House Speaker Nancy Pelosi came to power with a less than cohesive Democratic majority. Her assent was marred somewhat by her endorsement of Jack Murtha, her longtime ally from Pennsylvania, for Majority Leader, a race he lost badly to Marylander Steny Hoyer. And when faced with the prospect of three senior members who wanted to chair the House Intelligence Committee, Pelosi had to make another decision that would have been unpopular no matter how she sliced it.

Pelosi faced the choice of elevating Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings, a former federal judge who had been impeached but maintained his political popularity at home, or Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes. The third option: Grant a waiver to fellow Californian Jane Harman, the panel's ranking member under GOP leadership. But Harman and Pelosi have had their run-ins, and Hastings' past made him a politically inappropriate choice. Reyes, in the end, got the post.

Harman has since refused to pay dues to the DCCC, the Torrance Daily Breeze reports. While she said she had paid her dues in recent cycles -- including $190,000 during the 2006 election cycle -- she refused to comment on dues this year. Chief of staff John Hess told the paper that Harman has donated $50,000 to Frontline Democrats, those who face the most difficult races next year.

Reports from Bloomberg earlier this month suggest Harman may be on the hook for as much as $250,000, as chair of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Rish Assessment.

The DCCC has set a goal of raising upwards of $150 million from Democrats on Capitol Hill, far ahead of Republicans' $33 million goal.