Posted by Hemant Mehta in Really, Pete Stark?
You were arguably the most powerful atheist in the country… and you held the position for only one day?!
I expected at least a full week. For shame…
We still love you, though.
And Pete Stark Steps Aside…
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He did say he wants to keep his chair in the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, so he can continue working on health care reform. While I'm sure it has more to do with the Dems wanting a more middle-of-the-road chair than Stark's desire to keep his subcommittee chair, it will be good to keep Stark working primarily on health care, where we need progressives pushing hard for change.
No, we don't really love him, at least not all of us. Maybe you admire Stark's progressive voting record, good for you. But the man is one of the biggest jerks on Capitol Hill, from either party.
I doubt that Stark is the most powerful atheist in the country. Bill Gates, for example, probably wields vastly more power than Stark does. (Disclaimer: I'm not suggesting that wielding a lot of power is a good thing.)
Speaking as someone who has no particular love for the Democrats, I have trouble believing that any Democrat would make the top 20 list of “biggest jerks on Capitol Hill.”
Seriously, we don't all love him, and for good reason.
At least Pete Stark has some balls. That's difficult to say for most Democrats.
“In that sense, Levin could make for a better fit. He's an expert on trade issues and is considered to be much more moderate than Stark.”
When conservatives are in power, do you ever hear the inverse of this? That a particular representative is a poor fit because he's too conservative, and someone “much more moderate” would be “a better fit”. Of course not.
When the Republicans are in power, the power flows to the extreme wing of that party. When the Democrats are in power, its like we have to apologize that some of us are actually… you know, liberal. Makes you want to vote for a third party.
Does it really matter if he is a jerk or not? “Is he correct?” or “Is he doing what is best for the people?” are probably more important questions to have answered.
Some people think Christpher Hitchens is a jerk, too, but it doesn't make his position any more or less correct. You also don't have to like him for him to do his job well.
Disappointing. I wonder if his atheism had anything to do with the situation.
Actually, I think it does matter if he's a jerk or not. Unlike Hitchens, who makes his living by being irascible and controversial, a politician makes his living by being likeable and appealing.
You're confusing tone and presentation with content and logic. I'm not addressing the merits of any policy proposal Congressman Stark might propose or oppose. Let us assume, for purposes of discussion, that he's proposing ideal policies. Still doesn't matter. If you're a jerk, you lose political traction because fewer people are willing to extend support to you for no reason other than that you are a jerk. Thus, your ability to advocate for god policy is diminished as a result.
Particularly for a politically important position like a committee chairmanship, the ability to draft and advocate good policies is at best a secondary skill. The primary ability we need to measure in such a person is the ability to form a broad enough consensus and majority to get a working majority assembled. As we've seen in the health care debates, simply having more D's than R's around is not enough to get that done.
No, it's probably not any issues relating to his atheism. He's just an ass. Not to mention of course that he has ethics problems. When you're replacing an old bull for extreme violations of congressional ethics, having his successor go down for the same thing in just a couple years (an outside chance, but not discountable) is a pretty big concern. Bad optics and all that.
What if the one Congressman willing to out himself had been Charlie Rangel?
Would you be proud that you had “outed” the first atheist member of Congress – or wished you had left well enough alone?