House Democrats re-elect Pelosi as leader despite discontent

[webfact]

House Democrats re-elect Pelosi as leader despite discontent

By ERICA WERNER

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats re-elected Nancy Pelosi as their leader Wednesday, ratifying the status quo in a changing Washington despite widespread frustration over the party's direction.

 

That disenchantment manifested itself in 63 lawmakers supporting Pelosi's opponent, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, in the secret-ballot vote. That was by far the largest defection Pelosi has suffered since she began leading House Democrats in 2002.

 

Still, the California lawmaker had declared ahead of time that more than two-thirds of the caucus was supporting her, and she won almost exactly two-thirds with 134 votes. It was a testament to her vote-counting skills and to her ability to hang onto power even in dark days for Democrats, as they confront a capital that will be fully controlled by the GOP next year.

 

"I have a special spring in my step today because this opportunity is a special one, to lead the House Democrats, bring everyone together as we go forward," Pelosi said after the vote, appearing elated in her victory.

 

She disputed the suggestion that she might be concerned about the defections she suffered. "They weren't defections, I had two-thirds of the vote," Pelosi said, repeating "two-thirds, two-thirds" to a group of assembled reporters.

 

And she insisted Democrats would rebound. "We know how to win elections. We've done it in the past, we will do it again."

 

Supporters said the 76-year-old Pelosi was their best bet to confront a President Donald Trump from the minority after Democrats picked up only a half-dozen seats in the House, far fewer than anticipated and well below Pelosi's predictions. Republicans are on track to hold at least 240 seats in the House next year, while Democrats will have 194.

 

"We need someone who is battle-tested," Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan told fellow Democrats in nominating Pelosi. "We need our leader to be seasoned, tough."

 

For their part, Ryan and his backers insisted that they had won a victory in sending a message to Pelosi about the significant desire for change among House Democrats.

 

"Somebody had to do something," said Ryan, a seven-term lawmaker who before now had been largely a back-bencher. "Our prospects have improved just because of this conversation."

 

Yet Democrats' marginalized status was evident as Ryan struggled to answer a question about who would lead the party forward, before concluding: "We're all going to participate in leading the party."

 

Leadership elections were originally scheduled to be held before Thanksgiving but were delayed to give Democrats more time to consider a path forward. Lawmakers expressed frustration over a range of issues, including stagnant leadership in their caucus, and Democrats' failures to connect with white working class voters.

 

"I'm very concerned we just signed the Democratic party's death certificate ... unless we change what we are talking about, which is really the working man and woman's agenda," said Rep. Kurt Schrader of Oregon.

 

Pelosi has earned respect and loyalty from many Democrats over the years, including as a powerhouse fundraiser, raising over $140 million for Democrats in the 2016 cycle, and as a skilled legislative tactician. As speaker in 2009 she steered Obama's health care law through the House and also pushed through a divisive bill to cap carbon emissions, but Democrats suffered massive losses in midterm elections the next year and lost their majority.

 

Pelosi's victory Wednesday came only after she promised some changes to assuage concerns in her caucus, including adding a member of the freshmen class to her leadership team and creating a handful of other titled positions. But her proposals do little to ensure new blood at the very top or change the seniority system that has key committees led by lawmakers in their 80s at a moment when the party needs to be defending the health care law and other initiatives dear to Democrats.

 

Some House Democrats did not hide their disappointment at the outcome.

 

"It is obvious the current strategy doesn't work," said Rep. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona. "Millions of Americans don't feel that our party represents them anymore and they've said so, loudly, in multiple elections."

 

Pelosi's top two lieutenants who've served by her side for years were also re-elected Wednesday, both by acclimation. Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, 77, will continue to serve as Democratic whip, and South Carolina Rep. Jim Clyburn, 76, will continue in the No. 3 spot as assistant leader.

 

Rep. Joe Crowley of New York became conference chairman, a term-limited post vacated by Rep. Xavier Becerra of California. The position of conference vice chairman was hotly contested between two Californians, Linda Sanchez and Barbara Lee. Sanchez prevailed narrowly with 98 votes to 96 for Lee, becoming the first minority woman in leadership.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.

