Eddie Bernice Johnson looking weak on the Hill

At No. 264, Johnson ranks below the halfway point of the 435 Members of Congress as ranked by Congress.org power rankings. Here’s the group’s criteria:

1) Position: How much power might the legislator wield through his/her position in the Congress by virtue of tenure, new committee assignments or new leadership position? This Power Category includes some new weightings for all committees, subcommittees, and leadership positions, taking into consideration the new majority or minority party status of the member.

2) Indirect Influence: How much power has the legislator demonstrated or may be capable of demonstrating to influence the congressional agenda or outcome of votes through the media or congressional caucuses.

3) Legislative Activity: How much power has the legislator demonstrated through the passage of legislation or shaping legislation through amendments thus far? The team eliminated from that data items which did not substantially change the bill or existing law. These included amendments dealing with technical changes or bills of a ceremonial or commemorative nature such as naming of post offices or other public buildings, or non-binding resolutions that expressed the “sense of the Congress.”

4) Earmarks: This is a new criteria added to the 2008 Power Rankings as a result of Congress’ decision in 2007 to make the earmarking process more transparent. How successful was the legislator at securing funds for local projects in his or her district or state?

In addition, the project team recognized that Members of Congress can exert or possess power that cannot be measured by these standard measures. Therefore, we created the “Sizzle/Fizzle” factor. For example, “Sizzle” factors can include a legislator’s unique background and experience (Sen. John McCain, R-AZ) or relationships (Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-NY) or newfound popularity (Sen. Barack Obama, D-IL) that somehow adds weight to their power.

Since Eddie Bernice has been around for quite a while, what her low ranking is saying is that she hasn’t done squat as far as serious legislation. She’s a career backbencher, to use British parliamentary terms. And, she doesn’t have a lot of indirect influence. In fact, only one Democrat in Texas’ U.S. House delegation, Henry Cuellar, ranks lower, out of the 13 total.