Brad Miller

The Sophomore Strivers

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 10:01:05 -0500

It's a seasonal ritual of Congressional politics.

Fresh off a re-election win, a younger member of the U.S. House or top staffers casually mentions that he may consider running for senator — or maybe even governor — in a few years.

This year, it's second-term Rep. Heath Shuler and third-term Rep. Patrick McHenry. Shuler said in an interview that he may challenge Sen. Richard Burr, while unnamed McHenry aides told reporters that he might consider a race for higher office.

In many cases, the talk turns out to be just that. A few reasons:

* SENIORITY: Congress works on seniority. Frustrated freshman often daydream about having a more important job, but as their second and third terms wear on they find that they can get a little more done than they could before. Why not stick around?

* RISK: Most Congressional seats do not swing. If you've got the right letter (D or R) after your name and you live in the right place, you can get re-elected until you retire, die or are caught writing dirty notes to an intern. Few politicians have such job security.

* CHALLENGE: Representatives might have good name recognition and double-digit advantages over opponents in their own districts, but few are known well enough elsewhere to easily win a statewide race. And those easy re-elections can hurt your game.

Some members of Congress know all this but encourage the talk anyway because it's an easy way to get free publicity.

It's not all chest-puffery, though. While Rep. Brad Miller dallied with running against Sen. Elizabeth Dole last year before calling it off, a Congressman named Burr actually did run for Senate — and won.

Miller: Obama wants internal debate

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:12:11 -0500

Rep. Brad Miller was impressed that Barack Obama mispronounced Peter Orszag's name.

Relaxing after a workout at the YMCA last week, the Raleigh Democrat was watching the president-elect's press conference on TV announcing his pick for the director of the Office of Management and Budget.

An acquaintance of Orszag's from Washington, he quickly noticed that Obama got his name wrong. (It's ORR-zog, not ORR-zag.)

"I thought, 'He must not know Peter very well,'" said Miller. "That means he hired him on the basis of his reputation and his credentials, and not just because he was a buddy."

Miller said he's impressed with Obama's other picks.

"He has put together a very impressive group, very accomplished and very knowledgeable," he said. "I think that he will get a very helpful debate within his own administration that will help him see pitfalls in a way that the Bush administration did not."

More after the jump.

N.C. Dems vocal about Dingell, or mum

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:02:14 -0500

During this two-week battle for power on the Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan has been more open than U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman of California.

Dingell has been more willing to give interviews on the matter. He publicly announced a long list of supporters and slammed Waxman as a "left-wing Democrat" who doesn't understand manufacturing, Barb Barrett reports.

Waxman has stayed fairly quiet. And while he is close to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, another California representative, she didn't disclose publicly whom she supported either.

It was generally expected that Dingell would receive support from moderate and conservative Democrats, along with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Waxman was expected to win the backing of more liberal members.

Tough to say whether the differences in the candidates' style on transparency translates to caucus members' transparency on the vote itself, but let's review:

Reps. Mel Watt and Mike McIntyre both publicly supported Dingell. U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler was on his whip team. Both McIntyre and Shuler are conservative "Blue Dog" Democrats.

Rep. G.K. Butterfield serves on Energy and Commerce under Dingell and was reportedly lobbying for him as well. Watt and Butterfield serve in the Congressional Black Caucus.

Reps. Brad Miller and David Price, along with Rep.-elect Larry Kissell, all declined to say who they supported.

(Butterfield, it should be said, also declined today to reveal his vote.)

The National Journal ranked Price in March as being more liberal than 90 percent of the House; it ranked Miller as being more liberal than 78 percent of House.

Rep. Bob Etheridge, a conservative Democrat who isn't a Blue Dog, hasn't yet responded to requests for comment on his vote.

Miller mum on Waxman-Dingell

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:34:04 -0500

What do these internal fights for committee chairmanships do for the party?

Some think they cause unnecessary rancor, especially when the Democrats want to pull together behind their new president-elect, Barb Barrett reports.

Plus, no one wants to upset either U.S. Rep. John Dingell, the 82-year-old dean of the House, or U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman, a senior member himself with close ties to the Speaker.

That, said U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh, is why he won't reveal his vote.

"Congressman Miller voted secret ballot because he has a deep respect for both Waxman and Dingell," said Miller's spokeswoman, LuAnn Canipe.

"He has a good relationship with these two distinguished members of Congress," she said. "Revealing his vote does nothing to help the cohesiveness of the Caucus."

