That's not entirely true. (0.00 / 0)

Gene Taylor voted for Murtha instead of Pelosi for years.  It had the effect of an abstention, but it wasn't technically an abstention.

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by: ajwagner @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:33:59 PM CDT

The point is (4.00 / 3)

That it means we need 219 instead of 218. Even if Griffith votes for another Democrat in a write-in, we need an extra vote to control Congress now.

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by: Chris Bowers @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:38:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Well, if we lose 38 seats (0.00 / 0)

which would bring us to 219, I find it highly unlikely Pelosi would stay on as Speaker anyway, or that the caucus would let her. That would be a massive loss.

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by: DTOzone @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:30:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Numerous Republicans (0.00 / 0)

voted against Gingrich...Linda Smith for example, Jim Leach, Connie Morella, even some real conservative guys like John Hostettler and Frank Wolf. Many thought Gene Taylor would abstain from voting for her in the 110th Congress, but he voted for her anyway. A mighty cheer erupted on the Democratic side when he did.

So it's not particularly surprising that a Speaker would lose some support after a term or two.

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by: DTOzone @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:09:36 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes (4.00 / 3)

After he was reprimanded for ethics violations and fined $300,000 for lying under oath.  When Pelosi is in that much trouble, we can reexamine whether it is understandable that some Democrats might not support her for the formal vote for Speaker.

It wasn't some routine affair, it was big national news that Republicans broke with Gingrich like that.

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by: Daniel De Groot @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:08:07 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

i know alabama (0.00 / 0)

plays football but are they still a state or still a member of the confederacy, inquiring minds want to know.

ps - if i have a vote i choose the latter.

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by: pc @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:36:05 PM CDT

Who was running the DCCC (4.00 / 5)

when Parker Griffith was given over $1,000,000?

The DCCC chair who presided over that decision would be another individual who deserves scrutiny.

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by: Mark Wallace @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:40:16 PM CDT

Ah (4.00 / 4)

Another one of Rahm's golden boys

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by: Helzapoppin @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 16:53:39 PM CDT

Actually... (4.00 / 4)

At that price tag, I think he's platinum.

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:52:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Isn't he technically .. (4.00 / 1)

Chris Van Hollen and Debbie Wasserman Schultz's cross to bare now?

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:21:30 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

How is Speaker choosen? (0.00 / 0)

Voting for Speaker is the first vote of every Congress, and only two choices are offered: a Democrat and a Republican.

I always assumed each caucus voted for who the would run for Speaker.  Is that not true?  

Assuming I'm right and he is talking about a "primary" type vote, it seems you are making too much of this.

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by: Mark Matson @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:12:38 PM CDT

There is a primary and a general (4.00 / 1)

The caucus votes, but then the House votes for the candidates that emerged from each party.

And he said he wouldn't vote for her. Given that she will almost certainly be the "nominee" for Speaker again in 2011, that means we need 219 to be certain.

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by: Chris Bowers @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:26:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

No the House as a whole votes for Speaker (0.00 / 0)

Because the title is Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Then the conferences vote for their Leader...the Minoruty Leader is voted for by the party in the minority and they elect the other party positions like Deputy and Whip/

The Majority party does the same.  Steny Hoyer is Majority Leader.. Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House

"Incrementalism isn't a different path to the same place, it could be a different path to a different place"
Stoller

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by: debcoop @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:27:49 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Pre-agreement (0.00 / 0)

Sure, technically.  But the caucus needs to agree on who they will all vote for first, otherwise you could end up with anyone.  It is the vote that initial consensus that I'm thinking Griffith could be talking about.

But Chris could certainly be correct.

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by: Mark Matson @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:19:45 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

If the the the DCCC spent $1,076,370 electing the guy. (0.00 / 0)

Are you knocking Rahm's strategy of electing more Democrats, even when they suck?    Tester is one that really irks me.    Never again.    

They're asking for another four years -- in a just world, they'd get 10 to 20. ~~ Dennis Kucinich  

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by: dkmich @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:21:39 PM CDT

Tester was supposedly one of "ours" (4.00 / 1)

He was not one of Schumer's nor Rahm's boys... he was a netroots candidate that defeated a washington-appointed and approved DLC'er in the primary...

