When it comes to presiding, Democrats need coaching

When Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., ran the House as speaker, he was affectionately known as “Coach,” a nod to his previous life as a wrestling coach.

But new Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has tapped one of her top allies, Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., to be something of a coach to members on one of the most important tasks of all — running the House floor.

In addition to controlling the House calendar and the rules of debate, a major perk of the majority party is that one of its own members always presides in the chair. Yet most members of the Democratic Caucus, newly in charge of things in the House after 12 years in the political wilderness, have little to no experience sitting in that lofty throne.

Thus, viewers of C-SPAN might have noticed more confusion than usual on the House floor lately, as calls of “order” and uncertainty over timekeeping issues and the order of debate have been cropping up a bit more than last year.

In order to mitigate those problems, “We’ve had Murtha and members of our staff teaching class,” said Brendan Daly, a spokesman for Pelosi. “We also have someone keeping track of who’s in the chair” at all times.

Another Democratic source said the process isn’t terribly systematized; just some informal instruction for members who need it.

Murtha is in his 17th term, so he had 20 years of experience being in the majority before Republicans took over in 1994. He also has a reputation as a stern taskmaster at the podium.

In this new role, Murtha seems to be filling the shoes of Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill., generally regarded as the Republican side’s finest floor manager. LaHood was chief of staff to former Minority Leader Bob Michel, R-Ill., before running to replace him, so he has plenty of know-how. LaHood presided over much of the House debate over President Clinton’s impeachment.

Is McCain wooing the NPR crowd?

We were surprised when we saw a letter from Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., included in a direct mail packet sent out by the Environmental Defense Action Fund.

The letter asks recipients to petition their senators to pass climate change legislation and donate to the cause. McCain co-sponsors the most visible anti-global warming bill in Congress. But what struck us was what came with the letter: A sheet of address labels with an image of the earth on them and a flyer stating that you can get an earth tote bag with your $25 donation.

A strange bit of crunchy iconography, to be sure, for a prominent Republican with his sights set on the White House.

“It is odd,” remarked Pat Toomey, president of the Club for Growth, which backs pro-free market Republicans and called McCain’s global warming stance “alarmist propaganda.”

“John McCain has his problems with conservative Republicans,” he said. “My only guess is that he’s targeting Democrats.”

Washington must settle for the elder Clooney

“Sexiest Man Alive” George Clooney premiered his new TV special, “A Journey to Darfur,” last night at Atlantic Video downtown. Only one thing was missing: George Clooney.

Much to the chagrin of Washington women present, the actor appeared only via satellite. He did, however, send his father, Nick Clooney, a Cincinnati Post columnist and former Cincinnati-area news anchor who ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Democrat in 2004.

The film traces their father-and-son trip to Darfur last spring to account for the violence there. “We were there for nine days,” George says at one point in the film, “and there wasn’t a minute I didn’t think we were going to get killed.”

Senate GOP still in control on Web

Seems that Senate Republicans are having a bit of trouble letting go. A quick perusal of the 20 Web sites for Senate committees reveals that only four — those for the committees on the Environment and Public Works, Judiciary, Veterans Affairs and Intelligence — properly identify a Democrat as the chairman.

The sites for the Rules Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee are not operational, and the other 14 still peg a Republican as top dog.

Things are a bit better in the House. There, only the Ethics committee hasn’t changed to reflect the new leadership. The Judiciary and Energy and Commerce sites would not load.

Think tank

“What’s the Republicans’ best defense against the Democrats’ 100 hours?”

“Make a simple announcement — ‘Party in the House Minority Leader’s office!’ — because if there’s one thing the American people want more than an expansion of federally funded embryonic stem cell research, it’s shrimp quesadillas.”

– Matt Labash, Weekly Standard

“The Senate — the place where so many ideas, both good and bad, come to die.”

– John Miller, National Review

“To prevent Nancy Pelosi from again inviting all the kiddies to the podium, hammer up a 4-foot-high sign: “You must be taller than this line to hold the gavel.”

– Howard Mortman, New Media Strategies