Democratic Leadership Elections

[Former Kentuckian]

The media is playing this out like it's a progressive revolt against Pelosi but it's actually all the moderates opposing her.    Typical.

It is strange that the media is playing it out this way. None of the people publicly against her are progressive (it's not Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ro Khanna, or Pramila Jayapal leading the charge) and the Progressive Caucus seems in her corner. Kathleen Rice, Seth Moulton, and Tim Ryan are far from progressive.

[Former Kentuckian]

The only progressive outside of the list that I can think of saying they wouldn't support Pelosi is Tlaib during the campaign season. But I haven't seen her railing against Pelosi after her victory. Maybe she's gonna vote for her now.

If other progressives back Pelosi, I'm willing to bet Tlaib does too. The progressive faction might not be fond of Pelosi, but they seem to be steering clear of this leadership stuff. They're not mentioned in any of the articles, and they're not on any lists. This seems to be a moderate/conservative Democrat revolt judging by the list and Fudge.

Not to mention that Ocasio-Cortez could have mentioned opposition to Pelosi during the climate protest at Pelosi's office this week but she didn't. The fact that she focused on putting pressure on Pelosi to get climate change on the menu seems to suggest that she sees Pelosi as the Leader when she'll be in Congress. The fact that Raul Grijalva has pledged to vote for Pelosi probably factors into Ocasio-Cortez's decision, too.

[Former Kentuckian]

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It is.

This is why it is hilarious and sad how some dumb progressives on here are cheering this on. If Ryan and Moulton get their way, Democrats will be cutting deals with R's like it is 2001. If that happens, I don't want to hear from these people anymore.

This is a generational thing more than a ideological one.

I do think that's true.

[Former Kentuckian]

Let's pretend for a minute that this revolt won't be a complete disaster and that they actually do succeed in replacing Pelosi. Would she continue on as a rank-and-file Representative until the next election or would she resign from office?

[Former Kentuckian]

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It is.

This is why it is hilarious and sad how some dumb progressives on here are cheering this on. If Ryan and Moulton get their way, Democrats will be cutting deals with R's like it is 2001. If that happens, I don't want to hear from these people anymore.

This is a generational thing more than a ideological one.

Really? Then why are they propping up a 66 year old?

I think it's about growing up with the same person in power rather than age (same with Bernie and Hillary).

The young progressive attitude toward Pelosi on here is generational, but you're right that the actual revolt in Congress is led by moderates

[Former Kentuckian]

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It is.

This is why it is hilarious and sad how some dumb progressives on here are cheering this on. If Ryan and Moulton get their way, Democrats will be cutting deals with R's like it is 2001. If that happens, I don't want to hear from these people anymore.

This is a generational thing more than a ideological one.

Really? Then why are they propping up a 66 year old?

I think it's about growing up with the same person in power rather than age (same with Bernie and Hillary).

The young progressive attitude toward Pelosi on here is generational, but you're right that the actual revolt in Congress is led by moderates

This would be fine and dandy if the people potentially replacing Pelosi were young progressives. But they aren't. It is just incredibly dumb for any progressive to cheer this on. Again, if Moulton and Ryan are successful, then we are going right back to 2001 and that would be a disaster.

Luckily, most progressive in congress are smarter then the some of the dopes on here and realize that they would be shooting themselves in the foot by signing on to this nonsense.

I do think you're right in that it's important to distinguish between progressives in Congress and progressives on Atlas lol Atlas users (of any ideological stripe) aren't exactly known for their critical thinking skills lol

But I do think a lot of the progressives here on Atlas are very young (or seem to be. Most seem to identify as Millennials or Generation Z) and are getting excited over the potential change in leadership (something they've never experienced/weren't old enough to experience) and aren't aware of the ramifications.

[Former Kentuckian]

https://twitter.com/scottwongDC/status/1063202757262356481

What happens if the person the revolt puts up to replace Pelosi gets blocked on the floor by Pelosi allies (assuming we get to that point, which we likely won't)? Do we just keep going in circles?

