So much for the Kumbaya lovefest among Democrats who’ve taken control of the U.S. House.
Thanks to U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, an intra-party squabble is now the talk of the town in Washington, D.C.
The Colorado Democrat wasted no time after Election Day in making a grasp to boost her own political power by announcing her candidacy to run for House majority whip.
In her letter, DeGette made an appeal to diversity as a reason to elevate her to the job. She would be only the second woman to hold the House majority whip position and the first from the Mountain West.
Diversity?
Uhm, DeGette is challenging fellow Democrat Jim Clyburn, a black man from South Carolina and the highest-ranking black man in Congress.
Clyburn did consider running for the top House job if fellow Democrats decided they didn’t want Nancy Pelosi, but announced today he plans to pursue the whip position.
But wait, there’s more.
Her efforts to unseat Clyburn reflect a mood within the caucus for fresh leadership as Democrats take the House majority for the first time since losing it in the 2010 election.
We have no idea what DeGette means by fresh leadership, seeing as how she’s been in Congress since 1997 and Clyburn was elected in 1993 — only two terms longer than DeGette.
If you ask us, they’re both entrenched politicans who’ve spent too much time inside the Beltway.