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Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.)
House Republicans don't exactly excel in the diversity department. The caucus is led by a white male Speaker, white male Majority Leader, and white male Majority Whip. The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee is a white male, and next year, he'll be replaced by another white male.
Making matters much worse, this week, the House GOP leadership assigned 19 committee chairmanships, which went to 19 men -- 18 white guys and one guy of Lebanese descent. It was almost as if House Republicans were going out of their way to make the caricature of their party that much more accurate.
But wait, there were still two open committee chairs that had not yet been assigned. Today, after digging through their binders full of women, Boehner & Co. apparently found one.
NBC News has learned that Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.) will be named chair of the House Administration Committee. Miller did not serve on the committee during the 112th Congress. [...]
The House Administration Committee deals with the pertinent administrative business of the House. The committee can decide such mundane things as whether or not the House cafeterias will use paper or Styrofoam plates -- or more serious matters such as benefit packages for congressional workers and how the Library of Congress operates. The Committee also monitors the expense accounts of House members.
In an amusing twist, usually committee chairs are elevated from within the committee, but Boehner had a problem: in the two remaining committees, there were no Republican women on either. In this case, Miller will be the chair of the House Administration Committee despite not having served on the House Administration Committee.
Regardless, this move was clearly about public relations, and Republicans were apparently shamed into taking diversity at least a little seriously.
Update: My colleague Tricia Mckinney notes that Miller did serve on the Administration Committee a few years ago, so she'll at least be familiar with its duties. Miller hoped to become the first female chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, but the position instead went to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
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"...or more serious matters such as benefit packages for congressional workers and how the Library of Congress operates..."
Guess that means no "Obamacare" for the workers, and no "50 Shades of Grey" in the stacks...
"This is not your father's Republican party."
The Taliban/Teaparty is (largely) theocrats (Santoram, Robertson, etc.); plutocrats (Murdoch, Koch brothers, etc.); and the people they have bought, people who are willing to do and/or say anything for money (McConnell, O'Reilly, Stepford Representative Bachmann, Stepford Senator Ayotte, etc.).
Theocrats count their women with their other livestock. Lying to the godless is no sin.
Plutocrats make no distinction between other people (men or women) and inanimate objects. If the Koch brothers ever found themselves adrift in a life boat, ... might makes right and the ends justify the means. Lying? Lying to inanimate objects? The sentence has no meaning.
Educate. Don't let them get away with their campaign of noise and confusion.
Everyone knows thats really Dick Cheney in a wig.
So they seriously had to search thru their "binders full of women", wow....I'm impressed - NOT!
From a Republican's perspective, I guess if you have to put a woman in charge, you might as well put her in charge of the committee that decides between paper plates and Styrofoam plates.
for CJ in Atlanta. It is time that we recognize that women are US citizens, not kitchen helpers.
I was just thinking the same thing...I think they got this job mixed up with chairing the Congressional women's auxiliary...or the Congressional bake sale committee
I am sure this is a very capable woman but somehow I doubt the speaker does
Yup.
Because women just aren't the global thinkers that men like Paul Ryan are.
/s/
RT NeedMoreCoffee: /snort~ha
Mr. Beldin: To clarify, when I wrote about "a Republican's perspective," I was referring to Boehner's perspective, not mine. I'm not a Republican.
And you, CJ in Atlanta, have just perfectly illustrated one of the things that are wrong with the Republican party. I can only hope that that was your intention, and not your sentiment was not your sincere belief.
Okay, if I have to explain my snark, then I obviously failed.
I was, somewhat facetiously, justifing Boehner's decision "from a Republican's perspective." I am not a Republican, and that is not my sentiment.
I hope that helps, and I apologize for any confusion.
Don't worry CJ, your snark came across just fine. Some people just don't get those things.
CJ in Atlanta - You didn't fail on me. Perchance, people are only reading what they want to read. Seems a lot of people here are raring to go for a fight, and when they don't get one, they pick it. Even among kindred folk.
Kim, off the pedastool, we're all equals here, have a bit of respect. Even trying to elaborate on their intent, you accuse them of backpedaling. :/ C'mon now, knock it off.
Watch out for the Snark-chasm (all complaints can be directed to the originator)
I wonder what binder they found her in?
