Waxman Looks to Youth in Fight Against Dingell

Politico is reporting that Rep. Waxman is "looking to youth" to help him in his fight against Rep. Dingell (Congressman, General Motors) for control of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The results of this fight will likely dictate just how progressive energy legislation coming out of the House will be in the next session.

I wish I could say that Waxman is looking for help from young voters and youth climate groups, but that's not what Politico is talking about. No, this is shaping up as a fight with moderates and the old guard who have been in congress for quite some time on one side, and more progressive legislators on the other. To increase his support, Waxman is wooing new legislators recently elected to congress to join his coalition:

This week’s showdown between Reps. John Dingell and Henry A. Waxman could come down to the votes of members too young to remember Dingell’s glory days — votes Waxman has been courting with a series of well-timed campaign contributions.

Dingell outraised Waxman by a sizable margin over the past two years, and he’s been more generous with his money, giving nearly five times what Waxman gave to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Dingell has also given substantially more than Waxman to the Frontline program for Democrats in the most competitive districts.

But Waxman, whose district includes Beverly Hills and other wealthy Los Angeles suburbs, has been extraordinarily deliberate in his campaign giving, spending liberally on the party’s best pickup possibilities just before Election Day — and hence, just before the time when members will vote on whether Waxman replaces Dingell as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

In October alone, Waxman cut $2,000 checks to 19 Democratic candidates. Some fell short. Most won. Among the winners: Kathy Dahlkemper in Pennsylvania, Steve Driehaus in Ohio and Larry Kissell in North Carolina, each of whom knocked off an incumbent Republican to add a seat to the Democratic Caucus, and Gerry Connolly, who won the seat Rep. Tom Davis is vacating in Virginia.

Waxman has done this before and could win, but I'm sure he needs all the help he can get. Credo Action is running a petition in support of Waxman, and I can't help but think that a quiet effort on the part of youth climate groups would be beneficial as well.

I say quiet because no one wants to destroy their political capital before the new administration has even started, and I'm sure that many student/youth green groups are worried about coming down on the wrong side of this fight and getting locked out of any access to the legislative process next year.

Yet at the same time, we shouldn't be too afraid to fight for what we want. Young people voted in record numbers this year or Democrats, creating a mandate for real progressive change. High on that agenda was smart energy legislation to prevent climate change, and the creation of a green jobs economy. I'm no expert on how things work on the Hill, but everything I'm reading suggests that the outcome of this fight could radically affect the quality of legislation coming out of the house on this issue in the coming congressional session.

That seems like a big enough deal for youth climate leaders to - if not launch a full-blown campaign - at least be making phone calls to new legislators and use their new power at the ballot box to exert some under-the-radar pressure on behalf of Waxman.