News From the Swamp: Democrats' Tin Ear
Nancy Pelosi defeated Rep. Heath Shuler (D-NC) for the post of minority leader in the 112th Congress by a vote of 150-43. This couldn't be better news -- for Republicans. Pelosi, who boasts a whopping 8 percent approval rating among independent voters, has vociferously denied liability for her party's epic election losses, saying, "We didn't lose the election because of me." Just keep telling yourself that, Nancy.
Meanwhile, in their current majority position, the Democrat leadership structure includes Pelosi as speaker, Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) as majority leader and Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) as majority whip. In January, when the Democrats shift to the minority, only two leadership positions will be available, making Clyburn the odd man out.
Democrat leaders decided to create a new "assistant leader" position out of thin air to avoid a protracted battle between Hoyer and Clyburn over the minority whip position. (Is it just us, or is it weirdly ironic that Clyburn, who is black, was seeking the position of "minority whip" in the party of slavery?) There's no indication as to what the duties of this new position are, and Clyburn's colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus suspect that it's merely a move to appease them. Given that Democrats depend on getting 90 percent of the black vote each election cycle, they could very well be right.
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