Previously: Watt, McIntyre, Shuler backed Dingell; Price, Kissell mum.

Which Congressman was most popular?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:49:18 -0500

Which North Carolina Congressman was most popular?

That depends on how you break down the numbers, but U.S. Rep. David Price clearly won the largest number of votes in the November elections.

The Chapel Hill Democrat snagged 265,751 votes. The next most popular were Reps. Sue Myrick (241,053), Brad Miller (221,379), Howard Coble (221,018) and Mel Watt (215,908).

The numbers are slightly different if you look at percentages, though.

From that perspective, Watt was the most popular, winning 71.6 percent of the vote, followed by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (70.3), Mike McIntyre (68.9), Coble (67) and Bob Etheridge (66.9).

Either way, the least popular was Rep.-elect Larry Kissell, who picked up just 157,185 votes, or 55.4 percent.

Generally speaking, the newer members of Congress were less popular than the older ones.

Webster released without bond

bniolet — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 15:17:22 -0500

Former North Carolina state Sen. Hugh Webster turned himself into authorities Monday to face charges that accuse him of taking $12,000 from his elderly aunt.

Webster, who says he's innocent, turned himself in to Caswell County sheriff’s deputies and was released on an unsecured bond, the Associated Press reports. His next court date is Dec. 9.

The 65-year-old Webster was indicted on charges of embezzlement and exploitation. Prosecutors allege he was entrusted by his 80-year-old aunt to manage her financial affairs, but the account was converted to his own personal use.

Webster said the charges were politically motivated.

He served in the Legislature for six terms through 2006. He ran unsuccessfully for Congress this year, losing to incumbent Rep. Brad Miller.

Miller wrapping up South America trip

bkrueger — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:13:53 -0500

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller is scheduled to return Thursday from a eight-day sweep through South America as part of an official congressional trip.

Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, and member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, joined seven other members of the U.S. House on the trip, reports Barb Barrett.

The group is visiting Peru, Chile and Paraguay, talking with government and non-government officials on political and economic developments in the countries.

The trip is led by U.S Rep. Eliot Engle of New York, chairman of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere.

Burr: No longer taking requests

bkrueger — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:06:58 -0500

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, has received more than 6,000 requests for tickets to the presidential inauguration swearing-in ceremony – a number he can’t possibly fill.

So the office has closed its request line, reports Barb Barrett.

“We’re encouraging people, if they want to come up, the (National) Mall is open. Our office is open,” said Burr’s spokesman, Chris Walker.

Each Senate office is expected to receive several hundred tickets, though the exact number isn’t yet known. Walker said the tickets will be distributed to constituents on a first-come, first-served basis from calls that already have come in.

Meanwhile, Senator-elect Kay Hagan, a Greensboro Democrat, is receiving requests at a special e-mail address, tickets@kayhagan.com, said her spokeswoman, Colleen Flanagan. The e-mail address also will be used to inform constituents about inauguration details, Flanagan said.

Both senators encourage residents to call their individual House members, though those request lines also are swamped.

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, a Raleigh Democrat, has received a thousand e-mails and hundreds of calls, said his spokeswoman, LuAnn Canipe. The office will use a lottery to pass out its tickets, with a maximum of two per person.

Tickets for the swearing-in ceremony are free, but they are available only through individual congressional offices.

Democrats give their victory speeches

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:27:49 -0500

Some comments from the raucous Democratic celebration tonight:

U.S. Rep. Bob Etheridge: "Those of us elected tonight — or re-elected — had better get working ... Tonight is a night of history."

U.S. Rep. Brad Miller: "We need to be careful not to underreach."

Regrets, they've had a few

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:51:52 -0500

Many Democrats are celebrating tonight that Sen. Elizabeth Dole looks to be defeated.

But a few may have some regrets.

That would be: State Rep. Grier Martin and U.S. Rep. Brad Miller, who were openly recruited to run against Dole earlier this year and took a pass.

Others who had been under consideration: Attorney General Roy Cooper, Gov. Mike Easley and state Treasurer Richard Moore.

Moore, who lost a contentious Democratic primary to Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, would have been a particularly strong candidate given the recent economic troubles.

Still, there's no discounting the role that gender may have played. Any of the men above might have faced a trickier time running against Dole.

Other long shots: Retired Gen. Hugh Shelton and First Lady Mary Easley.