Chairman Paul

[itshappening]

If the GOP win back congress will Ron Paul's seniority put him in line for Chairman of the House Financial Services committee? Considering his longevity it ought to

[akforme]

I would guess they'd close the committee before they'd give him the chair.

[brandon]

No, but he would become chairman of the United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and Technology.


If he didn't leave congress in the 80s he would be in line to be the chairman.

[low preference guy]

I would guess they'd close the committee before they'd give him the chair.

They might give it to him under a Democrat President.

[TCE]

No, Spencer Bachus is the ranking member. If he loses re-election (lol) then maybe, otherwise no. Brandon is correct.

[djdellisanti4]

Whats its gonna take for him to be Speaker?

[low preference guy]

Whats its gonna take for him to be Speaker?

LOLLLLLLL.

He has better chances of becoming President of the United States.

[djdellisanti4]

LOLLLLLLL.

He has better chances of becoming President of the United States.

A man can dream. I seriously don't remember how the Speaker is appointed though.

[akforme]

Whats its gonna take for him to be Speaker?

The speaker has to be the biggest slimeball of the whole lot. You don't become king of the best liars in our country without being a ruthless prick.

[Kotin]

Whats its gonna take for him to be Speaker?

Had a dream where this happened.

[djdellisanti4]

The speaker has to be the biggest slimeball of the whole lot. You don't become king of the best liars in our country without being a ruthless prick.

Ah, so Ron Paul does have a better chance of being President then.

[specsaregood]

The speaker has to be the biggest slimeball of the whole lot. You don't become king of the best liars in our country without being a ruthless prick.

And this is why:


Being at the center of attention clearly bothers Paul. “I like to be unnoticed,” he says, a claim not typically made by presidential candidates. “That’s my personality. I see all the excitement and sometimes I say to myself, ‘Why do they do that?’ I don’t see myself as a big deal.” Ordinarily you’d have to dismiss a line like that out of hand–if he’s so humble, why is he running for president?–but, in Paul’s case, it might be true. In fact, it might be the key to his relative success. His fans don’t read his awkwardness as a social phobia, but as a sign of authenticity. Paul never outshines his message, which is unchanging: Let adults make their own choices; liberty works. For a unified theory of everything, it’s pretty simple. And Paul sincerely believes it.

[specsaregood]

Had a wet dream where this happened.

Fixed.

[itshappening]

How is Spencer Bachus higher ranked than Ron Paul? Hasn't Ron served more terms?

[specsaregood]

How is Spencer Bachus higher ranked than Ron Paul? Hasn't Ron served more terms?

Good question. Yes, he has. Since seniority is cumulative it does appear Dr. Paul would be higher up.

[itshappening]

I think Spencer gets more points for serving in Alabama but if it was on congress, Ron has served 10 terms to Spencer's 8

[itshappening]

On December 14, 2005 he voted for the reauthorization of the U.S. Patriot Act. On June 29, 2005 he voted for the increase of funds by another $25 million for anti-marijuana print a TV ads. On October 6, 2005 he voted for the Department of Homeland Security.

Bachus is a staunch advocate of a federal prohibition of online poker. In 2006, he cosponsored H.R. 4411, the Goodlatte-Leach Internet Gambling Prohibition Act[6] and H.R. 4777, the Internet Gambling Prohibition Act.[7] In 2008, he opposed H.R. 5767, the Payment Systems Protection Act (a bill that sought to place a moratorium on enforcement of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act while the U.S. Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve defined "unlawful Internet gambling").
-

Oh lord, I think Bachus would suck as a chairman of the financial service committee.

Why is Alabama so anti-gambling? On Drudge there is a story that says the state has just put 400 people out of work closing a bingo hall, which isnt very clever.

[itshappening]

bump

[specsaregood]

I think Spencer gets more points for serving in Alabama but if it was on congress, Ron has served 10 terms to Spencer's 8

Nope.
http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly60.asp



Seniority is based either on the length of continuous service in the chamber, or, for committee purposes, continuous service on a specific committee. Seniority is still the single best predictor of which Members will obtain leadership positions in Congress, but more so in the Senate than in the House. Experience and the political skills that come with time still count and engender trust and deference among colleagues. The problem with seniority usually occurs with the length of tenure in the top positions. Once achieved, removal of senior Members past their prime becomes the problem. To address this concern, House and Senate Republicans instituted new party rules in 1995, limiting committee chairs of their party to 6 years. Democrats took no comparable action.

To calculate seniority, the Senate gives credit for prior service in the Senate, in the House, or as governor of a state, in that order. The House only credits prior service in the House. Members within the same class, i.e. those sworn-in together on opening day, are ranked alphabetically.

A Member's service is deemed to begin at the start of the new Congress in which he/she is sworn into office. However, if a Member joins Congress to fill out an unexpired term, his/her length of service is computed in the House by the date of the special election to fill the vacancy. In the Senate, the official starting date is based on the date of the Senator's appointment, certification of election results, or the date of his/her swearing in as Senator.

In the Senate, seniority is still the determinant for the choice of committee chairs and ranking minority members on Senate committees. There have been no violations of the seniority system in the Senate for many years. However, in order to disperse power among more Senators, the two parties recently placed restrictions on how many committee leadership positions any one Senator may hold at the same time.

In the House, the top committee slots are effectively decided by the Republican and Democratic party leadership. The leadership's nominees are confirmed by a pro-forma vote of the entire party. Seniority has been breached numerous times in the House in the last 30 years, most recently when the Republicans took over the majority of the House in 1995. Three chairmanships of significant committees -- Appropriations, Judiciary, and Commerce -- were awarded to less senior Members of those committees. In addition freshmen Members were appointed to prestigious committees such as Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Rules. Traditionally, freshmen Members spent years earning the privilege of sitting on those key committees.

Seniority remains the basis for selecting larger, or more conveniently located, office space in both chambers. Members of the same "class" draw lots to decide remaining office space in a lottery process.

Party leadership selection in both chambers is not based on seniority. The position of Speaker and Majority Leader in the House and Majority and Minority Leader in the Senate are elected positions, competitively fought for within each party's caucus or conference, and decided largely on the basis of personal relationships and internal reputation among colleagues.

[Legend1104]

Could you imagine some time of real life movie type scenario where some Ron Paul Crazied assassin starts strategically knocking off people around Ron Paul in order to get him elected. Like during the past election when it was only Paul, McCain, and Huckabee where he takes out McCain and Huckabee so Ron would win. I am not advocating it but I was just thinking about that.

[Fields]

Not gonna happen but it's a nice thought.

[TNforPaul45]

Political parties do not recognize length of service and expertise in subject areas as being attributes that will gain someone a vaunted position of service within government. Only the quantity of scandals and criminal deals will earn a politician that merit badge.

:)

[erowe1]

Nope.
http://www.c-span.org/questions/weekly60.asp

Note also that it says:

Seniority is based either on the length of continuous service in the chamber, or, for committee purposes, continuous service on a specific committee

So the relevant tenure that gives Bachus seniority is number of years on the Financial Services Committee, not the number of years in the House.

[libertybrewcity]

there is a long line of people that would take it before Paul.

he is not even in the top 45 for longest serving congressmen. this list includes dems and republicans though.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_by_l ongevity_of_service

[TCE]

They don't want him having control over a powerful committee. The subcommittee he is Ranking Member of is pretty meaningless, so even when he becomes Chairman either in 2011 or 2013, it won't mean much.