New Senate committee chairs – the good, the bad and the squishes

Harry Reid, who ranks as a squish himself, notably on GOP pseudofilibusters, has announced the new Senate committee chairs for the 111th Congress.

The outrightly bad could well start with Dianne Feinstein (Sen.-Betty Crocker) at Intelligence, though she can’t but help be an upgrade over Jay Rockefeller. John Kerry at Foreign Relations means the Bipartisan Foreign Policy Establishment, not “change,” gets in the saddle. Chuck Schumer replaces Feinstein at Ethics, to ignore any senator ethically compromised in the past decade of bipartisan corner-cutting with Schumer’s hedge-fund and other financial sector buddies. Dan Inouye takes over Apprpriations from Robert Byrd; same curmudgeon with pockets of gold, different state. (Picture Ted Stevens, but from the other non-contiguous state, perhaps.)

Mary Landrieu replaces Kerry at Small Biz. Rocky moves on to Commerce.

And, let’s not forget the worst of all – courtesy of The One, B.O., Joementum keeps his job overseeing Homeland Security.