With the current Speaker of the House retiring, we’re guaranteed to get a new one. Who should it be? Who do you want it to be? Who will actually get it?
My personal favorite would be Barack Obama. He’d unite the Democrats, and raise the president’s blood pressure. But that’s not going to happen.
I think Nancy Pelosi is most likely to be the next Speaker. And I don’t have any problems with her. But I think Democrats can do better. Having lost the House majority takes the shine off her. I’d rather see someone else, simply to have fresher blood.
I didn’t see a thread on this, please close if I missed it.
Pretty much agree. Pelosi has been a very effective Speaker, and she’ll no doubt do a good job again. But at some point she has to pass the baton to the next generation. I wish she would step aside and make room for the next wave. But I think she’ll do just fine if it’s her as Speaker.
Hearing Pelosi on the radio these last couple of days sounded like someone took a microphone into a nursing home and recorded a random grandma jabbering about politics.
No more Pelosi or any of these other relics in leadership. I don’t care if the next Speaker is a moderate or a progressive, but it’s time to put the dusty fossils away. Seth Moulton or Tim Ryan would make fine Speakers. So would many in the CBC and Progressive Caucus. With over 200 house members, do not tell me there isn’t enough talent to replace the failed ancient leadership in the next Congress.
I swear the Boomers would sooner watch the country burn before finally giving over a bit of power to the next generation.
I think Pelosi is a good leader. But the Dems should obviously choose someone else.
The best argument for choosing someone else has nothing to do with her merit. There are lots of good leaders to choose from. It just makes no sense to choose the one with the most (undeserved) political baggage. You’d only do that if you thought that there were no one who could do the job just as well. I don’t think that’s true.
Although I hate to encourage the Republican strategy and lie and demonize, I think that some 15 years of non-stop mudslinging has taken its toll and Pelosi is now so caked in mud that she can hardly move. None of it is actually deserved, her main crime seems to be being an uppity older woman of the wrong party, who isn’t particularly attractive. But that doesn’t mean that it dosn’t have an effect on the Dems chances. I think they need to pick a new fresh face. Yes, as soon as they is picked the mud slinging in their direction will begin, but it will take some time to accumulate to the geologic levels of accretion surrounding Pelosi.
it also does not help her is that she is from San Fran which is one of the most liberal places in the country. The GOP would be happy to have her in the seat to run ads against her in 2020.
I don’t really get what people dislike about her. At least in Hillary’s case I know it’s “emails!” and “Benghazi”! What is Pelosi supposed to have done that’s so horrible? She seems like a nice grandmotherly type to me.
I think she may have been drunk on Election Night, though. Anyone else see that speech? It wasn’t too bad, but she was slurring words here and there and at one point shouted “Hurrah for pre-existing conditions!”. I know what she meant, but i don’t think that’s exactly what she wanted to say… Not that I blame her, I’d had quite a few myself by that point.
Anyway. Whether I understand why or not, her approval rating is -25%. That’s, like, twice as bad as Trump’s. She must go. I have no strong opinion on who should replace her and am open to hearing suggestions (disclaimer: I am not actually a voting member of the House Democratic Caucus. Suggestions are for entertainment purposes only).
How about Adam Schiff? He seems to be a well-spoken, level-headed individual. Plus, he’s gotten good airtime in the past two years, so it’s not like he’s an unknown.
As was stated earlier, ABN. All the Republican ads I saw in the recent House races tried to tie the Democratic opponent to Pelosi. That will only be worse in 2020.
Pelosi doesn’t have any mud caked on her at all. The leader of the House Democrats is caked in mud. That’s currently Pelosi, yes, but none of the mud is specific to her. Vote in someone else as Speaker, and the Republicans will just cross out the name tag on the mud and write in the new candidate’s name.
I love Adam Schiff and he would be formidable. But he will have his hands more than full with being head of the House Intelligence Committee. He won’t have time to whip members for votes.
This isn’t how the world works though. Of course the GOP will also spend hundreds of millions of dollars to tarnish the name of whomever the Dems make Speaker. But it won’t happen instantaneously. You cannot simply immediately replicate the effects of a decade-long smear campaign.
Quite true, and there’s no guarantee that type of scaremongering is effective on Democratic voters; may even strengthen the incoming Speaker’s cred. But it will probably work on “undecided” (i.e. politically uninvolved) voters, so it would help if the Speaker is likeable/relatable on camera. She or he needs to be an effective strategist and experienced legislator as well; these are probably essential to the job, whereas charisma is not.
I read a column in Washington Monthly this morning (which I can no longer find for some reason) (the column, not the morning) suggesting Stacey Abrams, if she does not force and win a runoff election for Georgia governor. Abrams was a very effective Minority Leader in the state House and would definitely bring new optics to the role.
Pelosi was born in 1940, so she’s five plus years older than the oldest “Boomer.” Just to clarify.
I do think younger and less “coastal” and possibly less white would make some sense. Nothing against Pelosi specifically, but some new blood would be nice. And please no Kennedys…talk about being mired in the past!
I like Nancy and the political baggage and smears she has taken are undeserved. She’s become the Republican’s boogeyman - every GOP ad I heard this season was “so-and-so will cozy up to Schumer and Pelosi!” Plus, she is very old. It’s time to thank her for her service to her country, make her the chair of a key committee, and give the speakership to someone else. I don’t know who, exactly, but there are plenty to choose from.