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Nancy Pelosi’s new crew and her old crew’
……Before I begin. There are two deep south run off elections that Democrats can win. Democrats can win if they get enough help. If they have enough resources. Send a little money.
……In Mississippi. On Tuesday. On November 27. African American, former Congressman and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Espy is running for the Senate. In Mississippi. He has a chance to win. The Republican appointee has done him a big favor. In response to an invitation, she told a supporter she would come to a public hanging if he invited her. In Mississippi. Where lynchings, public hangings happened more than any other place. Large corporations fled from her. Walmart and others asked for their money back. Finally. Finally, after resisting. Finally, she apologized. That half-baked apology to anyone who she might have offended. If she offended enough people and Espy gets enough resources to tell people about it, he could win.
……In Georgia. Next Tuesday. December 4 Former Congress John Barrow is in a run off for Secretary of State. We have learned about Secretaries of State this year. Republican Secretaries of State have been agents of voter suppression. Especially in Georgia where the Secretary of State was elected Georgia. John Barrow is the last white Democratic Congressman from Georgia. He resisted for a long time. He has no interest in voter suppression. He can be counted on for fairness. Every dollar he gets will make a difference in this election which has not attracted a lot of money. He was close enough to force a run off. Help him out.
……Nancy Pelosi’s new crew and her old crew
……Nancy Pelosi is taking charge. She met with Ocasio-Cortes. Ocasio-Cortez got it. Those leading the opposition to Pelosi are to the right of the Democratic mainstream. Pelosi was preferable as Speaker..
……The opposition was touting Marcia Fudge OH 11 for Speaker. Fudge met with Pelosi. An African American, her greatest concern is ensuring voting rights,. She will chair the restored House Administration subcommittee on elections. She might have also been promised that an African American woman would be part of the Leadership?
……One of the sixteen who said he would vote against Pelosi in January recanted. Brian Higgins NY 24 says he is satisfied that Pelosi will make infrastructure a priority for the House. It was already a priority, of course. Higgins sees where things are going.
……Is this Pelosi taking charge? Nancy Pelosi wondered if the DPCC should have a chairman. Now it has three co-chairs. Shortly after her announcement, David Cicilline RI 01 announced he was no longer running for Assistant Leader. He is interested in the DPCC.
……The top four Leadership positions have no contests though skirmishes associated with Nancy Pelosi continue. Where there were opponents, they have withdrawn.
- Speaker: Nancy Pelosi CA 12 age 78
- Majority Leader: Steny Hoyer MD 05 age 79
- Whip: Jim Clyburn: SC 06 age 78
- Assistant Leader: Ben Ray Lujan NM 03 age 46
…There are contests for Caucus Chair (Barbara Lee of CA v. Hakeem Jeffires of NY) and Caucus Vice Chair (Pete Aguilar of CA v. Katherine Clark of MA) of the Democratic Caucus. I have already suggested:
- Caucus Chair Hakeem: Jeffries NY NY 08 age 48
- Caucus Vice Ch: Katherine Clark MA MA 05 age 55
In early December vote, Democrats will also vote for Chair of the DCCC and the leadership of the DPCC.……The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The D Triple C. The D Trip. however it is called, the DCCC is a big deal. It raises a lot of money. It distributes a lot of money. It is the clearinghouse through which candidates get national party support for their run for Congress. ……In 2018 it took a tough and wise decision in California. Endorse a Democratic candidate early. Reduce the number of Democrats considered in the open primary. Ensure that Democrat have one of the two finalists for every Congressional seat.……Great results. Six Republican seats flipped in California. Democrats have every Congressional seat in traditionally Republican Orange County. Great results.……The DPCC? Its job? Policy and Communication. Create and spread a unified message for the Democratic caucus. Not so easy with opponents trying to unseat Pelosi. Newcomers range from conservative Jeff Van Drew of NJ 02 to turbaned Ilhan Omar of MN 05.……Keeping three co-chairs may reflect how challenging the job is. Or it reflects a chance for more people to “be in the room where it happens.” One chair might be more effective.
DCCC Chair …Cheri Bustos IL 17 age 57 was identified by Politico as the new face of the Democratic Party. She defeated a Republican in 2012 to win this district that borders Iowa. She won in 2016 by more than 20 points while Trump carried the district. A pro-choice Catholic. A sheriff husband She says he brings a gun to work. Her father was a reporter as was she. Her earliest political roles were as press secretary. Recruited to run for the US Senate, for Governor, she has declined. Interested in running for Assistant Leader, she deferred. To Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico.……Suzan DelBene WA 01 age 56 was born in Selma, Alabama. Her family was poor in Alabama and in Washington.. She graduated from Reed College. She got rich. She worked for Microsoft early. Helped found one internet company and became CEO of another. She spent nearly three million dollars of her own money to win election in 2012 in a Republican district. Supportive of same sex marriage, of medical marijuana use, of environmental issues. Her principal interest is the economy — encouraging emerging industries. Avoiding broad tax cuts to business. She served on the Red to Blue Committee of the DCCC.
……Danny Heck WA 10 age 66 went from politics to business back to politics. A state rep for ten years, he chaired the education committee and served as majority leader. He became the Governor’s chief of staff. Next he co-founded an internet business for business oriented education and training. Founded another successful business addressing medicine’s transition to digital record keeping. Founded a public affairs television network to cover the state legislature and the state supreme court. Next he wrote a mystery novel and a book about the reform of Washington’s schools.……He went back to politics. With money. Elected to Congress in 2010. He co-chaired Red to Blue and supports fellow co-chair Katherine Clark MA for Assistant Chair of the Democratic Caucus.
