2006.11.10: November 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: Congress: Pioneer Press : Sen. Norm Coleman loses two subcommittee chairmanships but says he thinks he can pick up some extra clout in the remade Senate
Peace Corps Online:
Peace Corps News:
Peace Corps Library:
Friends of the Peace Corps:
April 4, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: Friends: Senator Norm Coleman :
2006.11.10: November 10, 2006: Headlines: Figures: Congress: Pioneer Press : Sen. Norm Coleman loses two subcommittee chairmanships but says he thinks he can pick up some extra clout in the remade Senate
Sen. Norm Coleman loses two subcommittee chairmanships but says he thinks he can pick up some extra clout in the remade Senate
When Democrats take over, Coleman will surrender the chairman's gavel of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs subcommittee. He said he has worked with the ranking Democrats on those panels in a bipartisan manner, and hopes they will reciprocate.
Sen. Norm Coleman loses two subcommittee chairmanships but says he thinks he can pick up some extra clout in the remade Senate
Democratic majority: an opportunity for Coleman?
FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Sen. Norm Coleman loses two subcommittee chairmanships next year and slides from majority to minority status as the Democrats take over the Senate. But ever the optimist, the Minnesota Republican says he thinks he can pick up some extra clout in the remade Senate.
"Listen, I would prefer to be in the majority, no question about that, but in terms of representing Minnesota, I think there may be added opportunity," he said in a telephone interview this week.
Coleman pointed out that to block a GOP filibuster, Democrats will need 60 votes, not the 51 votes they will have next year.
"If you want to get to 60, you're going to have to get a small group of people you can work with," said Coleman, a former Democrat. "And I'm going to be one of those."
While Coleman backs his party most of the time, he has broken ranks and sided with Democrats on several issues, such as Pell Grant funding, Community Development Block Grants and against drilling for oil in an Alaska wildlife refuge.
"In many ways, being more of centrist here, I've got some added clout, because you've got to get to 60 in the Senate," he said. "When they're at 51, I'm going to be needed."
Coleman said he plans to use that leverage to extract gains for Minnesota.
A spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said that Reid is anxious to work with Republicans to get things done in the next Congress.
"Despite the elections, the whole game in the Senate is 60 votes," said the spokesman, Jim Manley. "So any one senator can have a powerful impact on the Senate."
Steven Schier, a political science professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., said that Coleman will likely try to position himself as someone who can work with both parties in anticipation of his re-election campaign in 2008.
"So I think he has electoral motivation to pursue that strategy, as well as a more moderate temperament than some other members of his caucus," he said.
"He knows what happened to Mark Kennedy - Mark Kennedy was branded a Bush clone, and he got 38 percent of the vote," Schier said of the defeated Minnesota GOP Senate candidate and congressman. "Minnesota is not Bush country, never really has been. He's never carried it."
Coleman is part of a vanishing group of middle-of-the-road Republicans. Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine and Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee both lost their elections this week.
"Centrists Republicans in the Northeast and Upper Midwest are certainly at risk," Coleman said. "We're from states that still tend to be more blue than purple, and certainly than red."
Democrats are already talking about mounting a challenge to Coleman in two years. Comedian Al Franken, who is considering a run, has started a political action committee, and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak told WCCO Radio Friday he wouldn't close the door on a race.
When Democrats take over, Coleman will surrender the chairman's gavel of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and the Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs subcommittee.
He said he has worked with the ranking Democrats on those panels in a bipartisan manner, and hopes they will reciprocate.
But the investigations subcommittee, in particular, has given Coleman a high profile perch.
Coleman can salvage one committee advantage from the GOP wreckage: he jumps up the seniority ladder on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, with the defeat of Chafee and Virginia Republican George Allen. Coleman is now third on the Republican side behind the chairman, Richard Lugar of Indiana, and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska.
"And Lugar's not young," said Coleman, adding he might be line to become chairman or top Republican of the committee in six or eight years. Lugar is 74, and Hagel is 60. Coleman is 57.
Fred Frommer can be reached at ffrommer@ap.org
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: November, 2006; Coleman; Congress; Minnesota
When this story was posted in November 2006, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Harris Wofford to speak at "PC History" series Senator Harris Wofford will be the speaker at the 4th Annual "Peace Corps History" series on November 16 sponsored by the University of Maryland at Baltimore County (UMBC) and the Maryland Returned Volunteers. Previous speakers in the series have included Jack Vaughn (Second Director of the Peace Corps), Scott Stossel (Biographer of Sargent Shriver), and C. Payne Lucas (President Emeritus of Africare). Details on the time and location of the event are available here. |
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
| Peace Corps' Screening and Medical Clearance The purpose of Peace Corps' screening and medical clearance process is to ensure safe accommodation for applicants and minimize undue risk exposure for volunteers to allow PCVS to complete their service without compromising their entry health status. To further these goals, PCOL has obtained a copy of the Peace Corps Screening Guidelines Manual through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and has posted it in the "Peace Corps Library." Applicants and Medical Professionals (especially those who have already served as volunteers) are urged to review the guidelines and leave their comments and suggestions. Then read the story of one RPCV's journey through medical screening and his suggestions for changes to the process. |
| The Peace Corps is "fashionable" again The LA Times says that "the Peace Corps is booming again and "It's hard to know exactly what's behind the resurgence." PCOL Comment: Since the founding of the Peace Corps 45 years ago, Americans have answered Kennedy's call: "Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." Over 182,000 have served. Another 200,000 have applied and been unable to serve because of lack of Congressional funding. The Peace Corps has never gone out of fashion. It's Congress that hasn't been keeping pace. |
| PCOL readership increases 100% Monthly readership on "Peace Corps Online" has increased in the past twelve months to 350,000 visitors - over eleven thousand every day - a 100% increase since this time last year. Thanks again, RPCVs and Friends of the Peace Corps, for making PCOL your source of information for the Peace Corps community. And thanks for supporting the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come. |
| History of the Peace Corps PCOL is proud to announce that Phase One of the "History of the Peace Corps" is now available online. This installment includes over 5,000 pages of primary source documents from the archives of the Peace Corps including every issue of "Peace Corps News," "Peace Corps Times," "Peace Corps Volunteer," "Action Update," and every annual report of the Peace Corps to Congress since 1961. "Ask Not" is an ongoing project. Read how you can help. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Pioneer Press
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; Congress
PCOL35148
45