 

-- © Associated Press 2016-12-01

[Pimay1]

They never learn.

[impulse]

I don't follow politics that closely any more, but I still have to choke back a little bit of vomit every time I see her on a podium surrounded by those smiling barracudas. 

 

She's not the only one, of course.  Just the most often.

[geriatrickid]

12 minutes ago, Pimay1 said:

They never learn.

 

They do.  I thought she should go and that the Dems needed new blood, youth etc. We all know that Pelosi acts as a magnet for  GOP derision and  nothing unites the teaparty types like a round of Pelosi bashing. However, I am wrong. Here's why;

- Pelosi has phenomenal organizational skills and can manage her caucus. Her whips get out the vote and she's  been able to  effect alot of legislative  changes despite her ninority position.

- The Dems are in a rebuilding/restructuring phase. They need to work to 2018 when much of the  Congress comes up for election. Pelosi ha sshown she is capable of focusing her caucus.

- The Dems will need to hold the  GOP majority accountable. It will need towork with the few remaining moderate  GOP members and convince them that some proposals form the extreme members of the GOP caucus are  not  viable. She has a positive working relationship with many GOP members despite the negative image she has.

- Pelosi knows the procedural rules. This will be valuable as the Dems need to protect those who will not have a voice.

 

She will be gone after 2018.

[AgMech Cowboy]

1 hour ago, Pimay1 said:

They never learn.

 

So true. Pelosi is 85% of their problem (or more).

[elgordo38]

Yes the Dems old boys club continues unabated. Cigars and fine whiskey all around go to the cashier collect your stipend and go back to your constituents and tell them what a wonderful job your doing. Time marches on but this part of life stays the same. 

[thaibeachlovers]

Who can forget the idiot grin as she proclaimed that to know what was in the ACA they had to pass it first?

I'm happy though. With her at the helm, the Dems are doomed to defeat in 18 and 20.

Besides, she is great to hate as she wobbles on about another stupidity.

If they elected someone with sense, that would be a threat to the GOP.

Edited December 1, 2016 by thaibeachlovers

[spidermike007]

This was a recent post I placed on FB. It expresses how I feel, about how broken the Democratic party really is. Picking Pelosi was the worst move they could have made, and demonstrates to all who have an open mind how ill, terminal, and broken the DNC and the entire party is.

 

I disagree about the commonly held belief that the election was about irregularities, or Comey, or all of the other excuses I keep hearing. I think it has much more to do with reality TV, than a general lack of knowledge about the world. And when asking why Trump was elected, one must ask why the democratic party could do no better than Hillary. She ran a horrific campaign. She was too PC. She refused to talk about the issues, terrorism, immigration, the economy, or just admit the the nation has some real problems, that are in dire need of addressing. And another real issue was her foundation. Many of us consider it filthy. She just did not connect with many people, and there were alot of democrats who voted for Trump. 

OK, she did win the popular vote. But, considering who she was running against, she should have won by many millions of votes. He did address the issues. In conclusion, there is no way any reform can take place, until we as democrats admit how broken our system and our party is, and begin to take serious action. I see alot of blame game stuff going on, but not much in the way of an admission of how broken our party is, and how poor our candidate performed.

[sgtsabai]

The current Democrat Party is good at one thing and one thing only, snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory. They continue to not just ignore but shun those progressives that people will listen to and vote for. Bernie would have walked all over the orange monster. It seems they can't even understand why they lost to a racist, misogynist, bigot, homophobic, sociopath, megalomaniac, fascist. Yes, part of it was voter suppression, enough to give the fascist the win, but frankly most of it was on the DNC and the corporate blue dawg elite that have not shown the slightest sign of learning their lesson, indeed seem to be doubling down on how to lose. Progressives have been shut out of everything as though the elite blame them for the disaster to not only the Democrat Party but to America and the world.

 

https://medium.com/@stevepwrites/what-the-hell-is-wrong-with-the-house-democrats-e557a99fea01#.mpqrb9sw1