Dan Rostenkowski - Political Comeback

Political Comeback

In the early 1970s with his hopes of a leadership position lost, President Johnson out of office and Daley out of favor with the Republican administration, Rostenkowski began to rebuild his career. Though he rarely spoke on the floor, he was offering legislation on his own, such as anti-pollution bills, subsidies to local museums, and a proposal to grant renters the same tax breaks as homeowners. (Merriner, 117)

In 1974, Ways and Means chairman Al Ullman named Rostenkowski chairman of the committee's newly created subcommittee on health. In this role Rostenkowski obtained expertise in two critical areas of policy that would serve him well in his future: health care and taxes.

Late in 1976, Richard Daley died, leading to speculation that Rostenkowski would return home to Chicago and run for mayor. That same year, speaker Carl Albert announced he would not seek another term in Congress. Meaning Tip O’Neill would become speaker, this paved the way for Rostenkowski to begin the climb back up the leadership ladder.

He played a key role in the election of Jim Wright as the House Majority Leader. In return, O’Neill and Wright appointed Rostenkowski chief deputy to the new Democratic whip, John Brademas. The 1980 election was a disaster for the Democratic Party, but it opened up new opportunities for advancement to Rostenkowski.

With the defeats of both Ullman and Brademas, Rostenkowski, then the highest ranking democrat on Ways and Means, had the choice of either succeeding Brademas as majority whip and taking a step closer to becoming speaker, or taking over as chairman of Ways and Means. With his reputation as an arm twisting, Chicago style politician, capable of counting the house, the whip post would have seemed the logical choice. Instead, looking to break the Washington stereotype of him as a Chicago machine hack, he surprised many by accepting the more complex challenge of becoming Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means.

Rostenkowski easily defeated now Congressman Luis Gutiérrez's bid to replace him as 32nd Ward Democratic Committeeman in the 1984 Chicago Democratic primary.

In 1986, Rostenkowski was charged with drunk driving in Wisconsin and was charged $555.00 and had his license suspended in Illinois for one year.