2 Californians at center of congressional storm

[davidinalameda]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/13794545p-14636220c.html

A small room in the Capitol, dominated by a glimmering chandelier, is the domain of the House Rules Committee and its powerful chairman, California Republican David Dreier.

On this day, with only an hour of daylight remaining, the committee is just getting down to business, and this ornate setting is about to be transformed into a battleground over housing.


But outnumbered 9-4, Democrats can't win. And when it's over, they will again point accusingly at Dreier and his committee for abandoning the principles of fair play that Republicans so heartily embraced just a decade before.