Speaker Of The House

Rumors About Nancy Pelosi Leaving As Democratic Minority Leader: Who Might Replace Her if She Left?

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There are rumors emanating from the US Capitol that House Democratic Minority Leader and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi of California may decide to leave her position, and maybe even retire from Congress during the next two year term of the Congress.

Pelosi has been wonderful leader, and accomplished a lot during her four year Speakership, and would be missed if she left.

But assuming she does, who might replace her, and become the next potential Speaker of the House in two years, if the Democrats were to gain 17 seats, which is certainly possible?

House Minority Whip, Number Two in command, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, has been an excellent lieutenant, but always has wanted to be Speaker, but is also older like Pelosi, and might not be where the new Democrats in the party want to go.

Congressman Steve Israel, from Suffolk County, Long Island, New York,is a member of Congress for 12 years, and the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He is well liked and would have some major support.

Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Congresswoman from Broward County in South Florida for eight years, and the Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, is probably the favorite of the Obama White House with her boundless energy and assertive leadership.

What excellent choices, with this author’s preference being Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who it has been long rumored, eventually hopes to be Speaker of the House! He has met her, and is extremely impressed with her commitment and dedication to public service!

This new Congress, it is possible that her goal may start to bear fruit!

Final House Of Representatives Division: 227 Republicans, 208 Democrats—A 15 Seat Gain By Democrats

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This author’s prediction on the House of Representatives elections is much more difficult, since trying to follow the race in 435 Congressional districts is overwhelming.

But it seems clear that the Republican Party will keep control, as with the gain of the Governorship and state legislative control in many states in 2010, the Republicans had the edge in reapportionment of district lines in the House.

Having said that, the discontent with the Tea Party Movement control of the GOP growing, it seems likely that the Democrats will gain seats, about 15, and make the next House competition in 2014 give them the opportunity for takeover.

Needing a minimum of 25 seats this time, the Democrats will gain, maybe, 60 percent of that, with 15, putting them within reach to gain control with a 10 seat gain two years from now.

The real battle for now will be whether Speaker John Boehner stays, or Eric Cantor mounts a “coup”, and whether Nancy Pelosi remains Minority Leader, or loses it to Minority Whip Steny Hoyer!

The Rise Of Paul Ryan: Threat To Republican House Leadership If He Loses Vice Presidency!

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A side effect of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s Vice Presidential candidacy if he and Mitt Romney lose the election to Barack Obama, but the Republican Party keeps control of the House of Representatives, is a challenge to the House leadership as it now stands!

That would likely lead to a move by Ryan, who can run for his Congressional seat while on the ballot for Vice President, to wish to be Speaker of the House, second in line to be President, and to challenge Barack Obama on his agenda much more than Speaker John Boehner!

It would also be a challenge to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who very much wishes to be Speaker, and would try to stop Ryan from reaching that office, but having run for Vice President and become a national figure as a result, Ryan would have the edge to overcome both Boehner and Cantor!

So the future of House leadership, if the GOP keeps control, will be very fascinating to watch!

Congressman Barney Frank To Retire: A Major Figure In The History Of The House Of Representatives

Ronald 3 Comments

It is a well known fact that most Congressmen, members of the lower chamber of Congress, never become significant, well known, accomplished, and memorable in the long run of our history.

Massachusetts Congressman Barney Frank is one of those exceptions, and he announced today that he was retiring after 32 years, 16 terms, in the House, from the Boston area.

Always outspoken and controversial, and willing to “get in one’s face”, Frank has his detractors who literally hate him, and his admirers, who love him, and consider him a giant figure in the House who has been trashed by conservative and Republican propagandists.

This author sides with the latter view, as Frank, despite being blamed wrongly by the RIght for the Great Recession, particularly in housing, actually set out to promote regulation of the financial industry, but was stopped by the Bush Administration from meaningful control over banks and corporations.

