Heath Shuler Would Challenge Pelosi For House Minority Leader Post

Nancy Pelosi's demotion from Speaker of the House could end up being a few more steps down if Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.) has his way, as reports now suggest that the Blue Dog Democrat will challenge her for the House minority leader position.

"If there's not a viable alternative [to Pelosi] -- like I said all along -- I can go recruit moderate Members to run in swing districts," Shuler said on Thursday. "In that situation, I could do it better than she could, and that's what it's going to take. It's going to take moderate candidates to win back those seats."

Pelosi has not said whether she will pursue the leadership post.

Shuler announced his intention to challenge Pelosi late last month during a debate with his opponent, Jeff Miller, whom he defeated on Tuesday.

"If there is no viable alternative (to Pelosi), I will be running for speaker of the house," Shuler said during that exchange. The top House spot in the Democratic party will now be minority leader following the shift of power.

The Blue Dog was seeking to overcome a supposed proximity to Pelosi and other Democrats to combat an anti-incumbent, anti-Democratic tide in his conservative western North Carolina district, so it was unclear if his words were simply an empty promise as part of politically expedient campaign rhetoric. Now, however, it looks like he's making good on that claim.

So far, Shuler would be the first to announce his plans to seek the minority leader position, but considering the number of Democrats who expressed coolness or outright opposition to the Speaker, more could be on the way.

Represenatative Jason Altmire (Pa.) and Mike McIntyre (N.C.) both directly declared that they wouldn't support Pelosi during their campaigns.

In an interview Wednesday, Pelosi said she has not yet decided her future plans.

Comments

[fastfood]

01:07 AM on 11/12/2010

The " Blue Dogs " got their butts handed to them on Nov. 2nd .
The remaining mutts should keep their flees to themselves .

[Dan1902]

02:58 PM on 11/05/2010

Hey,Heath your Blue Mutt Pack got significantly smaller!! You couldn't be leader of a parade at this point cause there isn't enough of you clowns!!

[alfo]

02:58 PM on 11/05/2010

HEATH OF C STREET HOUSE FAME,THE SECRET CULT THAT SIDES WITH CONSERVATIVES,HE'S A BLUE DOG D.I.N.O. REJECT HIM.

[mamacat]

01:58 PM on 11/05/2010

Go for it, Madame Speaker. You are one of my favorite Democratic representatives.

[StopMakingSense2]

01:51 PM on 11/05/2010

Delusions of grandeur.. Since they stood in the way on most important issues don't expect support. Better off switching parties..

[CAVet4Peace]

01:39 PM on 11/05/2010

Schuler doesn't have the stones that Pelosi does. They are tiny by comparison. He is another multi millionaire that gets support from lawyers, big pharma, energy, etc. he hasn't sonsored but 4 or 5 bills in 4 years. Pelosi had passed and sent hundreds of bills from the house to die a slow death in the " honorable mothers of dogs from big business" senate.

[no repub ever]

12:44 PM on 11/05/2010

Heath Schuler who?????

[KAK1958]

12:37 PM on 11/05/2010

Perhaps someone who lives in a swing district can tell me how blue dogs distinguish themselves from Republicans. They're both fiscal conservatives and, as I understand it, many blue dogs are social conservatives as well. Having these conservative districts be Republican would seem to be the natural order of things.

So when Mr.Shuler says he should get the minority leadership job because he can help "win back" the swing districts, it's kind of meaningless. Sure, Democrats can get committee chairmanships if they're in the majority, but if the blue dogs just vote in lockstep with the Republican agenda, then what exactly is the difference?

[thepoliticalcat]

01:30 PM on 11/05/2010

Well, the fact is, Heath Shuler's a poor choice for the job simply because he's not that smart nor that committed to progressive ideals. Nor does he have sufficient contacts, relationships, and experience. However, in all fairness, he votes with Democrats some 84% of the time. The Republican in that seat will vote with Democrats exactly 0% of the time. So characterizing Shuler as voting in lockstep with the Republican agenda is patently untrue and unfair.

[KAK1958]

01:36 PM on 11/05/2010

But are we talking about voting with Democrats on major issues? Okay, maybe they don't vote in lockstep on every single vote, but if you look at the major platform issues of the Democratic party, how do the majority of blue dogs do on those?

[KAK1958]

02:25 PM on 11/05/2010

and just a postscript - this is why I asked the question how these people distinguish themselves from their Republican opponents when they're running? All I seem to remember is a lot of them were running against their own party this cycle. I took a (very) quick look through Heath's voting record, and it looks like he voted against the stimulus, against healthcare reform, against repealing DADT, against extending unemployment benefits, and against stem cell research. All I'm saying is that if these representatives don't believe in the major tenets of the party, I'm confused as to how this benefits the Democratic agenda.

[thepoliticalcat]

03:54 PM on 11/05/2010

Thanks for an excellent discussion, by the way.

[grf67]

12:21 PM on 11/05/2010

So? Go for it.

[Busbydav]

12:21 PM on 11/05/2010

Ha good luck with all of the blue dog losses!

[snapshot1940]

11:48 AM on 11/05/2010

Most of the Dems who lost their seats were Blue Dogs. While I'm not for "Party Purity", I think that should tell the remaining BDs something.

[freddiefreeloader]

11:43 AM on 11/05/2010

Whatever Democrats in Congress do, Do not elect Nancy Pelosi Minority leader, That would make Republicans very mad and they wouldn't be able to get any of their agenda done, Vote for Shuler, now here's someone who will work with Republicans to get the Republican's agenda passed.

[Rhiana]

12:26 PM on 11/05/2010

so the lesson you learned from watching the republicans block everything for the past 2 years is that we should do as they say and not as they do? don't think so.

[thepoliticalcat]

01:30 PM on 11/05/2010

That was funny.

[scooperss]

11:37 AM on 11/05/2010

"Conservative Rep. Dan Boren (D-OK) has released a statement saying that he "can't in good conscience support Nancy Pelosi as Leader" and that it's time for new, more conservative leadership in the House Democratic Caucus."

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

Maybe the democrats need to start vetting people before they support them in their run as a democrat or else they might as well slink away into the night. Or the past.

Conservatives want to run the Democratic Party. My my my now they're not even trying to hide the fact that they're basically one party under 2 hats.

[Ozarks]

11:34 AM on 11/05/2010

Heath, you must be math challenged! There are only 23 of original 54 blue dogs still left after Nov 2nd. Maybe you should face reality and go back to being a republican.

[FreeToComment]

10:52 AM on 11/05/2010

Don't you know? Heath Shuler WAS a registered Republican before switching parties to run against the 8 term incumbent Charles Taylor. Rumor has it that there was no way the Republicans were going to support any candidate other than Taylor at the time so Shuler switched parties to have a shot at the seat.

[Oldwave]

10:40 PM on 11/05/2010

Exactly. And we've been stuck with him since.