I’m not an unreserved supporter of Nancy Pelosi, but I think she was the best Speaker of the House in my lifetime. If she wants to stay on as Minority Leader then I will definitely support her. I think her biggest mistake was forcing her caucus to vote on Cap & Trade when it had zero chance of passing the Senate. But I’ll take mistakes in that direction over the kinds of mistakes that Harry Reid tends to make.
I don’t think Harry Reid should stay on as Majority Leader. For starters, he just found out how bad a fit the job is for someone representing Nevada. He should be free to vote in a way that doesn’t imperil his career. He has completely failed to attract support from across the aisle, so I don’t see any upside to him being the leader. Either Chuck Schumer or Dick Durbin should take over the job. They both have downsides, but they both have real strengths. We’re entering a period of pitched combat and we need someone who is from a safe seat and who really understands the Senate rules, and who can strike fear into Republicans. Schumer is chairman of the Rules Committee and he’s sharp as a tack and perfectly capable of being ruthless. I have to give him the nod over Durbin. But I’d actually vote for Durbin because he’s the one member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate that I don’t feel is a total phony. I’ll be happy with either one of them because they are better suited to fight the foolishness of Mitch McConnell than is Harry Reid.
If Pelosi does step down, I’ll support John Larson. I will not support Steny Hoyer. Having just lost half his support, I don’t think I have to worry about Hoyer.
I wholeheartedly support Pelosi for minority leader, though I think her biggest mistake was not holding Republicans accountable when Democrats took the House in 2006. If they had done so, including impeaching Bush or not, I don’t think that Americans would have put them back in power so quickly.
As for Reid, I think he should graciously step aside. Schumer’s support for Israeli policy is too unquestioning and wasn’t Durbin hesitant about Elizabeth Warren? Of the two, I’d have to go with Shumer because I think he has more energy.
The only two Democratic Senators who didn’t unquestioningly support Israel were Feingold and Sanders. And Feingold isn’t going to be around any more.
Exactly, any senator who can be majority leader is going to be a tool of AIPAC. When there are no options then you just have to move on to others. That said, is there anyone saying Reid will step down?
I don’t think there’s any difference between Schumer, Durbin, or Reid on Israel. It’s easy to make the connection with Schumer since he’s both Jewish and someone who represents the Jewish community in New York. But that’s simplistic. Naturally, Schumer is inclined to be very supportive of Israel even when they do something that should properly be criticized. But Durbin isn’t any different. He is a regular speaker at the annual AIPAC conference. I don’t think Reid is any different.
If you have a problem with the Democratic Party’s position on Israel’s settlement policy, that problem should probably run a lot deeper than picking on Schumer. Schumer has a better excuse than most Democrats. His constituents include some of the most right-wing Israel supporters in the country. I don’t think Schumer will be better or worse concerning settlement policy than any other conceivable leader.
6 years is a long way away and next time Reid runs it will be during a presidential year (2016) with someone like Hilary likely on top of the ticket, and demographic trends are making Nevada a true purple state. Also, who says he wants to run for another term in 2016? I think the new Reid will be better than the old Reid. However, I’d be fine with Durbin or Schumer taking over for the reasons you state.
Also, who says this isn’t just an academic issue? Reid probably isn’t going anywhere.
Reid will be 77 in 2016. I think he will retire. Democrats better step up recruiting and training their farm team or there will be a vacuum of good candidates.
Do you think someone like HRC will generate any enthusiasm at all in 2016? That’s… I mean I know we can’t see that far into the future but wow.
She will be 68 then. That’s too old.
Better start looking to our farm team. Here are some names:
Sheldon Whitehouse
Sherrod Brown
Marie Cantwell
Kirsten Gillibrand (maybe)
I can’t think of any others young enough who are in the Senate. And I can’t think of any governor who right now has proven himself to be of national stature. Although Andrew Cuomo might turn out to be one.
The Democratic Party in Congress is aging out now and we do not have good folks ready to move up into the Congress yet. This will be a big job between now and 2016.
Was the state lege swings and the redistricting implications. The GOP will largely draw the next map. Taking those gerrymandered R+ PVI seats will require more, and more conservative, Blue Dogs.
Unpacking current Democratic seats is a must do longer term project for pushing the House left. Increase the size of the House, support non-partisan redistricting initiatives (like Florida) and even litigating an end to minority-majority seats.
That was what really hurt this time, and that’s why someone like Kaine needs to be fired.
Democratic voters have a bad habit of not paying attention to downticket races or of undervoting them. It takes more than a DNC chair to change that.
