Heath Shuler (D-NC) to challenge Nancy Pelosi

[Tender Branson]

Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina said today that he will challenge outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she follows through with her plans run for House minority leader in the next Congress. “If she doesn’t step aside, then I will challenge her,” said Shuler on CNN’s "State of the Union" program.

Shuler indicated that Pelosi, whose unpopularity Republican candidates exploited in numerous television commercials that ran in dozens of midterm election campaigns, would continue to be a burden for Democrats who hope to regroup following their loss of the House on November 2. Re-electing Pelosi was “unacceptable for our party, for moving our party forward,” said Shuler. “We’re going to have to go in a more moderate direction.”

Shuler said that either one of Pelosi’s chief lieutenants, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland or Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who are going to continue as the number two and three Democratic leaders in the House, respectively, would be better alternatives as Minority Leader than Pelosi. The conservative North Carolina congressman acknowledged, “I don't have the numbers to be able to win,” but he added that he will run to send a message "that we're a big tent party.”

On the same program, Clyburn downplayed the angst that some Democrats have over the party’s upcoming elections for the party’s top jobs in the House in the next Congress. “Much too much noise is being made about the leadership team,” said Clyburn, who predicted Pelosi was unlikely to be deterred. “I think we all know that she will run,” said Clyburn. And he added that Shuler “will not have the votes to be successful.”

http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/shuler-prepared-to-mount-symbolic-challenge-to-pelosi-20101114

[tmthforu94]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

[rbt48]

Could Shuler bolt parties if (when) Pelosi wins?  Could he win re-election as a Republican in that district?

I think (1)  he might and (2) he could.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Could Shuler bolt parties if (when) Pelosi wins?  Could he win re-election as a Republican in that district?

I think (1)  he might and (2) he could.

He is so dumb, he might try it. Parker Griffith will need some company after all.

[Skill and Chance]

He basically needs to do this in order to have any chance of winning the R+10 district that NC legislature will be drawing for him next year.

[Meeker]

Haha, that's rich.

[Keystone Phil]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

[Guderian]

This will go about as well as his NFL career, but hopefully it can produce some "Split among the Democrats" headlines.

[Torie]

Well, he will round up about 30 votes maybe. Maybe the disaffected 30 should say that they will all become Pubbies, unless he is elected Minority Leader or something. That would make things interesting.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

Very few people know or care about her now.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

Very few people know or care about her now.

That.
Like Bush these years, Obama was the main factor for the Republican landslide.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

Very few people know or care about her now.

That.
Like Bush these years, Obama was the main factor for the Republican landslide.

Not even that really. He was far more popular than Bush was in any year his party lost.

[Keystone Phil]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

Very few people know or care about her now.

But her actions as Speaker helped the GOP.

[Landslide Lyndon]

Best wishes to Pelosi. She has a proven record of creating jobs for Republican lawmakers, and deserves to stay on as the Democratic leader in the House.

You mean like the jobs she created in 2006 and 2008?

Very few people knew or cared about her then. Bush created those jobs for the Dems. After four years of her in control, we've more than made up for those losses. 

Very few people know or care about her now.

But her actions as Speaker helped the GOP.

If by that you mean that she successfully passed a big part of the Democrat's agenda on which they campaigned in 2008, then she is guilty as charged.

[Keystone Phil]

If by that you mean that she successfully passed a big part of the Democrat's agenda on which they campaigned in 2008, then she is guilty as charged.

That was unpopular with the public and helped lead to massive Republican gains, yes.

Please, let's spare each other of the talking points. The topic is Pelosi as an electoral liability.

[Sbane]

Well, he will round up about 30 votes maybe. Maybe the disaffected 30 should say that they will all become Pubbies, unless he is elected Minority Leader or something. That would make things interesting.

Making a guy in a R+10 district the leader for the Democrats would be a disaster in the making. If there are actually 30 members who would vote for him, rather than someone else other than Pelosi, then they deserve to switch to the pubbies and then get primaried.

 Rather the job should be handed off to Chris Van Hollen or someone else. I guess Pelosi really doesn't like Hoyer, which is why she is not stepping aside. She should though, being a San Francisco librul and all.

[MASHED POTATOES. VOTE!]

Translation: Please, re-elect me in 2012.

[Torie]

Von Hollen ain't running.  Shuler is. So, that is your choice. Maybe the disaffected could write in Murkowski's name or something, assuming they can spell it correctly, in non cursive handwriting.

[Хahar 🤔]

Do not want

[Landslide Lyndon]

If by that you mean that she successfully passed a big part of the Democrat's agenda on which they campaigned in 2008, then she is guilty as charged.

That was unpopular with the public and helped lead to massive Republican gains, yes.

Please, let's spare each other of the talking points. The topic is Pelosi as an electoral liability.

The agenda wasn't unpopular per se. It just became a proxy for voters to express their frustrations about the economy. How can the same agenda be popular two years ago and now it's not?

And I dispute the fact that Pelosi is a liability. We heard the same drivel in '06 and '08.
She, like all Democrats, are unpopular because of the economy, not because she is a "San Francisco Librul!".

[Sbane]

Von Hollen ain't running.  Shuler is. So, that is your choice. Maybe the disaffected could write in Murkowski's name or something, assuming they can spell it correctly, in non cursive handwriting.

Actually that is Pelosi's choice to replace her, and if Steny played along, I bet that is what would have happened. Pelosi is staying on to screw Hoyer, and not in the good sense.

[Keystone Phil]

If by that you mean that she successfully passed a big part of the Democrat's agenda on which they campaigned in 2008, then she is guilty as charged.

That was unpopular with the public and helped lead to massive Republican gains, yes.

Please, let's spare each other of the talking points. The topic is Pelosi as an electoral liability.

The agenda wasn't unpopular per se.

Are you serious?

You must be logged in to read this quote.

How could a war in Iraq be popular in 2003 then incredibly unpopular in 2005? People can change their minds.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

She wasn't in the spotlight as much in 2006 and 2008. Now she is.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

If Phil's referring to health care reform, it's not exactly unpopular. It's at about 50/50 in the polls now. The biggest problem was that the teabaggers enraged really showed up and Obama's supporters were kind of squishy in turnout. But anyone who really cared about Pelosi was never voting Democratic anyway.

The amusing thing is that Phil is no doubt benefiting from it now just as almost everyone under 26 is.

[Keystone Phil]

If Phil's referring to health care reform, it's not exactly unpopular. It's at about 50/50 in the polls now.

50/50? I doubt that.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Then she helped the GOP.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

That doesn't mean that I necessarily agree with it. I also don't necessarily disagree with every part of the bill but that doesn't mean I supported its passage.

[Landslide Lyndon]

If Phil's referring to health care reform, it's not exactly unpopular. It's at about 50/50 in the polls now.

50/50? I doubt that.

The CNN poll showed 47/48 split between the "retain and expand" and "repeal" options.