A lot of lying is going on, making Frank the villain, and a lot of it is centered, no matter what the critics say, on the fact that Barney Frank was the first openly gay member of the House, proud of his homosexuality, and not willing to be bullied by his critics, and instead willing to fight with words and actions!

Frank has been an inspiration to many people, and he will not be forgotten in history, but instead will be one of the most historic figures in the history of the House Of Representatives, almost as if he had been Speaker of the House!

A Horrifying Scenario: A Tea Party Republican Congress And President–What It Would Portend!

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Any sane, centrist oriented American, who might be disgusted with and frustrated by how the federal government is working these days, and therefore is tempted to join the Tea Party Movement that has taken over the Republican Party in the House of Representatives and in many state governorships, needs to realize what would happen if the Right wing tilt that began in the midterm elections of 2010 went all the way to a dominant Tea Party Republican House of Representatives, Senate, and a President Perry or Bachmann!

The purpose is not to promote horror and fear, but to make people realize, based on the agenda of the Tea Party Movement, what would happen without any barrier in the way, such as one of the legislative bodies or the Presidency being in the hands of the Democrats.

In no special order, the following would be likely:

1. The repeal of the Obama Health Care Plan in its entirety
2. The privatization of Medicare over ten years
3. The cutting of Social Security benefits over time
4. No government assistance for home owners in trouble on their mortgages
5. No federal limits on greenhouse gases, and the elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency, and therefore no limits on strip mining of coal or regulations on oil drilling
6. A “war” on labor unions, and the elimination of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, plus the end of the minimum wage laws
7. The elimination of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and lack of regulation of big business and banking, regarding consumer rights, including the right to lawsuits for malpractice or discrimination
8. The cutting back or elimination of the federal Departments of Education, Housing and Urban Development, Commerce, Transportation, Energy, and Health and Human Services, or agencies within those cabinet agencies at the least, as well as the Federal Reserve Board
9. Promotion of anti abortion legislation to end legal abortions
10.Enactment of laws to discriminate against gays, and return “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in the military
11. Restrictions on immigration, and deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants
12. Promotion of Christianity in all areas of government institutions and activities
13. Refusal to raise the debt level, and ruthless cutting of government programs to deal with the elderly, the poor, racial minorities, and the disabled instead
14. Further cutting of taxes on the wealthy and corporations
15. Promotion of a right wing based education system in the areas of science and history in the schools
16. End of funding for National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting System.
17. Cutbacks on civil rights enforcement for African Americans, Hispanics and Latinos, and native Americans, and total end of affirmative action programs
18. Growing hostility and confrontations with the Islamic world, as part of the Christian crusade against Muslims
19. Civil liberties limitations in the name of public safety against domestic terrorism, including against social media and public demonstrations of protest against government policies
20. Making the Supreme Court more right wing than it is now, guaranteeing the longevity of conservative Republican Tea Party policies for a generation or more

Can anyone reading this list NOT be terrified at the thought of a Tea Party Republican dominant Congress and President?

This is why it is ESSENTIAL that at the worst, we have a divided Congress as we had under President Ronald Reagan from 1981-1987, with a Democratic House and Republican Senate and Republican President, with the House under Speaker Thomas “Tip” O’Neill preventing the worst excesses of the Reagan agenda, and in the process, actually making Reagan look a lot better in history than he would have without a Democratic House of Representatives.

And based on the present situation we face, it is clear that it would be better to have a Democratic House and Republican Senate, the opposite of what we have now, as the House has greater impact and control over spending and the budget. A Republican Senate, as has occurred five times in the past century, is far less negative and destructive than the present experience with a Republican House!

While hating to think of a Republican Senate, it seems likely now with only four seats needed to gain control, while for the Democrats, regaining 25 seats for a majority in the House, seems more than likely to occur!

So a split government the opposite of what we have now might be the best scenario, if not an all Democratic controlled Congress and President, to avoid the nightmare of a Tea Party Republican dominated government!