[Former Kentuckian]

The more I hear from the Pelosi haters, the more I support Pelosi.

Hope she mercilessly crushes the rabble and punishes them for their insolence.

Same. I am not particularly attached to Pelosi, but she is skilled and experienced, and the idea that "something else, anything else, with no plan or explanation whatsoever as to what that other thing is" is preferable is not very persuasive. It would be easier to be open to the alternative if there were, you know, actually some sort of viable alternative. But it seems that all the alternative consists of is Tim Ryan and Seth Moulton whining.

Some have been suggesting Pelosi could defuse this by offering up some sort of eventual succession plan. Although it has seemed that way for the past 15 years, she can't be Democratic House Leader forever. Even Harry Reid had to eventually call it a day. She'll win this Speakership, but she really should have some public plan in place for the Caucus and Democrats in general for when and how she'll eventually step down. Maybe that's too rational for the people in charge of the revolt, but it could appease those on the fence like some unnamed House members who have been quoted.

[Former Kentuckian]

Sounds like she'd get most of the CBC, but Cedric Richmond would support Fudge and members like Emmanuel Cleaver and Gwen Moore sound on the fence (although I think Moore would support Pelosi in the end): https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/15/black-caucus-pelosi-speaker-994469

[Former Kentuckian]

https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1064588067963576322Pelosi has 218 already, and IMO she gets more in January. Almost like she's the best Dem vote counter since Tip.

Politico says she's not quite at 218 yet since there are people who are opposing her who haven't signed the letter (Spanbgerger, Crow, Lamb, etc): https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/19/pelosis-bid-for-speaker-imperiled-as-public-opposition-grows-1005368

Editing to add: my guess is Pelosi & Co will get those who haven't signed the letter but oppose her to vote "present"

[Former Kentuckian]

https://twitter.com/DanDeRoos19/status/1064646215671914497

Maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but I guess this isn't going to help her quest to become speaker.

Lance Mason was an Ohio state court judge who was removed from the bench and ultimately convicted and sent to prison for brutally beating his wife in 2014. She divorced him. Marcia Fudge wrote this letter asking that he be treated leniently by the prosecutor. He was later released after serving only nine months.

Just this past week, Lance Mason apparently murdered his now ex-wife.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/crime-law/2018/11/19/former-judge-brutally-assaulted-his-wife-now-shes-dead-hes-been-arrested/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.30fc0649418c

It's a bit of a gotcha, but it's always been clear that Fudge is a consummate player of the insider game and will support bad apples for power.

I honestly think Fudge's support of Mason is worth primarying her over and is a bigger deal than her challenge to Pelosi. Mason allegedly beat his wife so badly she needed reconstructive surgery, and this occured on front of their small children. Fudge, who had served as director of the office of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, implored the office she used to work for in the above letter to give him a light sentence. Well, he got a light sentence, got out and allegedly killed his wife and injured a cop while escaping. This is a big deal and shows a ridiculous lack of ethics, critical thinking, decency, leadership, etc on Fudge's part. She is not a leader and doesn't deserve to be one, IMO

Details on the case here: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/20/fudge-letter-criminal-case-1008215

[Former Kentuckian]

Did anyone else see Pelosi's victory speech on election night? It was so incoherent and nonsensical, I loved it. "Let's hear it for pre existing medical conditions!" LMAO.

Luckily what she lacks in rhetorical ability she more than makes up for in legislative prowess.

I literally just snorted soda out of my nose 😂😹

[Former Kentuckian]

Did anyone else see Pelosi's victory speech on election night? It was so incoherent and nonsensical, I loved it. "Let's hear it for pre existing medical conditions!" LMAO.

Luckily what she lacks in rhetorical ability she more than makes up for in legislative prowess.

I thought it was a terrific and shrewd speech. "Incoherent and nonsensical" appeals to voters, which is how Trump got elected. You and I may struggle to understand that, but fortunately Pelosi has a more finely attuned political antennae than most of us, and she adjusts her rhetoric to fit the needs and tastes of the era, one of the marks that distinguishes a true leader.