We need to remind her that you cannot microwave on a styrofoam plate. Only paper. There! I've done her job for her. They actually need a committee for that?
taking notes and getting coffee.....
LOL from the DailyKos poor old johnny
"
Yep, John Boehner just named a woman as housekeeper for the leadership.
This is a comically bogus move by Boehner. He puts Miller in as housekeeper, on a committee on which she's not even a member. He's elevating her over the guywho was expecting the job, Rep. Gregg Harper. It gets more interesting because Harper withdrew from his bid to become Republican conference secretary, presumably because he knew he'd get this chairmanship since the current chair, Dan Lungren, finally lost his seat to Ami Bera.
So Boehner, embarrassed by picking 19 white male committee chairs, reaches outside of the committee roster of the only committee left without a chair to tap a woman, and in doing so screws over a guy who fell on his own sword to prevent what might have been a nasty fight for the number six position in leadership. Perfect."
She doesn't have to take it. Does she?
Pilotshark
I was thinking the same thing. It's the house equivalentof a homemaker. Can Boehner be anymore condescending? The House Republicans are beggining to resemble Game of Thrones.
"Executive Assistant" would be the proper HR title.
Reminds me of the Justice Society comic books from the 1940s, when the all-male hero team finally admitted Wonder Woman, but only to be the team "secretary."
I just got home from watching Spielberg's "Lincoln". Can't help but wonder what the 16th President of the Unites States would think about what has happened to his Republican Party.
My guess is he'd switch parties faster than you can say "Tophat".
That's...not patronizing at ALL...
Really. What would a woman be expected to know about homeland security? :P (Sarcasm font down.)
Actually, I'm disappointed that the lovely & brilliant Virginia Fox of North Carolina wasn't selected for a major policy making position.
Bake sales ... that's the ticket.
How patronizing, maybe once in awhile they could throw the women some bread. They want it to be the all exclusive new gentlemans' club, maybe they could all wear their sacrimonial headresses like Fred and Barnie. Why don't they all just leave the Congress and the Senate and put real people in charge of their dying party. They should all wear those wigs, like the whig party. The women haters, they're acting just like they used to, get rid of them, they are jealous of women, because we generally have higher IQ's.
Can you say "Office Manager"
Can they be anymore insulting by appointing a women to a committee that she was not currently a member of that hether or not the House cafeterias will use paper or Styrofoam plates deals in menial things like whether or not the House cafeterias will use paper or Styrofoam plates? Truly pathetic.
Yes, they can be more insulting. In his boast to the press, Speaker Boehner kept referring to Representative Miller as Candice. At least her didn't call her Candy, not in front of the cameras, anyway. Jeeeezzzz.
What was the other unfilled chair?
The ethics committee (no I'm not kidding)
As long as the Chairperson doesn't have to be ethical, there's no problem!
Do they not even think about how this comes across? Sheesh! Really, how demeaning!
As a librarian, my blood just ran cold. Heaven help LC and the LBPH (which serves visually impaired, learning disabled, physically handicapped individuals).
Leave it to the Republicans to find a way to keep women in the kitchen...
We can laugh, but it's quite sad that republicans take such a "low view" of women. In the grand scheme, two years for now no one will remember or even care how many women were appointed to leadership positions in the house.
She's also in charge of tidying up after meetings ;-)
(...Whilst the men folk retire to the parlor for brandy and cigars...)
still laughing...
HOUSING ADMINISTRATION, hahahahah
oh yes women are good at that thats something a woman could do. :(
Are we even sure she's really a woman? I don't mean to be insulting, but she looks pretty man"ish" to me, and I'M a tomboy! I would not put it past the Republican establishment to pull a fast one...
Good one!
Miller was our Secretary of State here in Michigan before going to Congress, so she's accustomed to mundane administrative stuff (vehicle registrations, drivers licenses...)
Reminds me of that Chris Rock monologue about how wonderful modern times are now that racism is over: "all my black friends have lots of white friends, all my white friends have ONE black friend..."
So, basically they picked a woman to do the House's house work. How very progressive?
I can picture them all sitting around over drinks giggling over the joke... and thinking that no one will be the wiser.