Californians call shots, set agenda in the 110th

[babylonsister]

Californians call shots, set agenda in the 110th
By Jonathan E. Kaplan
December 13, 2007

When they captured control of the House last year, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other California Democrats redirected the geographic balance of political influence to their own state from the once-dominant South.

The Southern drawls and Texas twangs of lawmakers like former majority leaders and Texas Republicans Tom DeLay and Dick Armey have given way to California lilts, as the 54-member California delegation — the largest in Congress — works to change policy and how Washington talks about issues. DeLay, Armey and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) are all out of office.

Illegal aliens are referred to as undocumented workers by Pelosi and some of her colleagues; corn, cotton and wheat now compete with specialty crops — fruits, nuts and vegetables — for attention in the farm bill; and oil subsidies and drilling have taken a backseat to “green jobs” and the “greening of the Capitol.”

Californians have “infiltrated all the different power centers in the House so they heavily influence the dialogue,” former Democratic Whip Tony Coelho (Calif.) said.

The Bay Area Californians have known each other their entire professional lives from having served in the California legislature; most have known Pelosi since her days as chairwoman of the Northern California Democratic Party. There is an esprit de corps, said Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), because they all helped Pelosi become Speaker.

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http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/californians-call-shots-set-agenda-in-the-110th-2007-12-13.html