EMAIL DETAILS

Thought this was a good case for Pelosi....

The case for Pelosi to remain House Dem leader

*From NBC's Luke Russert*
If *Nancy Pelosi* wants to remain House Democratic leader, there will be a
game of musical chairs in the leadership: *Jim Clyburn *(D-SC), the Dems'
whip, has indicated that he would like to stay in the leadership. Therefore,
current No. 2 *Steny Hoyer*, who is seen as more moderate, would either have
to challenge Clyburn (not ideal for the party), be relegated to a lesser
position, or simply leave leadership. Under the latter scenario, the No. 3
position of caucus chairman would go to *Chris Van Hollen* (D-MD) or *Xavier
Beccarra* (D-CA). In essence, Pelosi could eliminate her chief rival within
the Democratic Leadership and be surrounded by dutiful surrogates.

The following case for Pelosi to remain as House leader comes after long
conversations with senior Democratic aides who believe Pelosi will stay on
as minority leader of the House Democratic Caucus. (Note: We'll run the case
against Pelosi in a following dispatch.)

1. Pelosi is the best fundraiser for the House Democrats outside of *President
Obama*and *President Clinton*. She has raised more money than any of her
colleagues and built a diverse fundraising network of both large and small
donors. Her efforts in collecting donations have allowed Democrats to
compete in numerous conservative-leaning districts from 2006 to present day.
Her fundraising network just couldn’t be passed over to Hoyer. If she
leaves, the Democrats will leave a lot of money on the table.

2. Pelosi, along with *Rahm Emanuel*, is seen by many within the party as
the mastermind behind the 2006 and 2008 election strategy that gave
Democrats their largest House gains in over a decade. Many feel she could
rebound in 2012 and deliver the 20-plus seats needed to retake the majority
in the House after the GOP makes unpopular spending cuts such as
unemployment insurance.

3. Under Pelosi, the Democrats were actually able to pass historic
legislation that had eluded them for years. Pelosi had the clout to tell
liberals that the public option would die in the health-care bill, and the
ability to tell the pro-choice caucus not to be worried about abortion
rights being stripped away in the final bill. She’s the best vote-getter the
party has, and the best at bringing many diverse groups of people together.
If she leaves, they splintering within the party becomes too great and hurts
it going forward into 2012.

4. Many liberals and progressives do not want to compromise on their
principles to appease Republicans. They see no problem in doing what the GOP
did over the last two years that is being the “Party of No” out of
principle. If this is the direction that liberals and progressives want to
go, Pelosi is a much better leader than Hoyer. There is fear that Hoyer
would be too accommodating to the GOP and to K Street influence.

5. Why should Pelosi be the only leader to fall on the sword after the
disastrous results for Democrats on Tuesday? The president is not shaking up
his team. *Harry Reid* will return to the Senate, a Senate that couldn’t
pass many House bills that liberals and progressives feel could have helped
their election prospects. And Pelosi has worked harder than any other
Democrat leader and earned the right to leave on her own terms. In no way
does she need to placate moderates by stepping down.

6. Finally, part of Pelosi wanting to stay is personal. She and many within
in her caucus feel that she’s the best person at the table for House
Democrats. While the media play up the need for her to leave -- as do some
self-serving moderates -- eventually there is no better voice to lead an
aggressive minority party that will put the GOP on the record as being
against the middle class and being pro-big businesses and the wealthy.
--
Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.co