The Intercept — As John Conyers Departs From Judiciary Committee Spot, The First Battle of the Anti-Monopoly Era Begins — The Intercept As John Conyers Departs From Judiciary Committee Spot, The First Battle of the Anti-Monopoly Era Begins

Conyers on Sunday announced he is stepping down as the top-ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, launching a battle for his successor that has pitted two Democratic rivals — Lofgren and Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. — against each other. On the one hand, his resignation comes in a politically fortuitous way for Lofgren, with Conyers felled not by age but by allegations of sexual harassment. The political logic of replacing him with a woman is obvious. But then there’s Google.

The race for committee chair threatens to become the first fight over monopoly politics after the rollout of House Democrats’ “Better Deal” platform for 2018, which was built on going after concentrated power, particularly in the tech sector. Elected to Congress in 1994, Lofgren represents San Jose and the Bay Area, and is far and away the most stalwart defender of big Silicon Valley firms among House Democrats.…

In the immediate wake of the news of Conyers’s decision, an aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told the New York Times reporter who broke the story that Nadler would take over in an acting capacity.

Nadler is next in line due to his seniority, but Lofgren, who is just behind Nadler, has been calling colleagues to gin up support to challenge him, according to Democratic members of the committee who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to get in the middle of a fight between two colleagues. If Democrats take over the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms, the lawmaker in the acting role would have an inside track to become full committee chair.

The committee will meet for a vote as soon as Wednesday, so Democrats have precious little time to sort things out. Nadler has effectively announced his plan to take the reins, but Lofgren wants a full caucus vote on who should get the seat. (Complicating matters is Conyers’s professed plan to return to the seat after the ethics probe into sexual assault allegations is over, a plan few Democrats want to see implemented and even fewer think is possible.)...

Democrats really need to get beyond the perception that they are the party of Wall Street, Silicon Valley and Hollywood.

The Intercept
As John Conyers Departs From Judiciary Committee Spot, The First Battle of the Anti-Monopoly Era Begins
Ryan Grim