Meet The New Staff

The WaPo has some background on the leading Democratic committee staffers who will now shift to running things for the Democratic majority come January.  Here is the profile on some of the staffers from the House, and here is the Senate staffer profile.

So much of what gets done on the Hill gets pushed and wedged and nudged and wheedled and what-have-you by these staffers, while the elected officials do the same in trying to nudge public opinion their way.  It's a one-two punch that can be quite effective when you have a great staffer/elected official combination working the floor, the public, and the rest of the staffers behind-the-scenes for their respective bosses.

So I wanted to throw both of these article links out to everyone who reads here to see if any of you have any insights, thoughts or comments on any of the folks profiled.  Or some thoughts on staffers on the Hill in general.  Because, frankly, these folks do a lot of the work that we would like to be able to influence for the greater good and a more progressive agenda — and in this case especially, knowledge can be very powerful indeed.

A lot of the staffers mentioned in these articles have stuck it out in the minority in both houses of Congress for years, hoping for a day when their vision and agenda might be implemented under a Democratic majority.  I have met or spoken with a number of staffers in both houses — and, to be perfectly honest, they have to a one been incredibly knowledgeable and very interested in discussing the finer points of the various issues that I have tried to bring to the table — issues that have been major pushes for this blog and the greater progressive blogosphere.

I tend to be one of those people who likes to have more knowledge about the person with whom I am dealing, so any perspective that you can provide on any of these folks will be much appreciated.  Because, starting in January, I expect these folks will be hearing quite a bit from all of us on a regular basis. 

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