And yes, Kaine should be fired. I understand that Tom Perriello will be available. That will keep the Virginia bunch happy. And he did a passable job of pushing progressive thinking and action in his district, losing by 9000 votes in a tough district in a tough year. A return of Howard Dean would be another option.
you should run with this Tom Periello idea. Please post something on Kos or start a petition. Kaine is an alright guy so he should get an Ambassadorship or govt post, but he’s no party builder.
Since when do members of the House listen to dKos or other folks in the Democratic part of the left blogosphere? They tolerate our petitions and assume we are there to use as an ATM and as volunteers.
They might listen to Markos or Booman, but a diary and a petition on dKos from just this ordinary guy. NBL.
Oh poo. I’m ordinary and people listen to me. I don’t know about VIP’s, but they sure will hear from me.
I think you’re brilliant and perceptive, so I listen to you. Who knows what that might have started – flapping butterfly wings and storms….
I wholeheartedly support Pelosi. As for Reid, I’d like to see him step down. Schumer would make for a much more decisive leader.
Schumer has a meet the press every Sunday and he could get his point accross very well.
I’m a fan of Pelosi but neither Pelosi or Reid are charasmatic communicators and I am convinced that the Rep/Corp’s outmessaged the Dems 100 to 1 this cycle so leadership that can message and hold the attention of Americans will be critical.
And whoever named the “Stimulus” Bill needs to be sent to Mars. If it had been named “The American Jobs Bill” we all could have had an easier sell.
It was called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Why Democrats didn’t call a “recovery and reinvestment” bill and just picked up the media’s shorthand is a mystery to me. Obama tried to resurrect this but too little and too late. It got conflated with TARP although every project using the funds had a sign that it was from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds.
Yes, and yet neither label tells the people that it is a jobs bill and a tax reduction. Remember the Clean Skies, Healthy Forests? If people in this country don’t bother to read beyond labels you have to give them feel good labels or they won’t ever get it.
Yeah, but the Republican Congressional leadership isn’t exactly full of charismatic message drivers. Pelosi is more charismatic than Boehner and McConnell combined and Reid isn’t really worse than McConnell in that department.
What creamed Democrats is that they didn’t have a message. Republicans have a message: “Obama is ruining America” and they repeat it over and over and over again. Democrats as a party weren’t able to convincingly come up with a message. Mostly because any message that would differentiate them from Republicans was shot down by Blue Dog types afraid of looking too different from Republicans.
And really, that’s where Reid shined this cycle. He didn’t seem to be afraid to campaign as a Democrat – it was all “here’s what I’ve already done for Nevada and what I’m going to do for Nevada” mixed with “my opponent is a loon who won’t help the state”. That’s the message that every damn Democrat should have been hammering over and over and over again. But too many of them wouldn’t because they were too scared of looking like they really think government can help people instead of acting like Republicans.
By the way, we here in Washington did our job: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/127817-sen-murray-wins-fourth-term-seattle-times-ca
lls-race
Congrats. I believe that seals it up at 53D – 47R. Any guesses which 7 Republicans will work across the aisle in good faith?
Assuming this isn’t a joke, the Dems can probably work with the following on some issues:
Murkowski
Collins
Snowe
Lugar
Graham
Kirk
Ayotte
Brown
Longer shots:
Corker
Hutchison
The problem is that they are all more afraid of losing a primary than a general election.
Oh, and John Hoeven from North Dakota might not be so bad. I don’t know that much about him but I’ve heard he isn’t a total ideologue. Dan Coats from Indiana is a little more old school than the current crop of teabaggers. I’d but him in the Corker category, and he’ll probably listen to Lugar on foreign policy.
Agreed on Coats- establishment dude through and through sn. What about Grassley- he’s a stubborn dude, but I put him in the long-shot but not impossible category. Hell maybe even McCain could come back in the fold now that he doesn’t have to face reelection for 6 years. Basically I’d say anyone is gettable who is not:
So number 4 means class of 2014 and class of 2016. Murkowski and Hoeven fall into that class. As does Susan Collins.
The actions of Johans once he reached the Senate are not auspicious for Hoeven being as open as he was as governor to working with Democrats.
And they will stand up to either McConnell or DeMint?
A lot of the Dem Senators often speak highly of Johnny Isakson of Georgia. Seems a little less flaky than Graham too.
Schumer, Durbin or anyone that you can actually hear when they speak.
Hoyer is a thug. He will also have us bombing Iran before next year is out. He is a Likud tool.
I’m not inclined to support Schumer so much for his politics, but the guy has brass balls and knows how to make noise. Of all the Democrats, he is the one most capable of getting in the GOP’s face and shouting them down. We don’t need civilized statesmen at the moment… we need ass-kickers.
Not a fan of Tip O’Neill?