Joe Barton makes play for House Commerce Committee gavel

Republicans don't even have the House majority yet, but Rep. Joe Barton is already making a play for a chairmanship his leadership is highly unlikely to give him.

In his quest to lead the Commerce Committee, the Texas Republican is petitioning the Steering Committee that awards chairmanships to "clarify" whether the party's six-year term limits for the position apply to time served in the minority. He's already talking about investigations he'd like to launch and asserts that he's got a "very good" shot at the chairmanship. Michigan Rep. Fred Upton is talked about by Hill insiders and K Street sources as having the upper hand in the chairmanship battle. Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns and Illinois Rep. John Shimkus are also in the mix. Why so much maneuvering for a chairmanship before the election? The panel, under a Republican majority, could become the launching pad for ideological battles that would define a GOP House digging in on global warming, cap and trade, energy bills, health care repeals and a wide range of business regulations.