Congressman Petri

Someone must have peed in my cornflakes this morning.

From WisPolitics Afternoon Report to Subscribers:
Wisconsin Congressman Tom Petri is seeking the chairmanship of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, but he won't be seeking to serve as head of the Education and Workforce Committee.

In a letter sent today to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Fond du Lac Republican said he will remain an active member of the Education and Workforce committee, “I believe I can most effectively serve in the Congress and represent my constituents by remaining Chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. As such, I will not be seeking the chairmanship of the Education Committee.

“As Vice Chairman and senior member of the Transportation Committee -- and one who believes strongly in the important work of that committee in ensuring that we have the basic infrastructure and transportation network needed to keep us competitive in the 21st century global economy -- I am working toward the goal of becoming Chairman of that Committee in the next Congress upon the expiration of the current Chairman's term,” Petri wrote.

First, there was no way he was going to be chair of Education. None. Zip. Second, this release is painfully filled with insider crap about which Petri and his staff love and 99.99999% of Wisconsin could care less. I love how he spelled out the entire subcommittee name. It's a killer line in his speeches. Rule number one on the Lincoln Day/Caucus/Convention circuit was that you don't want to speak after Paul Ryan. Rule number two, if you spoke after Congressman Petri, your speech would go over well with anyone who was still awake.

"As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I bring you news from Washington, D.C."

Paul Ryan, Jim Sensenbrenner and Mark Green are examples of good GOP congressmen. Petri? He's always been, just, well, there.

Ok, now I better stop while there are still a couple of Republican Party types who will talk to me.