New challenge to Nancy Pelosi from liberal Dems

[Celtic Raven]

New challenge to Nancy Pelosi from liberal Dems
Posted By: Carolyn Lochhead | November 10 2010 at 07:35 AM

Two House Democrats outside the conservative wing are urging colleagues today to postpone leadership elections until December to give rank and file more time to consider whether they want to keep the same leaders, i.e. Nancy Pelosi, who presided over a last week's bloodbath.

Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon and Marcy Kaptur of Ohio wrote that Democrats would be wise to "spend more time to understand these historic losses" before rushing to reinstall the same leadership team.

Pelosi moved quickly to consolidate her grip on power last week by announcing she would not step down but run instead as minority leader to preserve her accomplishments in health care and financial regulation from GOP attack. Bloodied but surviving conservative Democrats raised an outcry, but liberals, especially Pelosi's base in the Bay Area, rallied around her.

The DeFazio/Kaptur challenge is now coming from the liberal side; they don't mention names, but share the Blue Dog concern that leaders are misreading the election losses -- for a midterm election specifically, you have to go back to 1938 to find losses this big, and they came from independent voters -- as merely a frustration with the economy that has nothing to do with any policy choices. President Obama is reading the election the same way as Pelosi.

<snip>
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/nov05election/detail?entry_id=76738#ixzz14uC2BxH8

No names mentioned as to who might be their choice to run against Pelosi. Anyone have any ideas?

[movonne]

1. probably some blue dog...

[FarCenter]

2. Are there any Dem leaders under 65?

If we expect to get out the under 30 vote, we need younger leaders and candidates. Pelosi, Hoyer, and Clyburn are all over 70.

[ProSense]

3. It's not a challenge to Pelosi.

The media will spin any BS. DeFazio and Kaptur want to delay the decision based on Clyburn's desire to become Minority Whip over Steny Hoyer.

George Miller addressed this earlier.

[Celtic Raven]

7. Like the last quote of that post

"They can boo all they want, we are going to leave the most effective people in the playing field (in charge of our caucus)," he said. "If I was a Republican, I'd be upset she is going to (stay) too."


Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen your OP.

[Ian David]

4. Barney Frank. n/t

[David__77]

5. I do think a new leader may be a good idea, but NOT Hoyer.

That said, I do not know if there is a suitable replacement. Perhaps Clyburn himself?

[breadandwine]

6. We have other problems right now. In the Senate a Manchin staffer is hinting he could switch

to the GOP over coal issues. Other Dems in the Senate are being offered bribes by the GOP to switch.

It looks ominous.

In the House progressive Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida has been spoken of as a possible replacement for Pelosi but I doubt she'd run, due to health problems.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Republicans are bobbleheads:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0tJ5fjTMfE