Pelosi term limits committee chairmanships

This may be Pelosi's best move yet, and something I've been arguing for: term limits for committee chairs.

"During four decades of Democratic rule ending in 1994, committee chairmen amassed almost unchallenged authority, often becoming more feared and influential than the elected leadership. They were nearly impossible to budge from their perches, and the concept of term limits was unimaginable. In a move that caught some new Democratic chairmen by surprise, House rules pushed through by the Democrats this week retained the six-year limit on chairmen imposed by Republicans, but the leadership reassured lawmakers they would revisit the restrictions when there was less attention focused on the dawn of the Democratic era."

There will never be "less attention" on the activities of Democrats in the House. That's what we bloggers will be for. And believe me, this is something that I and many others will be paying attention to. There are far too many talented and exciting young Democrats in the House to relegate them to permanent back-bench status because some unaccountable committee chair "got there first".

This move, more than any other, suggests that Pelosi is serious about reforming the House and avoiding many of the pitfalls that created the corrupt environment that propelled House Republicans to their 1994 majorities. Pelosi may promise to revisit the rules at some future, undetermined date (six years, probably), but she and the rest of the caucus should be on notice that they won't be able to change the rules under cover of darkness.

Now if only Harry Reid would follow suit in the Senate, I could get really excited.