Note: updated to remove "Breaking" status and added some analysis
So it's now official:
The Democratic leadership of the Senate announced today that Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa will take over as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).
Harkin will replace Sen. Edward Kennedy who died last month. The HELP committee proposed the bill known as the Affordable Health Choices Act.
The decision was based on pure seniority, with the original next in line Chris Dodd declining the position to stay with his current position at the helm of the arguably more influential Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs. Harkin was next after that.
Announcing the appointment, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said the decision was based on simple seniority. Harkin is a supporter of the White House proposal to offer a government insurance option and was a perfect fit for the job. As a senior member of the HELP committee, Harkin helped Kennedy draft the panel's bill.
I see this as great news for supporters of health reform and a strong social safety net. Harkin is a genuine progressive and will carry on the Kennedy legacy of caring for the less fortunate.
On the other hand, this means that Harkin's spot atop Agriculture is now open, and the news there is not quite so positive. Next in line would be Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who is certainly no progressive and will likely be as much of a thorn in the side of climate advocates as Collin Peterson was in the House.
So we get a great champion of progressive causes at HELP, probably better than Dodd would've been, but quite the opposite at Ag. Jill Richardson, for example, is not impressed with Lincoln:
The only silver lining here is that Lincoln faces a rough 2010 re-election race, and she might lose.
So....let's throw it open to the floor. Is this tradeoff worth it?