Oh, come on, Nancy Pelosi! Surely you can come up with a better name for Jim Clyburn’s new made-up consolation “job” than “assistant leader.”
How about “Once and Future Whip?” Or “Whip Wannabe?” Or “Mister Congeniality?”
Come on, readers! Y’all can suggest something better. Give it a try.
I especially like the naked Machiavellianism in this statement from her soon-to-be-ex-speakership:
“Should I receive the privilege of serving as House Democratic leader, I will be very honored to nominate our outstanding colleague, Congressman Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, to serve in the number three House Democratic position,” Pelosi said, adding that the new post would be called assistant leader…
“Should I receive the privilege of…” In other words, Jim, if you want this nice consolation prize, or if you ever want any real power in the future, we know whom you’re going to support for minority leader, don’t we? That is, on the off chance that anyone will dare to oppose me…
And if there’s anybody else whose loyalty she really needs to buy, she can promise to back them for the “number four,” “number five” and “number six House Democratic positions.” All of which are as ephemeral as the one she’s promising Clyburn. What an unlimited resource!
My, my, the silly, self-centered, utterly meaningless little ego games these people play. One “veteran House Democrat” was quoted as describing the situation this way on Politico: “You have a bunch of senior citizens at the buffet at closing time, fighting over the last piece of meat….” Indeed.
I’m embarrassed for Jim Clyburn, since he’s from SC. I wonder if he’s embarrassed for himself?
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45111.html#ixzz15MwVVcOv
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Easy election calls for me of the past 20 years:
Sanford over Hodges – 2002 (This one was personal, one of the very few Republicans I ever voted for)
Kerry over Bush, Jr. – 2004 (Worst ever president against a decent, decorated war veteran)
Sheheen over Haley – 2010 (Lunatic tea partier against a very good and descent man)
Rob Miller over “You Lie” – 2010 (Joe Wilson is a creepy, blowhard obstructionist)
Barack Obama over John McCain – 2008 (Had the McCain of 2000 run instead of the opportunist of 2008 this would not have made the list. With the “Mamma Grizzly” his number 2 this was an easy call)
Pelosi’s no dummy. She knows that if she can hang onto the minority leader post, she might very well catapult back into the Speaker’s chair in two years’ time. As volatile as the electorate has become over the last 6 years or so, it’s not at all implausible to think that with an improving economy, a drawdown in Afghanistan, and Obama at the top of the ticket running against—whom, really?—the Democrats could retake the House in 2012. After all, the majority that the GOP will hold in the House is smaller than the margin the Democrats’ just lost.
I would rather see somebody other than Pelosi as minority leader, but one wishes somebody other than Heath Shuler would stand for the post. Shuler voted opposite of the President on most of the most crucial issues of the last Congress (health care reform, stimulus, Wall Street regulations), and as I have mentioned elsewhere, if that is the philosophy the minority leader takes, well we could just save taxpayer money and have John Boehner serve simultaneously as both Speaker AND minority leader.
@Phillip
Let’s not forget that the actual campaigning for 2012 will begin in approximately 10-12 months. The election may be two years away but the jockeying for position will begin much sooner.
We’ll see how the next year goes. If unemployment is still 9-10% and we’re still in the Afghanistan quagmire and healthcare costs don’t start showing positive impact from Obamacare and Obama doesn’t agree to the Bush tax cuts and Democrats have to bite the bullet on Social Security by raising the retirement age AND raising the cap on contributions… if all that is going well, then Obama has a 52-48 shot at winning re-election.
I’d say the chances of Pelosi regaining the majority leader slot in two years are slim at best.
While Brad rants and raves about the pettiness of Washington real issues go unaddressed. Take the deficti reduction committee for example. Damn thing was nothing but a gigantic transfer payment from the middle class to the wealthy. It’s time for real change in Washington and the title of the leadership positions is hardly worth one drop of cyber ink discussing. Let’s discuss some real issues here and quit with this constant yaking about bipartisanship. If you’re a Democrat it’s time to get more partisan not less.
Wimp, maybe?
Nothing against Clyburn, but sometimes it’s better to just pick up one’s marbles and leave the game.
I would think that the democrats might have takent the opportunity to retool their leadership. Somehow keeping Pelosi seems like the surest way to continue to flounder.
I heard Heath Shuler on Morning Joe this AM and have to give him credit for speaking up and saying the reason for our current messed up system is the partisan redistricting and gerrymandering that goes on to end up with safe seats.
Every state should do like California and set up a special commission, 1/3 Dem, 1/3 Rep, 1/3 independent to take the redistricting job away from the legislature and complete it based on population and geography.
Clyburn embarrassed? Not unless he’s paid to be or promised to have his name put on something. He’s just upset that he’s going to lose his car and driver.
Actually, Doug, it’s a lot worse than you say. The SC primary itself is only 14 months away. The campaigning has begun already, but it will become fairly obvious and public starting early in the New Year.
Almost immediately after the 2002 election (when Mark Sanford was elected) — I mean, like a week or two later — Howard Dean contacted us wanting to come in and talk about his candidacy in the 2004 Democratic primary. I was like “Howard Who?” and “He wants to talk to us about WHAT?” But I agreed to the meeting. (I used to say yes to a lot of meetings I would have said no to later, as our staff shrank.)
If you go back on my old blog, you’ll see that we started getting into full swing on the 2008 presidential election in late spring of 2007, about the time of the GOP debate here on May 15.
My first interview with Barack Obama was conducted via cell phone in June 2007 (we didn’t get far, as we had connection trouble). As the summer wore on, I wrote more and more about the campaign. The John Edwards column that everyone remembers appeared in early August 2007 — and it really only appeared that late because I had put off writing it for months. It had started with something I had written on the blog on Feb. 8, 2007.
Bottom line, we’re about to get full-tilt into the 2012 election here in SC…
It’s pretty neat to go back in the time machine to that post of yours about the truncated cellphone interview with Obama…but the most poignant thing about it is the first comment, by Paul DeMarco, in which he mentions that the single-payer idea is (at that time) rating high in public opinion polls, and he laments candidate Obama’s abandonment of that idea for “market-based” reform. He was right, of course, in his characterization of Obama’s health-care reform ideas as more centrist. One economic crisis brought on in the waning days of the Bush Administration (and the accompanying demagoguery and outright lies of the radical right) later, and here we are, hearing about the “government takeover” (!) of health care “shoved down our throats.”
I predict that one of the more amusing things about the 2012 elections will be the absolute contrast between the dead silence of 2010 Democrats on health care reform and the loud-and-proud ownership-taking of said reform by 2012 Democrats as more and more Americans see and feel the positive effects.
BTW, a la Ashley Cooper, doesn’t Heath Shuler sound like Columbia/Irmo aristocracy?
What about “Bone Tossed to Black Caucus to Keep Them Happy”.
Whip Emeritus.
How about “Kitten With A Whip“?