He was supposed to be an outsider... HA!

We have no one to blame but ourselves...

REID: Voting against us was never part of our arrangement!
SPECTER: I am altering the deal! Pray I don't alter it any further!
REID: This deal keeps getting worse all the time!

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by: lord_mike @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 19:53:16 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Parker Griffith (0.00 / 0)

was elected in a district that was already Democratic.  

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by: DTOzone @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 20:16:56 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

What were Obama's numbers in that district? .. (0.00 / 0)

anyone know?

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by: Calvin Jones and the 13th Apostle @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 21:54:52 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Terrible (4.00 / 1)

McCain won 61%-38%, which was worse than Kerry's 39% and Gore's 44%.  

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by: DTOzone @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 22:43:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

This is why I don't give to the DCCC or the DSCC (0.00 / 0)

I contributed to candidates I liked directly during the last election. It is such a waste of money.

I'm actually a little proud of Nancy Pelosi lately(a weird feeling) and I think she has been mostly horrible since 2006(not ending the war, FISA, backing down) but I think we need to reward good behavior and she is standing up to the WH and the Senate and if I was in the Congress I would take notice of that. Shame on Parker Griffith for that and everything you listed via voting against the stimulus, the budget, the climate change bill, and cramdown.

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by: priceman @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:29:10 PM CDT

Why Do You Hate The White Working Class, Chris? (4.00 / 3)

I'm-a-gonna tell Michael Lind on You!

(At least in sTiVo's mind!)

Are we post-modern enough yet?

"You know what they say -- those of us who fail history... doomed to repeat it in summer school." -- Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Season 6, Episode 3

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by: Paul Rosenberg @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 17:50:55 PM CDT

Nancy Pelosi stopped privatization of Social Security (4.00 / 7)

It was of course horribly divisive of her not to come forward with a Democratic plan to, well, do something.  Many Democrats told her it was the Serious thing to do, but she refused.

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by: Taylor @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:06:40 PM CDT

BTW they can vote for whoever they want (4.00 / 2)

I mentioned earlier Republicans who did not vote for Gingrich in 1997, they voted for others, like Jim Leach for example, Linda Smith voted for someone named Walker.

You can also vote Present, which is probably what Griffith would do.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/199...

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by: DTOzone @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 18:12:10 PM CDT

Got a fundraising call from the DCCC tonight (4.00 / 3)

and I asked if their fundraising campaign was supporting the public option. What the phone rep was able to tell me was that there was "an emergency fund" being created to push for health care reform. When I asked if that included a public option, he wouldn't say so. I told him that I was sending money to DFA rather than DCCC because of their stand for the public option.  

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by: jeffbinnc @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 22:33:29 PM CDT

He is doing this because of Pelosi's poll numbers (0.00 / 0)

Does not appear that Obama will pass cap and trade and health reform. Appears that Reed will have a close race in 2010.  If Obama, Pelosi and Reed only deliver the Stimulus bill, want it be time to clean house?

Mace

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by: Mace @ Tue Aug 25, 2009 at 22:45:46 PM CDT

This illustrates one advantage of Blue Dogs over progressives (0.00 / 0)

If the margin in the House becomes small enough, Blue Dogs can credibly threaten that if they don't get their way, they can cut a deal to throw control of the House to Republicans.  And they seem to be for the most part safe in their districts so that they don't fear blowback from voters.  Other Democrats need to be wary of not building up too much ill-will in times of larger majorities so that lingering resentment doesn't build up and become a bigger threat in times of smaller majorities.

Progressives can't make that sort of threat believable, so, if their numbers were equal, Blue Dogs would always have more power than the Progressive Caucus, since they are closer to the chamber's center and democracy privileges the view of the median voter.

The Blue Dogs are the true third party in American politics.

Things You Don't Talk About in Polite Company: Religion, Politics, the Occasional Intersection of Both

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by: Anthony de Jesus @ Wed Aug 26, 2009 at 11:13:44 AM CDT