Pelosi's staying

[J. J.]

Pelosi plans to run for minority leader, Fox.

[Guderian]

Wow, this is one very unexpected gift from heaven for the Republicans. Unless Heath Shuler can take her out, lol.

[Torie]

Well, I was wrong on that one. She is a masochist I guess. "They" are just so kinky in her zip code.

[Vepres]

And Republicans rejoice!

[Iosif]

She won't win.

[Franzl]

Democrats would be wise to sack her.

[DrScholl]

Pelosi is a strong leader, rather you agree with her or not, there is no denying that. Since the Democratic caucus is very different than it was before, I think she can pull together a strong opposition. She never breaks down in tears like some other people who I don't have to mention.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

And Republicans rejoice!

yeah, BIGTIME!!!

[Whacker77]

The Democrat caucus is far more liberal today than it was Monday.  She's running again because she must feel she has the votes.  She is the gift that keeps on giving for Republicans.  Republican strategists say Pelosi was a powerful tool to use against Democrats this past Tuesday.

[Guderian]

Basically all GOP pickups in the South are set in stone for 2012 with Pelosi as minority leader.

[Lief 🗽]

Republicans in this thread have proven themselves, by and large, to once again be idiots. Pelosi is a great asset to the House Democrats, and makes a much better leader than that do-nothing backbencher Heath Schuler.

[SvenssonRS]

Republicans in this thread have proven themselves, by and large, to once again be idiots. Pelosi is a great asset to the House Democrats, and makes a much better leader than that do-nothing backbencher Heath Schuler.

I don't know what world you live in, Lief, or what drugs you're smoking, but I find myself interested either way, since you seem to be having rather powerful hallucinations of what seems to be your greatest desire.

[bgwah]

She seemed to have run the House well---the Senate was what was causing so much trouble and deadlock for the Democratic agenda, no?---but she's a very polarizing figure... I don't know what to think about this.

[Lief 🗽]

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.

[Brittain33]

Lief, you're right, but I don't think people are going to see eye-to-eye on this issue at this moment in time.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

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.

[bgwah]

I agree that in terms of pushing her agenda through the House, she has been an impressive speaker. And she is definitely better than Shuler.

But I can't deny that she's a polarizing figure, and I'm just not sure how wise it would be to keep her in charge.

[Capitan Zapp Brannigan]

Thank god. She's been a great Speaker. Republicans would have won the same seats Pelosi or no Pelosi, people don't care who the congressional leadership is. She does her job very well, no need to give the job to somebody who would be less effective.

[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.

[Swing low, sweet chariot. Comin' for to carry me home.]

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.

LOL!  yeah, it takes a certain kind of person to deny the obvious when "enemy" tanks are rolling through the streets

[Landslide Lyndon]

Pelosi isn't more polarizing or less beloved than Bhoener or McConnell. Everyone who can read a poll can deduce that.

And is there anybody out there so gullible  to believe that a Minority Leader Steny Hoyer or John Larson won't be vilified by the Republicans as "another wild-eyed East Coast Liberal"?

[Brittain33]

I'll ask the same question I alluded to on the other thread... now Obama isn't responsible for the Dems losing the House? If it's Pelosi's fault, does that mean he's a lock for 2012? Do you think the 2012 election will be a referendum on Nancy Pelosi?

What people are missing is that:
1. Congressional approval ratings are in the toilet for both parties: worse for Republicans than Dems, although they may perk up with the wins this week. People in Congress who get the attention of the public are unpopular, full stop. If they aren't unpopular, it's because they aren't known.
2. Nancy Pelosi is very good at her job, which is corraling votes among the Democrats. That is doubly crucial as Minority Leader because she won't share the job with Hoyer. Gingrich was not as good at this as she was.
3. Republicans tried to run anti-Pelosi campaigns in 2008 and in PA-12 in 2010. It failed.  

If you're a Republican and you don't like Nancy Pelosi, think twice about projecting your own views onto that of the country as a whole, consider whether you are believing your own propaganda, and most of all, don't confuse causation with correlation.

[Brittain33]

LOL!  yeah, it takes a certain kind of person to deny the obvious when "enemy" tanks are rolling through the streets

Said the guy who thought Chris Coons' call for more voter turnout on Election Day meant that his internals had C O'D closing to within five points...

[Reaganfan]

Pelosi is a great tool for Republicans to use.

At work the other night, a friend of mine who doesn't even follow politics made a joke, "Mike voted for Nancy Pelosi" just to get a negative reaction from me and all my co-workers. The fact that so many young people who have alot less interest in politics than me had a negative view, I definitely wanna keep Nancy around until 2012.

[Whacker77]

Republicans in this thread have proven themselves, by and large, to once again be idiots. Pelosi is a great asset to the House Democrats, and makes a much better leader than that do-nothing backbencher Heath Schuler.

Read the story on Politico.  In it, Democrat pollsters say she was a major drag on their candidates.  Republican pollsters said the very same thing.  I know she got a lot of stuff through the Congress, but she is great for Republicans.