CD 22: Lampson In Line For NASA Subcommittee Chairmanship, Olson Running Scared

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If Congressman Nick Lampson (D-Stafford) is able to hold off GOP also-ran Pete Olson this fall (and it looks more and more like he will), he’ll be next in line to take over the House subcommittee overseeing NASA operations:

The House Democratic leadership is trying to help Rep. Nick Lampson survive a tough re-election fight by advertising that he would be in line to take over the subcommittee overseeing NASA next year — if he wins in November.

The rare pre-election commitment by allies to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., underscores efforts on Capitol Hill to strengthen the Stafford Democrat’s bid for a second two-year term in a Republican-leaning district long represented by Tom DeLay, the former House Majority leader.

Of course, also-ran Olson doesn’t think much of that:

Lampson’s Republican opponent, Pete Olson, said the promised promotion will not have a significant impact on the race. It is, Olson said Thursday, “just another favor from Nancy Pelosi and just another example of how he’s indebted to her and her brand of left-wing politics.”

“Voters know he’s a liberal who doesn’t represent their values and I do,” said Olson, a former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. John Cornyn.

That last statement is pretty damned funny, when you look at Lampson’s voting record. It isn’t exactly a bastion of liberalism, given that Lampson has sided with Republicans on several Democratic issues including FISA. If anything, Lampson has proved to be a moderate, independent voice for his district.

Clearly, the NASA revelation has Pete Olson running scared. Why? Because the announcement is something that NASA employees and contractors (which are many in the 22nd Congressional District) will take heed of. Why? Because like anyone else in this economy, job security (which is bolstered by the Congressman from NASA’s district chairing the agency subcommittee) is important to them. For other leaders in the district, realizing that the man who controls much of the funding for NASA is now from their district is also something that will help them decide who to vote for, because preserving NASA is important to the people in CD 22.

Written by Vince Leibowitz

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Vince Leibowitz posted this article under 2008 Texas Elections on Friday, May 2nd, 2008 at 9:23 am You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a comment. Pinging is currently not allowed. View Technorati Linkbacks.