed out loud and said i think i only had to do that once or twice in my whole career. anyway, i was assured that i was going to be an independent, wasnt going to be forced in any way to vote the party l...

Youll say, im going to stay here in the senate, and when i agree with the majority on this issue, ill be be with them, and when i dont, ill be opposed to them. ill be the decisive vote. im staying in the middle aisle i want a seat right in the middle aisle. i refuse to buy any committee assignment. im not going to take ranking on any committee or chairmanship. ill sit here in the middle and decide all the key votes. why dont you do that? >> that is absolutely an option. that is one of the option...

You remind me of neru back in the cold war. how do you become -- suppose you wanted to remain an independent, and i mean a complete independent, would you have a seat in the middle aisle and have a chair right there in the aisle? have you ever thought of that as a possibility? >> this is sort of uncharted territory, chris. and what i want to do is remain independent, as independent as i possibly can, for as long as i possibly can. and theres all this business about caucuses and senate rules and ...

Can be with the one that the vice president decides things. youll say, im going to stay here in the senate, and when i agree with the majority on this issue, ill be be with them, and when i dont, ill be opposed to them. ill be the decisive vote. im staying in the middle aisle. a i want a seat right in the middle aisle. i refuse to buy any committee assignment. im not going to take ranking on any committee or chairmanship. ill sit here in the middle and decide all the key votes. why dont you do t...

Do something remarkable. you simply could be the one with the vice president that decides things and you go on and say, look, im going to stay here in the center and when i dont ill be opposed to them. im going to be the divisive vote here. im going to give up all of my committee assignments to earn my independence. i refuse to join any caucus and will not be bought out with a committee assignment. im not going to take ranking. ill just sit here in the middle and decide all of the key votes. why...

could affect all of us, including our own mail delivery. im wolf blitzer, youre in "the situation room." jtsdzer. it all begins in iowa. right now many of the republican presidential candidates are in that state, a state that holds the lead-off contest in 2012. theyre working the crowds at the state fair before tomorrows pivotal iowa straw poll. and theyre taking direct aim at president obamas handling of the debt crisis and the u.s. economy. listen to some of the republican hopefuls...