Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/01/03/madame-speaker-nancy-pelosi.html
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Kinda odd that one tweet refers to Tammy Duckworth as a double amputee but not senator. And why are congresspersons voting for a senator for speaker of the House anyway?
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Because he is an idiot.
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Mostly because they can, I imagine. There’s no requirement in the Constitution that the Speaker be a representative. A progressive op-ed published in the Washington Post argued for the house to elect Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
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http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/memberfaq.aspx
Article I, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers.”
Although the Constitution does not require the Speaker to be a Member of the House, all Speakers have been Members.
When a Congress convenes for the first time, each major party conference or caucus nominates a candidate for Speaker. Members customarily elect the Speaker by roll call vote. A Member usually votes for the candidate from his or her own party conference or caucus but can vote for anyone, whether that person has been nominated or not.
To be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes cast—which may be less than a majority of the full House because of vacancies, absentee Members, or Members who vote “present.” If no candidate receives the majority of votes, the roll call is repeated until a majority is reached and the Speaker is elected.
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Send roses:
[Daily Kos drive to send roses to Nancy Pelosi]
Nancy Pelosi, for four years, was the strongest Speaker of the House in my lifetime, and this is very under-appreciated, launched the hardest anti-corruption effort in government during my lifetime.
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That could have been interesting.
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She did not come to play. Pelosi is gonna (metaphorically) cut Trump’s head off and feed it to his dyin’ ass.
She’s already de-fanging the watchdogs.
http://inthesetimes.com/article/21652/nancy-pelosi-alexandria-ocasio-cortez-green-new-deal-castor/
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You know, I do love Pelosi, but if I was a member of Congress, I’m not sure I could resist voting for Dick Hertz. I mean, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
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There was a missed opportunity here. Imagine how badly Trump would have lost whatever sanity he may have had left if they had elected Hillary Clinton to be Speaker.
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Good on ya, Nancy.
Minor quibbles - it’s the most diverse House in history - the Senate? Not so much.
The greatest rock band that ever lived was Josie and the Pussycats…or maybe the Wrecking Crew.
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I don’t know the actual answer to this, but since Congress is, by population, 81% House and 19% Senate, it seems plausible that Congress as a whole may very well be more diverse than it’s ever been.
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This is a more ingenious plot device for becoming a “non-elected” president than was used in House of Cards.
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never seen the us version. The British version has the advantage of the parliamentary system.
My take on this is that she cut deals with progressives like AOC, but not with NRA 100%-ers like Van Drew. This is a good sign, and hopefully the Pelosi-haters on her left can muster the self-control to sit on their hands for at least a little while before getting back into position on the circular firing squad.
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Apparently the bulk of opposition to her as speaker. Was, and traditionally has been, coming out of a group of moderate and center right DNC house members who are part of a pro-business bipartisan caucus within the house and Senate.
And in whipping votes Pelosi made commitments to progressives for legit, important committee seats. New leadership positions to make room for younger progressive members and women, and the creation of new committees for the same.
In dealing with what looks an awful lot like the Robber Baron Caucus she offered mostly less powerful positions mostly designed to pigeon hole people. And informal advisory committees.
Rumor is that DNC leadership have smelled the pee on the wall and are convinced the party is in need of a leadership transition. But a planned smooth one. And they see few people in existing leadership who are young, or prepared enough to provide long term leadership after 2020. I’m not sure Schumer’s actually on board but Pelosi seems to have pegged her plan towards carving out a space for progressives.
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I hope your prognostications bear fruit.
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I admire your optimism!
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