Tim Scott And Allen West: New Black GOP Congressmen Creating Headaches For Speaker Of The House John Boehner! :(

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Next month, John Boehner of Ohio becomes Speaker of the House, and he has been tearful about the fact that he has risen to the top from a difficult economic circumstance as a child.

But he may be doing more than being tearful, once he has to deal with the Tea Party favorites that have been elected in many House districts.

Already, the two freshman Black Republican Congressmen, Tim Scott of South Carolina, and Allen West of Florida, are causing grief with their statements and intended actions! 🙁

Scott and West both have spoken up against raising the debt limit when that unpleasant issue occurs in the spring, an action which if pursued by enough other Republicans in the House and Senate would cause the bankruptcy of the government, and lead to a world wide economic collapse.

Both Congressmen-elect talk about cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in spending as an alternative, which it is not, as to cut spending drastically at a time when most cities and states are already in bankruptcy or close to it, would cause human suffering and mass unemployment on a scale unseen since the Great Depression. 🙁

And the fact that these men are from minority background, and refuse to recognize that it is precisely people of their own race who are suffering the most when it comes to unemployment, bankruptcy, home foreclosures, hunger, and poverty in this economic downturn, makes them truly disgraceful, and is a sign of their truly loony and wacky behavior, in many ways worse than that of their white counterparts who are so far to the right that one wonders if they have basic humanity as part of their nature! 🙁

John Boehner, The “Strange Duck” Who Is Second In Line To The Presidency! :(

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As of January 5, 2011, Congressman John Boehner of Cincinnati, Ohio, will be the new Speaker of the House of Representatives.

We are learning a great deal about John Boehner, and it is a strange portrait!

In newspaper interviews, and now on a “Sixty Minutes” discussion with Lesley Stahl of CBS, Boehner comes across as, to say the least, a “strange duck”!

This is a man who is known to have gone to tanning salons, and has an almost orange tinge to his skin, but now he denies that he has ever gone to a tanning salon.

This is a man who smokes like a fiend, two to three packs a day, and it is rumored, will allow smoking to be restored to the House of Representatives chamber, after it was banned as unseemly by present Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

This is a man who used to tend bar for his father, and is said to go the bars every night around dinner time.

This is a man whose wife chooses to live in Cincinnati, while her husband lives in Washington, DC.

This is a man with a frown often displayed, who can yell with the best, but also is a “weeper” to the point of appearing ridiculous.

Boehner talks about the “American dream”, and how hard he had to struggle, and told Lesley Stahl that he cannot go to any schools anymore and see young children, because it makes him cry to think how difficult it is for them to pursue the “American dream”. His experiences should, if anything, make him wish to do more to promote the “American dream”, but instead he wishes to cut spending for education and other social programs, making success even more difficult for future generations of children, if they are born poor. This just makes absolutely no sense, especially when one considers how Boehner associates with lobbyists who represent wealthy interests, and he has no problem promoting massive tax cuts for the wealthy!

Also, John Boehner rejects the idea of “compromise”, preferring to call it “common ground”, another very weird thing, as politics is the art of compromise. But to believe that Boehner and his party will promote “common ground” is to believe in the tooth fairy, as it is clear that the GOP has no intention of cooperating with President Obama, as after all, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has said, the purpose of the Republican Party is to defeat Obama in 2012.

Sad Culmination Of A Political Career: The Censure Of Congressman Charlie Rangel!

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Congressman Charlie Rangel of Harlem has been censured by a 333-79 vote in the House of Representatives today for his financial and fund raising abuses over a period of years, a series of actions which embarrassed his colleagues and damaged his reputation after being Chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and a member of the House for 40 years! 🙁

This is indeed a sad moment for both Rangel and the House of Representatives 🙁

Rangel is seen as a nice guy with a winning personality and real concern for his district’s constituents, but he failed to follow basic ethical rules and was sloppy in his reporting and record keeping, possibly by omission and carelessness, although his critics would say because he has, as any long term Congressman or Senator seems to have, a level of arrogance!

