Pelosi's staying

[J. J.]

Pelosi plans to run for minority leader, Fox.

[J. J.]

There's absolutely no evidence that voters care about who the congressional leadership is. Most of them don't even know who the Congressional leadership is. And for the minority of Americans who do know, of course Pelosi is going to be a polarizing figure. That's necessary of being a leader in the House or Senate. When's the last time we had a nationally beloved Speaker or Senate Majority leader? That's not their job. Their job is to organize things in their House and get things done. The GOP has been trying to turn Nancy Pelosi into some boogeywoman for years and years and years and it doesn't work. On the other side of the coin, she has, over the past two years, proven herself to be one of the best congressional leaders in the body's history, passing a huge, huge amount of legislation, often with very little support from the President, while dealing with a big tent caucus with many different interests. Pelosi has also proven herself to be a terrific fundraiser. Electing Heath Schuler would only hurt the Democratic caucus on an organizational basis, while at the same time doing absolutely nothing to rehabilitate the party's image.

I think O'Neill and Gingrich will disagree.

[J. J.]

According to the exit polls, she has an eight (as in "8" as in less than "9"... as in child molester territory) percent approval rating among independents.

8 percent.

If I was the GOP I would have 25 House members "switch" to the Dems just long enough to vote for Minority leader (and then switch back) just to make it happen.

This is the inequivalent of the GOP appointing Sarah Palin to be RNC chair (or similar act of political madness)

8%....?

Have the Dems lost their mind?

The GOP just keeps running the same plays they have run for the last two years..

More like the GOP appointing Dick Cheney.

No,  Cheney would be a good choice.  Everybody would be afraid that if they didn't vote Republican, he's fly in through a window and suck your blood. 

[J. J.]

According to the exit polls, she has an eight (as in "8" as in less than "9"... as in child molester territory) percent approval rating among independents.

8 percent.

If I was the GOP I would have 25 House members "switch" to the Dems just long enough to vote for Minority leader (and then switch back) just to make it happen.

This is the inequivalent of the GOP appointing Sarah Palin to be RNC chair (or similar act of political madness)

8%....?

Have the Dems lost their mind?

The GOP just keeps running the same plays they have run for the last two years..

Again, remember how elated were the GOPers when Howard Dean was elected DNC chairman?
He too was considered a permanently damaged name and a scourge for independents and moderates.

If Bhoener flops (and he isn't exactly popular, even among Republicans), then Pelosi will look good by comparison in two years.

I was much harder on Dean for not ending the nomination sooner than I was on his appointment.

The thing with Bhoener is, he's not a "personality."  Pelosi, if by just being historic was;  The San Francisco Democrat label doesn't help, either.

[J. J.]

Hoyer should run against Pelosi.  Not only do we need someone other than Pelosi, I get the sense that she's just trying to stay so that she can screw him out of the leadership.

Is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Dean is probably and was in 2005 far more popular then Pelosi is now.

Dean might not have been that "hated" but he was certainly presented successfully as a crazy clown, the liberal Christine O'Donnell of its day.
John McCain (then still a "moderate") said back then that his election was the biggest gift Democrats could make to Republicans and ensured their domination for the next years.

All this "Dean was popular, we never considered him an ultra-liberal" is revisionist history.

The only thing "crazy" was the "Dean scream."

[J. J.]

Hoyer should run against Pelosi.  Not only do we need someone other than Pelosi, I get the sense that she's just trying to stay so that she can screw him out of the leadership.

Is that supposed to be a bad thing?

Dean is probably and was in 2005 far more popular then Pelosi is now.

Dean might not have been that "hated" but he was certainly presented successfully as a crazy clown, the liberal Christine O'Donnell of its day.
John McCain (then still a "moderate") said back then that his election was the biggest gift Democrats could make to Republicans and ensured their domination for the next years.

All this "Dean was popular, we never considered him an ultra-liberal" is revisionist history.

The only thing "crazy" was the "Dean scream."

I don't know about that. I remember plenty of ads attacking him for being a "Vermont liberal" before the scream happened.

No there weren't.  Nobody outside of VT heard of him, and he wasn't chairman until later.

[J. J.]

I don't know about that. I remember plenty of ads attacking him for being a "Vermont liberal" before the scream happened.

No there weren't.  Nobody outside of VT heard of him, and he wasn't chairman until later.

Yes, there was. Famously, there was an ad running in Iowa where some old couple said they wanted Howard Dean to keep his liberal loving, "latte drinking", [insert five stereotypes here] leftist agenda out of Iowa.

After he was running for President.

[J. J.]

I don't know about that. I remember plenty of ads attacking him for being a "Vermont liberal" before the scream happened.

No there weren't.  Nobody outside of VT heard of him, and he wasn't chairman until later.

Yes, there was. Famously, there was an ad running in Iowa where some old couple said they wanted Howard Dean to keep his liberal loving, "latte drinking", [insert five stereotypes here] leftist agenda out of Iowa.

After he was running for President.

Keep moving those goalposts.

Who is moving the goalposts?  Dean ran for President first.

He didn't get any of that stuff as chairman. 

[J. J.]

Who is moving the goalposts?  Dean ran for President first.

The ads ran before the scream. That was the original challenge. No, they didn't run ads against him as chairman, but there was plenty of guffawing about his appointment.

Nothing is exactly the same as something else, but that's not the point.

Yes, the political junkies, just like Steele, but he wasn't an issue in any races.  Nobody ran ads that said, "Dean's Democratic Chairman.  He's crazy.  Vote for me; I'm a Republican."

I've never thought party chair was a really important post, unless the chair says something moronic (like Steele).

My sole criticism of Dean as chair is that he let the 2008 primary go on too long.  He should have been more of a broker.