LOL I'm sorry to say this but our politicians are way too old and out of touch with how the world works in the year 2018.  Trump, Pelosi, McConnell, Grassley should be retired like most people their age, not running the country.

according to how you think it works. Young people are not in the drivers seat yet.

To be fair, young people are increasingly important in Democratic electoral victories and deserve a seat at the table. Not the Speakership right now, but a succession plan needs to be made considering the three Democratic House leaders will be in their 80s soon. Young lawmakers do need to be involved in Leadership, not be bottlenecked, and need to know when and how they can ascend when Pelosi & Co inevitably step down or die in office, and Democratic voters deserve to publicly know this since we put these people in power and deserve to know how an inevitable transfer of power will happen.

[Former Kentuckian]

Did anyone else see Pelosi's victory speech on election night? It was so incoherent and nonsensical, I loved it. "Let's hear it for pre existing medical conditions!" LMAO.

Luckily what she lacks in rhetorical ability she more than makes up for in legislative prowess.

I thought it was a terrific and shrewd speech. "Incoherent and nonsensical" appeals to voters, which is how Trump got elected. You and I may struggle to understand that, but fortunately Pelosi has a more finely attuned political antennae than most of us, and she adjusts her rhetoric to fit the needs and tastes of the era, one of the marks that distinguishes a true leader.

LOL I'm sorry to say this but our politicians are way too old and out of touch with how the world works in the year 2018.  Trump, Pelosi, McConnell, Grassley should be retired like most people their age, not running the country.

according to how you think it works. Young people are not in the drivers seat yet.

To be fair, young people are increasingly important in Democratic electoral victories and deserve a seat at the table. Not the Speakership right now, but a succession plan needs to be made considering the three Democratic House leaders will be in their 80s soon. Young lawmakers do need to be involved in Leadership, not be bottlenecked, and need to know when and how they can ascend when Pelosi & Co inevitably step down or die in office, and Democratic voters deserve to publicly know this since we put these people in power and deserve to know how an inevitable transfer of power will happen.

I want to make it clear that I do think Pelosi should be Speaker. However, I do want Pelosi and Leadership to publicly acknowledge the need for an eventual succession and to place more younger legislators in position of power so we know Pelosi & Co are prepared for a party without them (so far we've mostly just gotten lip service). Young voters are so integral, increasingly so, and we need to place younger legislators in positions of leadership in order to reflect this:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/amphtml/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/11/10/these-5-charts-explain-who-voted-how-in-the-2018-midterm-election/

https://mashable.com/article/youth-voter-turnout-midterm-elections.amp

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/ncna934516

The median age of the United States is 37.7, but our Democratic House leaders will all be in their 80s in a year or two: https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/community_facts.xhtml?src=bkmk

Pelosi has been a strong leader and we need her for at least one more term, but she needs to let us know there's a plan for younger leadership because we can't, and shouldn't, rely on her forever. We Democrats have a tendency to calcify our leadership and bristle whenever there's talk of new leadership (I'm not talking about a coup, but honest conversation about eventual transfer of power). We need to hash this out before it catches up to us.

[Former Kentuckian]

Did anyone else see Pelosi's victory speech on election night? It was so incoherent and nonsensical, I loved it. "Let's hear it for pre existing medical conditions!" LMAO.

Luckily what she lacks in rhetorical ability she more than makes up for in legislative prowess.

I thought it was a terrific and shrewd speech. "Incoherent and nonsensical" appeals to voters, which is how Trump got elected. You and I may struggle to understand that, but fortunately Pelosi has a more finely attuned political antennae than most of us, and she adjusts her rhetoric to fit the needs and tastes of the era, one of the marks that distinguishes a true leader.

LOL I'm sorry to say this but our politicians are way too old and out of touch with how the world works in the year 2018.  Trump, Pelosi, McConnell, Grassley should be retired like most people their age, not running the country.

according to how you think it works. Young people are not in the drivers seat yet.

