Brian Beutler November 17, 2010, 12:01 PM

Three of the conservative Democrats who’ve been grousing about Nancy Pelosi’s bid to lead the party in the 112th Congress are trying meekly to strip her of some of the perks that come with being top dog — like making committee assignments.

In a letter circulated to Democratic members this morning ahead of the Dems’ leadership elections, Reps. Larry Kissell (D-NC), Jim Matheson (D-UT), and Dan Lipinski (D-IL), are trying build support for stripping Pelosi of the powers that come with being minority leader.

“In light of the significant losses our party suffered earlier this month, we believe it is imperative that today’s organizational meeting should provide all Members the opportunity to openly debate the rules that will be proposed for the 112th Congress and offer amendments that they believe would improve the ability of the Caucus to develop and message a Democratic agenda, recruit candidates, and return Democrats to the majority in 2012,” they write.

The three Reps are asking for an open amendment process in a bid to change caucus rules and curtail Pelosi and her allies’ influence over committee assignments and other party business.

To be clear about what’s happening here, ever since election night, the same, small number of conservative Democrats, in some cases anonymously, have been trying to undercut Pelosi however they can. Many of their fellow Blue Dogs went down to defeat this year, so the caucus will be way more liberal next year than it was this year, and between their lack of influence, and their fear of losing their jobs in two years, they’re in full Tasmanian Devil mode.

But they fundamentally lack the clout they’d need to block Pelosi, so leadership regards them as petty nuisances.

You can read the full letter below.

Dear Democratic Colleague:

Today the House Democratic Caucus will meet to elect House Democratic leaders for the 112th Congress and adopt the rules that will govern the Democratic Caucus for the 112th Congress.

In light of the significant losses our party suffered earlier this month, we believe it is imperative that today’s organizational meeting should provide all Members the opportunity to openly debate the rules that will be proposed for the 112th Congress and offer amendments that they believe would improve the ability of the Caucus to develop and message a Democratic agenda, recruit candidates, and return Democrats to the majority in 2012.

To that end, we are asking that you support an open and honest debate of the rules that will be proposed today, including the ability of Members to offer amendments. Any attempt by any Caucus Member to short-circuit or delay the rules debate and amending process should be opposed by Members, including those Members who are supportive of applying the Rules of the 111th Congress to the 112th Congress.

The Caucus is best served when all Members, from incoming Freshmen to long-serving veterans, can come together to discuss the bedrock principles and rules that will guide their work over the next two years.

Respectfully,
Larry Kissell
Member of Congress

Jim Matheson
Member of Congress

Dan Lipinski
Member of Congress

[Ed note: this post was edited after publication]

Blue Dogs, Dan Lipinski, Democrats, Jim Matheson, Larry Kissell, Nancy Pelosi