Redstate

Complete with extraneous pop reference!

By Moe Lane Posted in Congress — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

OK, here's the situation...

(pause)

My parents went away on a week's vacation
And they left the keys to the brand new Porsche
Do they mind? Mmm, well, of course not!
I'll just take it for a little spin
And maybe show it off to a couple of friends
I'll just cruise it 'round the neighborhood
Well, maybe I shouldn't
Yeah!
Of course I should!

(pause)

To all of our readers of a certain age; sorry for putting that song into your head.

Anyway, the Captain reports that Novak is claiming a certain disenchantment with Pelosi among the Democrats (quotes below the fold):

As the new House majority caucus prepared to pick its leadership today, Democrats were trying to make the best of the inevitability of Nancy Pelosi as the party's first speaker in a dozen years. They have put out the word that she was not serious in endorsing Rep. John Murtha for majority leader. How much effort she has exerted for her longtime ally is irrelevant, but she has actively solicited votes this week.

The damage to her was irrevocable when she wrote her colleagues Sunday urging them to pick Murtha over Rep. Steny Hoyer. Close associates of Hoyer say her letter stunned him, and he was not alone. While Pelosi had made it clear that she would vote for Murtha, the public endorsement was unexpected.

This is a no-win situation for Pelosi. If Murtha wins today, she will be accused of personal vindictiveness in derailing Hoyer, who is more popular in the caucus and better qualified for leadership. If Murtha loses, as is much more probable, she will be seen as bumbling her first attempt to lead the new Democratic majority. Pelosi could have avoided this dilemma by standing aside as Newt Gingrich, then the presumptive speaker, did when he voted for his ally Robert Walker as majority whip but did not ask members to oppose Tom DeLay.

The Captain himself concludes:

Democrats are in a bad position. They can't afford to throw Pelosi under the bus after promoting her as the first woman Speaker in American history. They can't afford to have Hastings and Murtha in leadership positions and then face the voters in 2008 who wanted reform and change. They can't afford to undermine her authority and openly campaign for the reversal of Hastings' appointment and the failure of her Murtha endorsement.

Days after their electoral triumph, Pelosi has led the party into a dead end, and they have two more years of her leadership to endure. Democrats will have to do one of the above tasks and resolve their conundrum, but any way they move, they damage their standing. An open revolt might be the best option for them at this point, perhaps led by Hoyer himself.

Now, full disclosure: a bruising confirmation fight for Speaker is precisely what the Republican Party needs and wants right now. With any luck, anybody from the Other Side reading this will reverse-reverse-reverse psychology themselves right into the ground and do whatever it is that they were planning to do, anyway. Which, at a guess, will involve running around in circles, substituting ad hoc improvisation for a plan, engaging in unsubtle ad hominems and blaming the whole thing on Bush.

Which, I admit, has worked for them lately - but it's a pity that the President ain't running for Speaker of the House, huh?