Rumblings of Power Shift Begin Among Democrats - WSJ.com

Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman made a bold power play Wednesday by signaling that he will challenge Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, the dean of the House of Representatives, for chairmanship of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.

In challenging Rep. Dingell, Rep. Waxman is seeking to upend a long Democratic Party tradition of assigning chairmanships based on seniority. Rep. Dingell joined the House in 1955 and is the second-longest-serving member in the chamber's history.
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In 2002, tension between Reps. Pelosi and Dingell peaked when she supported his Democratic opponent in the Michigan lawmaker's re-election bid. The lawmakers' relationship is thought to have improved since then.

Rep. Pelosi, like Rep. Waxman, has had ideological differences with Rep. Dingell over policy matters under his committee's jurisdiction. Both California Democrats have advocated for tougher environmental controls that Rep. Dingell, a longtime ally of the U.S. auto industry, has been unwilling to pursue.

Among other things, the energy committee will be a starting point for action on reducing greenhouse gases, a top Democratic priority next year. Rep. Dingell, once a skeptic of global climate change, now agrees the problem is real and that Congress needs to confront it. But he has moved more slowly than many liberals would like and has been more willing than many to support market-based solutions to climate change.

Last year, over Rep. Dingell's objections, Rep. Pelosi created a special committee to address the reduction of carbon emissions. The move was widely perceived as an attempt to weaken Rep. Dingell's power as head of the energy committee.