Do you recognize these guys?
They were two of the most powerful congressmen of their time. Leon Panetta was profiled last week and to the right is Republican congressman Bill Thomas from Bakersfield.
Panetta chaired the House Budget committee from 1989-1993 and later served in Bill Clinton’s White House. A few years later, in 2001, after the majority of the House had shifted Republican, Thomas became chairman of the all-powerful Ways and Means Committee. He retained that position until he retired in 2006. At times the Monterey and Bakersfield district lines were drawn so that they touched, often here within San Luis Obispo county. It is remarkable to have that much power in the office of a local representative but to have it with two reps from the same area under two different majorities is unique.
Thomas’ career was remembered in a editorial published Tuesday, March 14, 2006:
Rep. Bill Thomas’ retirement next year will leave this area without some major federal clout. As the chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee for the past five years, he’s achieved some laudable local legislation while securing his reputation as one of the brightest policy wonks in Washington where federal tax and trade issues are concerned.
Thomas has been gerrymandered in and out of the Central Coast since 1979, with his most recent stint beginning in 2002. At that time, he picked up northern and southern San Luis Obispo County along with the rest of his constituency in District 22.
In that time, he’s gone to bat for post-earthquake FEMA funding in Paso Robles, entered legislation that curbs frivolous lawsuits connected to the Americans with Disabilities Act and secured funding to make the Ahearn Ranch on Cuesta Grade an ecological preserve.
At the federal level, he’s credited with pushing through President Bush’s $1.3 trillion tax cut, and he is regarded as the lead architect of the $400 million Medicare Prescription Drug Bill.
But there’s been a flaw in Thomas’ otherwise intelligent public policy-making style. The chairmanship of Ways and Means calls for finesse and a deft diplomatic touch when dealing with trade and health care issues. Thomas on occasion has opted for an axe rather than a scalpel approach to passing legislation — many times for no discernible reason. He’s been called the smartest man in Congress — and one of the meanest. Bottom line? He doesn’t suffer fools lightly.
A memorable episode when Thomas’ patience was tried occurred three years ago when he called down the Capitol police on his Democratic committee colleagues. He later tearfully apologized, saying to a hushed House: “As my mother would have put it, ‘When they were passing out moderation, you were hiding behind the door.’ “
The photograph is from an interview on CNN in 1991 by Robert Dyer. It is rare to see policy makers on television today, they seem more interested in showing entertaining pundits rather than the folks that will actually make decisions.
