From House to White House Is Not a Road Well Traveled

By Lois Romano
Thursday, March 8, 2007

Consider this list of members of the House: liberal Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), conservative Duncan Hunter (R- Calif.), libertarian Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and anti-illegal-immigration crusader Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.). What do they have in common?

They're all running for president.

You may be among the 1 percent of voters who already knew that and are supporting one of them. But if you are among the other 99 . . . well, you see their problem.

The Senate has all the big-name candidates, though pundits like to note that a senator hasn't made it to the White House directly since John F. Kennedy. History is even more unkind to House members.

The last -- and only -- member of the House elected directly to the presidency was our 20th, James Garfield, a piece of trivia not known by many.

"I know it was a long time ago," offered Hunter.

In fact, 127 years ago.

(Since Garfield was from Ohio, Kucinich knew the history.)

While all four are polling at 1 percent or less, they say they have as good a shot as any of the 20 other contenders.

"I know this: People are unhappy with the political status quo like never before," said Paul, who is vocally opposed to the war in Iraq. "The question is whether I am the right person with the right message to reach them."

Paul, who ran as a Libertarian in 1988, said the Internet has changed things for less-known candidates: "I'm utterly amazed by the broad reach. I raised more money when I set up the exploratory committee than I ever did with a piece of direct mail."

Tancredo and Hunter are seeking support from core conservatives desperate for a candidate because they can't get enthusiastic about the Republicans at the top of the polls, Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani. Tancredo has managed to attract the kind of publicity he wants by standing to the right of many conservatives. He was one of 33 legislators to oppose the renewal of the Voting Rights Act and has criticized President Bush's stance on immigration.

A Vietnam War veteran whose son served in Iraq, Hunter says he is in a unique position, as the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, to be a strong voice on national security. He said he supports the president's troop buildup in Iraq but agrees that there needs to be a plan for ending U.S. involvement. Last week, the 13-term legislator placed second (behind Giuliani) in a South Carolina straw vote.

Kucinich has been down this presidential road before and is not at all discouraged that he remains a blip in the polls. He said that, given where the country stands on the war in Iraq, voters can't help but hear his unequivocal antiwar message. As Kucinich likes to point out, he is the only Democratic presidential candidate who voted against the war authorization and has since voted against every funding appropriation.

"I believe my consistent opposition to this war puts me in a strong position to argue that my judgment is superior to all the other candidates'," he said. "The war has put the campaign on a different trajectory. The terrain will be vastly different 11 months from now. It takes persistence. Even Rip Van Winkle woke up."

The Hottest Committee in Town

The best-kept secret on the Hill these days may be the membership for the new committee on global warming, a lineup that House leaders have kept close to the vest but are likely to announce this week.

As expected, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will appoint Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) to chair the standing committee, which will have subpoena power but no legislative authority.

Pelosi's office declined to name any of the members, but Hill sources said that among the likely Democratic appointees are freshman Rep. Jerry McNerney (Calif.), a former energy consultant and wind-power expert, and Rep. Stephanie Herseth (S.D.), who has been a proponent of alternative fuels such as ethanol.

A floor vote to establish the committee and grant it $1.7 million for this year could come as early as today.

Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) is appointing GOP members. They have not been announced, but the names circulating include Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner (Wis.) and Greg Walden (Ore.).

Republicans say they are reserving judgment on the measure until they see the parameters. Boehner has said that the existing committees are capable of dealing with global warming.

Pelosi's plan initially upset some committee chairmen, who saw it as undermining their authority. Chief among the critics was House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.).

Both sides said there were many more volunteers for the committee than seats.

Hispanic Caucus Supports Embattled Chairman

After a public brawl worthy of "The Sopranos," the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus survived a confidence vote Tuesday night, a few weeks after he was accused of calling another member of the caucus a "whore."

Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) pledged this week to unite the caucus after his victory. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) accused Baca last month of the name-calling, which she said came in a conversation with a Latino politician in California last summer.

Sanchez has since quit the caucus and vowed not to return unless Baca is gone.

C-SPAN Lets Bloggers Use Its Clips

C-SPAN, the exclusive video chronicler of Congress, yesterday took a major step to loosen its copyright hold by announcing that it would no longer object to YouTube or bloggers posting its footage from the Hill or from federal agencies online. The content makes up about half the cable channel's programming.

Use of the video footage became awkward recently when Republicans accused Pelosi of "pirating" some clips for her new blog, the Gavel. C-SPAN explained that floor footage is shot by government cameras and that Pelosi was on firm ground using it. But C-SPAN did ask her to take down a clip of a committee hearing shot by a C-SPAN camera.

A C-SPAN spokeswoman said yesterday's action was a nod to the ever-changing technological landscape.