BLUNT REFLECTS CONSERVATIVE MOOD.Byline: Lisa Friedman Washington Bureau WASHINGTON - Despite widespread speculation Wednesday that Rep. David Dreier David Timothy Dreier (born July 5, 1952), American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since January 1981, representing California's 26th congressional district (map). He was first elected to the U.S. House at age 28 in 1980. was the front-runner to take over the House leadership duties of newly indicted INDICTED, practice. When a man is accused by a bill of indictment preferred by a grand jury, he is said to be indicted. Congressman Tom DeLay, Republicans instead chose a more conservative DeLay ally over the Glendora representative. House Republicans unanimously voted to elevate House Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri - the party's top vote-counter since 2003 - as majority leader. Blunt has delivered scores of GOP victories on issues from trade to tax cuts, and he has close daily contact with most lawmakers. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said Dreier will continue leading the House Rules Committee and will share some leadership responsibilities with Blunt and Rep. Eric Cantor Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American politician who has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 2001, representing Virginia's 7th congressional district (map). Cantor is the sole Jewish Republican in the House. of Virginia. Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, political analysts said the relationships Blunt has nurtured, combined with leadership concerns that Dreier is too moderate on certain issues - like favoring a guest worker program for illegal immigrants and opposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage - may have put Blunt over the top. ``Apparently, some conservatives had some misgivings about Dreier,'' said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a senior scholar at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission School of Policy, Planning and Development. But Dreier expressed no misgivings about being placed in a secondary role. ``This is a great team, and I'm privileged to be a part of it,'' he said, striding away from a news conference announcing Blunt's ascension Ascension, in Christianity Ascension, name usually given to the departure of Jesus from earth as related in the Gospels according to Mark (16) and Luke (24) and in Acts 1.1–11. . Dreier spokeswoman Jo Maney said the congressman spent much of Wednesday in close contact with Hastert and other leaders. But rank-and-file Republicans said that by the time they met in the basement of the U.S. Capitol for a closed-door vote, party leaders had already decided to submit only Blunt's name for consideration. ``There was no dispute about it. It's not like somebody offered his (Dreier's) name and we shot it down,'' said Sacramento Rep. Dan Lungren Daniel Edward (Dan) Lungren (born September 22, 1946), is a Republican of the United States House of Representatives representing California's 3rd congressional district (see map), located in the suburbs of Sacramento where he has served since 2005. . ``I think it was just a lot of rumors going on. I think they just went down the chain of command,'' said Rep. Ken Calvert Kenneth Stanton (Ken) Calvert (born June 8 1953), an American politician, has been a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives since 1993, representing California's 44th congressional district. , R-Riverside, noting that Blunt, as whip, is the No. 3 Republican behind Hastert and DeLay. But Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia, former chairman of the Republican congressional campaign committee, alluded to a party rift. Asked if he knew why Dreier wasn't chosen, Davis said, ``I do. Nothing I'm going to share.'' Dreier's new responsibilities will include acting as a liaison between the leadership and committee chairmen as well as helping decide what bills to schedule for House votes. Rep. Brad Sherman Bradley J. "Brad" Sherman (born October 24 1954) is an American politician. He has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1997, representing California's At-large congressional district. , D-Sherman Oaks, said Blunt's rise to power is a loss for California. ``Certainly it would have helped to have a Californian in that position. It would have been great to put a Californian in a position of real power,'' he said. Lisa Friedman, (202) 662-8731 lisa.friedman(at)langnews.com |
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