Rangel is one of only 23 House members ever to be censured, which requires House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to read out loud the censure text with Rangel in the well of the House as the action takes place!

The problem is when one investigates the other 22 censures, Rangel’s censure seems less outrageous and not illegal, although certainly unethical!

One wonders if Rangel will remain in the House now, even though his constituents voted him in to another two year term, his 21st, by an 80 percent vote!

Why The 111th Congress Will Be Seen Positively In American History Despite Election Results!

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A question that has arisen recently is how to judge the actions of Congress in historical terms.

If a party loses control of Congress after bringing about historic legislation, does that mean it should be regarded as a failure for the party historically?

Many are saying that Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic Party have failed, because they have lost control of the House of Representatives by the biggest margin since 1938!

Others would, however, say that in the long run of history, the fact of repudiation means nothing, as the health care legislation and other massive changes passed by the 111th Congress will be long lasting, and eventually be seen as positive upon reflection!

Are momentary reactions to leadership always seen as accurate in historical terms? If that were true, then Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman would still be regarded as among the worst Presidents we have had, instead of being ranked in the top five of our Presidents, with Lincoln first and Truman fifth!

Is the only purpose of holding power to continue to win elections, or to bring about reforms that affect the country long term?

Despite the results of the election, it is still a fact that the present Congress has accomplished more good for the nation than any since 1965-1966, 1933-1934, and 1913-1914, and despite much rhetoric in the past against those Congresses, what they did has had a long range impact on the nation, as this Congress will have, when we look back in future generations, and wonder why there was such short sightedness and anger over the good actions taken in the midst of economic hard times!

History will record that it was the Democratic Party under Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Barack Obama which brought about fundamental change in so many ways, and that it was the Republican Party which stood in the way of reform, but despite later Congressional gains, failed to repeal the reforms that have made America a better place for the middle and lower classes, even as the upper class wealthy condemned what was happening as “socialism”!

So forget all the rhetoric of the campaign, and the pledges to “repeal” what has happened, as it will NOT happen, and the Republican Party will suffer as it attempts to destroy the changes that the Democratic Party has courageously brought about!

Nancy Pelosi may be condemned by many, but she will remembered as the Speaker of the House who historians will record as the path breaking Speaker who will compete with Sam Rayburn and Thomas “Tip” O’Neill as the greatest Speaker in the past one hundred years!

Should Nancy Pelosi Remain Democratic Leader In The House Of Representatives? Why Not?

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Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has decided to run for the post of Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, after the Democratic Party lost more seats than at any time since 1938, as the New Deal programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt were coming to an end!

There are many who feel that Pelosi was a lightning rod who alienated many voters, and that she should take the blame and leave as a leader of her party after the loss of more than 60 seats, a walloping rebuke by the voters!

But others point out that the Democrats in the House accomplished landmark legislation in so many ways, and that hundreds of other bills that have passed the House may not become law because of blockage in the Senate!

It is clear that Nancy Pelosi, despite the Democratic defeat, has been one of the best and most effective Speakers of the House in US History!

Her gutsy, aggressive personality has upset many people who don’t like a woman who can compete with ambitious, aggressive men. The personal enmity of many Republicans, conservatives, and ordinary citizens toward Pelosi would not be half the level if Pelosi was male. There is still a “glass ceiling” in many people’s minds, the same one that expresses the view that an African American should not be President of the United States!

So, considering her accomplishments as Speaker, and despite the public repudiation in the midterm elections, Nancy Pelosi should be encouraged to stay and fight for the return of her party to the majority in the 2012 election!

The next congressional election in 2012 should seen as a battle of progressives to overcome adversity, and the fight for political democracy, social justice, and economic regulation should not be abandoned or compromised, by the “quitting” of Nancy Pelosi!

Sarah Palin may have quit, but Nancy Pelosi is no “quitter”! Rather, she is a courageous, hard working woman who is not about to give up the fight, or allow criticism to cause her to avoid the fray!