Was making Nancy Pelosi Minority Leader

[warrprayer]

... a good idea? I am torn. There have been times when I have been inspired by her, and other times, it seems more often, let down and dissapointed such as the cave ins on healthcare, investigation of Wall St. and Bushco, etc. .

Would it maybe have been a better idea, with the fresh wave of progressives coming in, to start off fresh with someone with new ideas/fire?

[FarCenter]

1. Way too old

Even older than me.

[Ken Burch]

26. Really? Really?

[msongs]

2. only replace her with a true liberal up and comer, not a tired closet republican type nt

[Jumping John]

3. Isn't that the same question that Luke Russert asked - only a little different?

[warrprayer]

7. Luke who? n/t

[Jumping John]

30. Wassamatter? You can't hear what you're reading??? n/t

[warrprayer]

31. eh? That damn Ben Gazzi

was playing that loud hippity hop music all night!

[sadbear]

4. When we retake the House majority...

I would expect a new Speaker. But I don't blame Democrats for electing her the first time.

[GermanSmoker]

5. Term Limits

There should be term limits for everybody in congress. Helps against concentration of power and corruption.

[Cleita]

6. She's fine. As much as I would like to see

Alan Grayson or someone more like him be Speaker, that will never happen with this Congress. I believe what others have said that with the destruction of the Republican Party, the Democrats will be the party of middle of the road conservatism in the future. It's already there really, and the Progressives will form a new party in the future. Then maybe we will see Alan Grayson as Speaker of the House.

[jehop61]

8. First of all

She is not the Speaker. Democrats are the minority party. Second, she has a record of getting things done as Speaker. Third, with age comes wisdom, Luke.

[warrprayer]

11. Luke who?

it would be helpful if you would adress me. Luke did not post this op. Secondly, there are valid reasons to feel let down/sold out by Ms. Pelosi. Speaker, minority whip, wtf ever.

[Bandit]

19. Maybe you could name one "valid" reason she let you down when she was speaker

I think she had about one of the best records as Speaker than anyone. She NEVER lost a vote...NEVER..compare that with Bohner or Newt or ??????

[warrprayer]

21. heath care single payer

and medicare lowered to age 55 ring a bell?

[JoePhilly]

22. Yea ... she could have caused those events. Not.

Geeze. Take a civics class.

[warrprayer]

24. we covered the civics already.

And I did my civic duty this year voting straight Democratic. Hope you guys are recovering from the storm well, by the way.

[JoePhilly]

25. I no longer live in Philly. Was my home town.

And I get the sense you don't get the civics wrt Pelosi and the issues you raised.

Even when she was Speaker of the House, she could not force the outcomes you seem to think she should have been able to force.

In reality, the Senate was the limiting lynch pin, not the House. Without 60 votes there, the outcomes you wanted Nancy to provide would never happen. Period.

Blaming her is naive, politically speaking. It is that simple.

[Ghost in the Machine]

32. 5 simple words... "Impeachment is off the table"... n/t

[pampango]

27. Progressive Caucus: Pelosi Is The Right Democratic Leader for a Changing Country

Reps. Keith Ellison (D-MN) and Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ), co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), released the following statement after Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced she would be seeking another term as Democratic Leader in the House of Representatives:

“The Progressive Caucus wholeheartedly supports Leader Pelosi’s bid to serve as the Democratic Leader for the 113th Congress. She has been a transformational figure in American politics, and her stature and foresight are exactly what House Democrats need as we represent the changing face of twenty-first century America. Throughout her 25 years in the House of Representatives, including her historic tenure as the first female Speaker, she has exemplified public service in its truest sense, going above and beyond for her constituents and the American people every single day.

“Leader Pelosi has continued to stand for progressive values throughout her time in the House of Representatives. Her commitment to do the right thing and to work for economic opportunity for all Americans will serve as an example for public servants for years to come.

“We look forward to working with Leader Pelosi to create the jobs the American people demand and to put the country on the right track for the future.”

http://cpc.grijalva.house.gov/index.cfm?sectionid=61&itemid=621

She is not perfect. Who is? If she is good enough for the CPC she is good enough for me.

[warrprayer]

28. duly noted

and, what scares me is that the corporate takeover of America that began under Raygun may be so entrenched that nothing any politician can do can fix it. Let me rephrase that, I don't want to accept the fact.

[myrna minx]

9. She is no longer the Madam Speaker. She, as speaker, passed amazing progressive legislation that

whithered on the vine in the Senate. Why are you and the likes of Luke Russert only asking for Madam Minority Leader to step aside? Why not the the lot of male leadership as well?

[warrprayer]

15. This may come as a shock

but I must not be as informed as you are. I have no idea of anything Luke R said about Nancy Pelosi. And if he and I are in agreement in one sense, I can bet it is for very different reasons. Sex has nothing to do with it - I felt Nancy was too much of a blue dog, to put it nicely. I was popping champagne when Elizabeth Warren beat Scott Brown. Please don't jump to conclusions.

[Recursion]

10. Given that the only other Rep with much backing was Steny Hoyer...

...she was a good pick.

[zipplewrath]

12. Sorta my take

"As oppose to who"? Hoyer probably would have been "next in line". I'm not sure that's a real improvement. She was a good soldier in many ways as speaker. Not sure who would have been more effective given who was president. She might have been more aggressive with Bush II. I think that is the time that turned off most progressives.

[warrprayer]

16. you got it

[Poll_Blind]

13. ^ This was the real problem.

From what I read, people who were not happy with Pelosi looked at Hoyer and decided they liked Pelosi more.

I haven't done much digging though and sometimes it's difficult to get to the bottom of things like this- the dynamics of it.

PB

[HereSince1628]

14. ?? She's majority leader, not speaker...

[warrprayer]

17. I should

... have paid more attention in civics class! (remember that?) Thank you!

[warrprayer]

18. I was aware

that the democrats are no longer the majority in the house. I just did not know the correct term for Nancys' new position. Thanks!

[Bandit]

29. She is neither Speaker nor Majority Leader. Democrats are in the Minority, so she is Minority Leader

[HereSince1628]

33. you are absolutely correct.

I am absolutely wrong.

[SheilaT]

20. How many of us actually understand what it's

like to be a member of Congress?

Hi Alan (Grayson, who posts here on DU)

I rather suspect that most of the Dems in the House are reasonably happy with her, which is why there does not seem to have been any attempt from the members to replace her.

Really, what we speculate from this distance is . . . ignorant. We do not know what goes in those hallowed halls. Yes, we are entitled to have opinions, but for any of us to presume we really have a better idea of who would be best as the minority leader in the house makes no sense.

Another thing that is often missed is how much experience matters. It takes time to learn any new job. I believe research shows that it takes approximately 10,000 hours of doing something to get really good at it.

Term limiting Senators and Representatives is periodically suggested. To get a good grasp on why that might not be such a good idea, just look at the Missouri legislature since they passed term limits. Every single election a significant portion of both houses is brand new. And no one has service going back more than at most 16 years, and that would be a person at the very end of his or her term limited time, assuming that person served in both the state house and state senate. More likely, only a hand full of legislatures have served for even ten years. Institutional memory is lost. To me, that's not a good thing.

[warrprayer]

23. I have a foggy idea

I remember the days when Randy Cunningham and friends walked around handing out payoffs from lobbyists and lobbyists actually went up to reps in the middle of voting threatening, etc. causing one poor woman to actually break down and cry. I gather there has at least been a stop put to the overt methods...