Boozman

We all know Speaker Nancy Pelosi is receiving criticism from the GOP in the early days of the 110th Congress.

After all, that is to be expected.

However, in case you missed it, did you know she is getting criticism from some powerful members of her own party?

Let’s review:

1. The Dean of the House, Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), is taking the Speaker to task over her creation of a special select committee to “deal with global warming.” Specifically, he doesn’t enjoy Madam Speaker treading on his turf:

“We should probably name it the committee on world travel and junkets,” said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which overseas the Clean Air Act and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Indeed. Furthermore, Rep. Dingell doesn’t think much about the potential members of the committee (which is expected to be run by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA) - but we really don’t know because we’re unsure if the Speaker will staff the committee with people who agree with her, or allow the GOP to pick members)

“‘We’re just empowering a bunch of enthusiastic amateurs to go around and make speeches and make commitments that will be very difficult to honor’ said Dingell, a champion of the auto industry, which could be required to producing cleaner-burning and more fuel efficient vehicles. …

2. Meanwhile, the ramming-through of legislation during the “100-Hour” lockdown of the House is drawing the ire of not only Republicans. The Speaker is also getting grief from her compatriot in the Democrat Leadership: Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

“There are also certain to be tensions with the Democratic House, where the rules give Speaker Pelosi far more power. In private, Senate sources say, Reid has been critical of the Speaker for what he believes was unnecessary roughness in ramming through her first-100-hours agenda, refusing to allow Republicans to propose amendments and breaking her campaign promise to open up the lawmaking process. There may also be some gavel envy; Pelosi will be able to pass one hard-line piece of legislation after another out of the House–putting Reid in the impossible spot of trying to find 60 votes for these bills in the Senate.”

3. Finally, the Head of the Ways and Means Committee, the estimable Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) is apparently not a fan of the House lockdown, and thinks the Speaker’s choice to bring monetary bills to the floor without committee hearings was a mistake.

Sources say Rangel went to Pelosi urging that his committee be allowed to review legislation allowing the feds to negotiate with drug companies over prices and taking away tax breaks for big oil companies - but she refused.

With friends like these…