Now we have a nice nasty little internal Democrat tinkling contest in the Congress. Rep. John Dingell of Michigan is currently the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee. But that may no longer be the case. The Democrats want a more aggressive global warming agenda. They want to save the planet ... and John Dingell may put up too much of a fight. When I say "fight" I mean that he won't necessarily be Barack Obama's grocery bagger when it comes to global warming policy.

So who do the Democrats want as their guy? Henry Waxman of Beverley Hills. He's generally an anti-business kinda guy. He's the head of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform; Waxman is the guy in change of government investigations on everything from oil company profits to steroid use in baseball.

Where the battle gets interesting is the fact that Dingell is from Michigan and has made it difficult for the government to impose stricter fuel standards on automakers. Meanwhile, Waxman is a fan of tough environmental regulations and an overhaul of the auto industry. Does this auto-union bailout have anything to do with this vote?

Either way, a committee secret ballot of 25-22 recommended that Waxman be the new chair of the energy committee. The entire House still has to vote on whether or not they want to accept that recommendation ... but I think the message is clear. Barack Obama has made promises on key issues: healthcare reform and climate change. We'll get to healthcare in a minute, but having Waxman as the chair of this committee would be one less minor bump to deal with ... it would be a sign from Congress that they are eager to work with Obama in passing climate change legislation.