……Sean Patrick Maloney NY 18 age 52 ran for Attorney General in New York. In 2006 and 2018. He lost in the primary both times. In 2018 he returned to his Congressional race. And won. Trained by the Jesuits, he spent time with them in Peru. Gay, working in the Clinton administration, he was one of two Clinton sent to Matthew Shepherd’s funeral. Representing a purple district, he is a member of the bipartisan Problem solvers caucus.
Politico is right. Bustos does show promise of of becoming the new face of the Democratic Party.……DPCC — Briefer bios since there are seven candidates.
…Matt Cartwright PA 17 age 57 is the only candidate for the Leadership not expressing support for Nancy Pelosi. He is the only candidate for the Leadership who describes himself as pro-life rather than pro-choice. In Congress since 2012, he has solid academic credentials and is ensconced in his wife’s family’s Scranton law firm.
……David Cicilline RI 02 age 57 withdrew his candidacy for Assistant Majority Leader. He touts his toughness, honed as mayor of Providence for eight years. Elected to Congress in 2010, he is a graduate of Brown and Georgetown Law School. His father was an attorney who often represented mafia figures.
……Debbie Dingell MI 12 age 64 was elected in 2014 to replace her husband, John Dingell, who holds the record for longest serving Member of Congress. He had replaced his father who had been in Congress for over 20 years. Daughter of one of the founders of Fisher Auto Body and John Dingell’s second wife, she became a Democrat upon her marriage and a leader among Michigan Democrats after that.
……Adriano Espaillat NY 13 age 64 is the first Member of Congress of Dominican heritage. Twice defeated in primaries by long time Congressman Charlie Rangel, he replaced the retiring Rangel in 2014. His election marked a demographic change in Harlem from predominantly African American to predominantly Hispanic.
John Garamendi CA 03 age 74 ran for Governor three times and Lt. Governor once. He was elected Lt. Governor. Earlier, in a statewide election, he was elected Insurance Commissioner. Ambitious. BA from Berkeley (football player and wrestler), MBA Harvard, Ethiopia through the Peace Corp, then back to California. Elected four times to the California state senate, he had bigger things in mind.
……ChrissyHoulahan PA 06 age 51 is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor. Her dad escaped from Poland as a four year old. Her favorite fictional character is Indiana Jones. A graduate of Stanford, she earned a ROTC scholarship for a further study at MIT. A technology specialist in active duty, she left the military to be COO of a sportswear startup. She made her money when the start up was sold, served as a COO for a non-profit, trained and taught with Teach for America, joined an education reform group, and, in 2018 won election to Congress.
……Ted Lieu CA 33 age 49 was born in Taiwan, grew up in Cleveland, went to Stanford, then to Georgetown Law School (editor in chief of the Law Journal). He did a clerkship in the ninth circuit and served four years in the Judge Advocate General Corp. He served in the California Assembly and Senate — supporting public transportation and the return of the LA Rams, passing a prohibition of conversion therapy. He was elected to Congress in 2014. In Congress, he argues that the Republican strategy of sabotaging the Affordable Care Act and raising taxes in California and New York has failed. ……If there were three: Ted Lieu, Debbie Dingell, and David Cicilline. If there is only one, Ted Lieu. Add to the Leadership ticket:
- Cheri Bustos IL 17 age 57
- Ted Lieu CA 33 age 49
No African American woman in the Leadership, though. Was there a promise? There is one more contest. A one term role in the Leadership. Someone from the entering Members of Congress.
Freshman Member…Jamie Raskin MD 08 age 55 has taught at American University’s Law School and the Washington College of Law. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School and was Director of their LLM Program on Law and Government. He was a leading figure in the Maryland State Senate before being elected to Congress. His parents were liberal activists.……Terri Sewell AL 08 age 53 clerked for the first black federal judge appointed in Alabama. Princeton and Harvard Law School. In between, a Master’s Degree at Oxford through a Marshall Scholarship. She worked on Wall Street for ten years before returning to Alabama to help her family and join a Birmingham Law Firm. She had been the first black valedictorian at Selma High School. Her parents worked in local public schools and were civil rights activists — hosting the Selma marchers. Add her to the Leadership list.
- Terri Sewell AL 08 age 53
This ticket has balance:
- Geographically: Three from the West, three from the Northeast, two from the South, one from the Midwest.
- By ethnicity: Four who are white, three African Americans, one Hispanic, one Asian.
- By gender: Five men, four women — one of whom is the Speaker
- By age: Three in their seventies, Three in their fifties, Three in their forties.
One final thought …The Leadership is Center Left. One writer described an important consequence of the revolt against Pelosi. The centrist leaders opposed to Pelosi missed an opportunity for a centrist Democratic majority. Pelosi promised the Progressive Caucus that 40% of the members of the five money committees will be progressives. The Democratic victory, flipping Republican seats by moderate or Centrist or even Conservative Democrats may be a progressive House of Representatives after all. Because of the revolt.……One more final thought…I will email the following to my Member of Congress:…It looks like Nancy Pelosi is preserving her position as Speaker. I know you support her and the other members of the Leadership who don’t have opposition: Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, Whip Jim Clyburn and Assistant Majority Leader Ben Ray Lujan. ……
Constituents don’t usually weigh in on Leadership positions. Pardon my boldness. I urge you to support the following Members for Leadership positions.
- Hakeem Jeffries for Caucus Chair
- Katherine Clark for Caucus Vice Chair
- Cheri Bustos for DCCC Chair
- Ted Leiu for DPCC Chair (if there is only one chair)
- Terri Sewell for the freshman leadership position
Balanced geographically, ethnically, by gender, and by age. More important, containing outstanding leaders who can reach all parts of the Democratic Party — in Congress and outside. They will strengthen the Democratic Party as we move toward 2020.
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