To be fair, young people are increasingly important in Democratic electoral victories and deserve a seat at the table. Not the Speakership right now, but a succession plan needs to be made considering the three Democratic House leaders will be in their 80s soon. Young lawmakers do need to be involved in Leadership, not be bottlenecked, and need to know when and how they can ascend when Pelosi & Co inevitably step down or die in office, and Democratic voters deserve to publicly know this since we put these people in power and deserve to know how an inevitable transfer of power will happen.

The way I see it, Pelosi is training the younger generation as we speak - so that when she does leave, we'll be ready.
Kneejerking to "she's too old, she has to go!" is just misreading the entire situation.

I'm not trying to argue and I absolutely believe we need Pelosi to have the gavel in January. I just want transparency and acknowledgment regarding the next generation of leadership.

[Former Kentuckian]

Jeffries won by 10 votes:

https://twitter.com/BresPolitico/status/1067824372621156354

I knew it would be close, but I'm honestly kind of shocked Jeffries won over Lee.

[Former Kentuckian]

I can see Jeffries being Speaker in the near future maybe even a couple years from now.

He and Ben Ray Lujan look like the early frontrunners.

I don't think Lujan is a serious contender for Speaker tbh (whether he realizes it or not) and while Jeffries was a better pick than Lee for Conference Chair, one can only pray that a charter school hack like him won't be able to rise any higher than that in leadership.  Honestly, Schiff would be my first choice to be Speaker after Pelosi since he's not too old, a reliable liberal, an excellent attack dog, and would generally do a great job, but that may not be in the cards.  Anyway, we've probably still got some time before it makes sense to start talking about a replacement for Pelosi.

Schiff always seemed like Pelosi's personal pick, imo, should she ever retire (and, unfortunately, she doesn't seem like  she plans on retiring one day).

[Former Kentuckian]

I was hoping Pelosi wouldnt bother with the Problem Solvers, but oh well.

And also I get the anger, Barbara was more to the Left than Jeffries, especially on stuff like Charter Schools and War, but I really dont see anything to get angered about. It was a Progressive vs a slightly more Progressive.

Some leftists want nothing short of complete purity.

I don't think it's fair to boil down people's problems with Jeffries down to a traditional "left" vs "center-left" argument. Jeffries and Lee, as others have said, are nearly identical on most things, but people's criticism of Jeffries's stance on public education and private education/charter schools is valid. After all, this is a guy who answered "crushing burden" of private religious education costs when asked what his most important concerns were when he ran for Congress (source: https://archive.is/20130130095937/http://fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/07/03/the-big-profile-who-is-hakeem-jeffries/). I personally have no problems with Jeffries, but I understand why people wanted Lee over him and we do need to know Democratic leaders will support public education.

[Former Kentuckian]

"Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) beat Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) for the caucus representative post, a job reserved for a member who has served five terms or less. Sewell's loss, combined with Lee's defeat Wednesday, leaves Democrats without an African-American woman in their leadership ranks."

Source: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/29/busto-house-democrats-campaign-arm-1027901

That's kinda crazy considering how important Black women are to Democratic electoral success.

Here's a full list of leadership for the next two years:

Speaker: Nancy Pelosi
Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer
Majority Whip: Jim Clyburn
Caucus Chair: Hakeem Jeffries
Assistant Majority Leader: Ben Ray Lujan
Caucus Vice Chair: Katherine Clark
DPCC Chair (a new, separate position from the DPCC Co-Chairs, apparently): David Cicilline
DPCC Co-Chairs: Ted Lieu, Debbie Dingell, and Matt Cartwright
Caucus Representative: Jamie Raskin

[Former Kentuckian]

The continuing Bernie vs Hillary arguing on Atlas is so obnoxious, and it's always the same people (jfern complaining about Hillary and the establishment, Landslide Lyndon complaining about Bernie and Bernie Bros, etc). Y'all are obnoxious and it derails and ruins so many threads.

Since this is about Democratic leadership, stay on topic. And back to the topic: I'm glad Pelosi created a position for Lee. As I said earlier, it's wild that we didn't have any Black women in leadership after the leadership elections. I do yearn for younger leadership, but I greatly respect Lee and admire her.