House Democrats elect Nancy Pelosi as leader

Pictured:  Syndication One News-Talk Network's Operations' Manager Kirk Tanter and New House Minority Leader California Representative Nancy Pelosi at the US Capitol in Washington DC

story by the Hill
written by Mike Lillis and Russell Berman
photo by Ellen Ratner at US Capitol

Despite the party's drubbing in the midterm elections, Speaker Nancy Pelosi will remain the Democratic leader in the next Congress.

Members of the caucus voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to make Pelosi minority leader, brushing aside a challenge by Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.), a Blue Dog Democrat who says Pelosi's controversial public image and low approval ratings are a liability to Democrats looking ahead to 2012.

The tally was 150-43.

During Wednesday's proceedings, Pelosi was nominated by Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.), while Rep. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), another Blue Dog leader, officially made Shuler a contender.

During his nominating speech, Doyle trumpeted Pelosi's fundraising prowess, noting she used most of the money to support other members even as conservative groups were spending millions of dollars attacking her.

"She wouldn't spend it for herself because she was spending it for us," Doyle said, according to an aide in the room. "How can we fold on her when she's not folding on us?"

GOP leaders were quick to criticize Democrats for re-electing Pelosi, accusing the party of being tone-deaf to the message sent by voters in the midterms.

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele issued a statement saying Democrats "chose to ignore the elections" and empower leaders who will continue "the same reckless, job-killing agenda that was just overwhelmingly rejected."

Earlier in the day, House Democrats rejected a proposal to delay caucus leadership elections until December. Behind Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), some Democrats lobbied to push the vote to Dec. 8, arguing that members needed more time to digest the reasons behind their trouncing in the midterm elections.

“Considering these disturbing exit polls, we believe we should not rush to elect a leadership slate next week, but rather spend more time to understand these historic losses," DeFazio and Kaptur wrote to colleagues last week.

"Before we chart a new path forward, we need to understand where we erred to avoid repeating past mistakes.”

The vote to delay the election — among the first items under debate Wednesday as the full caucus huddled in the Cannon office building — was defeated 129-68, according to Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.).

That led to the first leadership election of the day, in which Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) won reelection as House Democratic caucus chairman in a vote by acclamation.

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), who was running uncontested for minority whip, and Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), for whom Pelosi carved out a new "assistant leader" post last week, were also elected by acclamation, later in the afternoon.

Assuming Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-Calif.) retains his spot beneath Larson as caucus vice chairman, the Democrats will keep the same five leaders in the next Congress — in the same order of seniority.

Democrats delayed votes on several amendments to caucus rules that would, in essence, repeal the leader's ability to make unilateral appointments to some posts, including chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

Proposed by members of the Blue Dogs, the changes are designed to de-centralize power by allowing lawmakers outside of the Speaker's inner-circle to vie for those positions.

Those votes are now scheduled for Thursday.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) predicted well before the afternoon vote that Pelosi would win the minority leader spot by a "substantial" margin.

"It'll be Pelosi," Cummings said. "I expect you'll have a headline that says Pelosi elected Speaker — I mean, leader."

Pelosi supporters were wondering why the two-term Shuler — who voted against many of the Democrats' top legislative priorities, including healthcare reform — was qualified for the position.

"The accomplishments of the last two years have been achieved without Heath's vote," Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) told reporters. "And now he wants to be leader?"

Shuler said he never expected to win the contest, but simply wanted to remind Democratic leaders that moderates, despite diminished numbers, still deserve a "seat at the table."

"It wasn't about winning the race," Shuler told reporters afterward. "It was about having a voice in our caucus."

Appearing with Reps. Jim Matheson (D-Utah), Mike Ross (D-Ark.) and Larry Kissell (D-N.C.), Shuler said "there was a lot of unrest in the room" surrounding the votes.

Matheson, Ross and Kissell all said they would remain Democrats, but would vote for Shuler for leader on the House floor.

Some senior Democrats say that all the hype — not to mention controversy — over the leadership races is irrelevant outside the Washington Beltway, where voters care more about policy than intra-party popularity contests.

"Who the minority leader is or isn't — or who the whip is or isn't — is very much a Washington-insider issue," Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Finance Committee, said. "The general public cares about public policy, not personality."

Asked if Pelosi's abysmal approval ratings among independents pose a problem for the party looking ahead to 2012, Frank said they don't "because she's not running for president."

"You people are focused on this, the voters aren't," he said, referring to the media. "The general public is much more focused on substance."

Frank asserted that Pelosi had "virtually nothing" to do with the poor election outcome for Democrats.

"Going forward," he said, "we will be judged on what the public policies are."