Taegan Goddard's Political Wire

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September 28, 2005

Why Dreier?

Several readers have written to ask why Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL) would recommend that Rep. David Dreier (R-CA) become House majority leader, leapfrogging him ahead of Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) who is next in line in the leadership.

Josh Marshall has the most plausible answer: "Because DeLay plans on coming back. If DeLay lets someone into the job who actually has the juice to hold it, he might never get it back. That's why the logical person on the totem pole, Majority Whip Roy Blunt, is staying right where he is."

Meanwhile, a Washington Post profile says Dreier is "skilled at one-on-one politics" and "maintains a reliably conservative voting record on economic issues and follows the lead of Republican leaders. He never comes off as extreme."

One other item filling my inbox: LA Weekly and Raw Story have reported the congressman is gay.

Update: The New York Times reports Hastert reversed himself "late this afternoon" and appointed Blunt temporary House majority leader with Dreier "designated to assist him."

Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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