Barton/TX manuvers ouster of first female veteran from Armed Svcs Cmte

WASHINGTON - Rep. Heather Wilson is scheduled to arrive at Fort Bliss, Texas, today on her first, and quite possibly last, junket as a member of the House Armed Services Committee.

The Albuquerque Republican said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Joe Barton, a Texas Republican, has refused to sign a waiver of House rules to let her stay on a second major committee. That comes after the Republican Steering Committee on Thursday rejected Barton's request to oust Wilson from his committee.

This kind of stuff comes up in campaigns all the time. Wilson can claim she is protecting the base by being on the committee. She probably did in her last campaign. She got 54% of the vote.

I don't see how this hurts her at home. If we ran a poll here at this forum as to what committees our representatives are on, I'd guess less than 1% would know without doing research first.

I don't. Whether Wilson retains her seat in 2006 isn't going to hinge on what committees she's on.

It matters very much to New Mexicans of the First District what committees Heather Wilson is on. With Sandia National Labs (DOE/NNSA), Kirtland Air Force Base and the Air Force Research Lab all in her district, both Armed Services and Energy & Commerce are certainly committees of interest to her constituents.

As to your other comment about the district going to Kerry. While it is true that Heather attracted enough Kerry voters to allow her to defeat her Dem opponent, it is also certain that without the Bush votes of the First District (most certainly all Heather voters), the entire state would have gone to Kerry. There is no way that the Bush votes from SW New Mexico alone could have overcome the overwhelming Kerry vote in Northern New Mexico.

Am I right so far, or did I miss something?

The rules allow for the granting of waivers. House Leadership had already turned Barton down in his attempt to retaliate against Wilson. Barton then chose the only avenue still available to him, refusal to grant the waiver for Rep. Wilson to continue serving on Armed Services in addition to his committee (Energy & Commerce).

I think we each have a valid perspective based on which side of the NM/TX line we're looking at this from. Personally, I wouldn't want someone as small-minded and petty as Barton representing my interests.

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