The American Spectator

Washington Prowler

p> GOING AROUND br> House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi appears to be turning up the heat on longtime ally Rep. Bob Matsui . Pelosi has let it be known among leading Democrats in Washington that she is looking to hire someone with serious lobbying connections for her leadership office to help with fundraising. /p>

"She doesn't think we've done enough or been successful enough drawing money off of K Street," says a Democratic leadership staffer.

Matsui, who was handed the plum chairmanship of the House Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee by Pelosi, over the objections of moderate and even liberal caucus members, is viewed by many as a failure in his first year on the job. These same critics view Pelosi's attempts to bring in a fundraiser type as an attempt to bypass Matsui by consolidating some fundraising responsibilities in her office.

But members of the leadership staff deny this is what's going on. "You can never have enough fundraisers," says the Democratic leadership staffer. "The fact that we are adding people to help raise money just reinforces the fact that we are gearing up for a tough 2004 race."

p> INTO AFRICA br> Members of the Congressional Black Caucus went public earlier this week with complaints that the White House didn't invite any of their membership to travel with the President to Africa. They also claimed that the White House had not spoken with them since January 2001. /p>

topics:
Nancy Pelosi, Africa