GOP fight for House Commerce gavel mars otherwise seamless transition

An acrimonious fight for the gavel of one of the House's most powerful committees has marred an otherwise seamless transition for Republicans taking power.

Republicans are jockeying fiercely for position in a race to lead the House Commerce Committee -- a battle that, at times, has resembled a GOP primary where candidates run to the right. The panel is ground zero for debates on climate change, telecommunications and the future of the Internet, and the top Republican will have to spar with Rep Henry Waxman (D-CA), the Democratic chairman who will become the committee's ranking member. Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI.) has positioned himself as the favorite in large part because Rep Joe Barton (R-TX), the current ranking Republican, needs a waiver from GOP rules to continue leading a committee on which he has served as chairman and ranking member. But Upton's conservative credentials have come under challenge from Rush Limbaugh and other critics on the right, leaving a door open for Barton as well as Reps. John Shimkus (R-IL) and Cliff Stearns (R-FL).