Pelosi: Gephardt best candidate against Bush

[4dsc]

http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/23222624.html

Dick Gephardt is the Democratic candidate best positioned to beat President Bush in the battleground states of the Midwest, U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Friday in Des Moines.

"This election will be won or lost in the Midwest," Pelosi told reporters. "Dick Gephardt is the person who can win in those states," including Iowa.

Gephardt, a veteran member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Missouri, is one of nine Democrats seeking their party's presidential nomination. The first test comes in the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 19.

Pelosi said U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's endorsement Friday of former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean comes with so little time before the caucuses that it probably won't make much difference.

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Oh, I'm sorry. That's just pathetic.

I'm very disappointed in Pelosi. Gephardt has the same medical problem that Lieberman has. He has no spine.

[liberalnurse]

6. So, your assessment is......

He is paralyzed when it comes to confronting *bush?

I concur.

[SaintLouisBlues]

26. That argument is a miserable failure

I'm not supporting Dick unless he wins the nomination, even though
he's my congressman and a very honorable man.

[The Backlash Cometh]

34. In this country...

nice guys finish last.

[Cocoa]

23. her support for him has been known for a long, long time

:shrug:

[JaneQPublic]

2. Democratic House Leadership sticks together

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland also endorsed Gep.

[maddezmom]

3. disagree with her opinion

but respect her loyalty.

[liberalnurse]

8. Agreed.

She has been consistent with her support. She has worked closely with his in the House, but from our view.....he compromised way, way too much. *bush always turns the other cheek in his bait and switch routine.

When *bush leaves the White House, he could get a job scamming elderly folks out of their life savings.

[La_Serpiente]

4. I don't know about Gephardt

he seemed like he couldn't get the House back for years.

And he seems pretty hawkish on foreign policy as well. He even wants to move the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jereusalem.

[Cheswick2.0]

5. I wonder what she owes him

she is out of her mind.

[Pepperbelly]

31. The Leadership position.

I would think that obvious.

[Le Taz Hot]

7. Pelosi has been a complete disappointment

through and through. I remember laughing when the media was trying to portray her as a "liberal Democrat." Nothing could be further from the truth -- then or now. She's a Feinstein wannabe which, IMHO, is NOT something to which Democrats should be striving.

[mmonk]

9. I respectfully disagree with Pelosi

He has not shown he has enough national appeal to win the general election for one. Second, we need a candidate that can shake up Washington out of its status quo.

[sventvkg]

10. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

PLEASE Run all of this idiots out of office...we need to rebuild the party with people who are in reality and will fight...

[Cocoa]

25. Pelosi fought hard on Medicare

she actually WON the House vote, and forced the GOP to committ felonies to steal it back.

[pippin]

11. One more reason why Pelosi

is just not credible. She is one of the cluster of Democrats in office who have completely lost touch with the realities. As a leader she has been a disappointment and clearly not some one who can or will stand up to republican agenda.

Legislators like Pelosi, Feinstein, Daschle and Gephardt are so caught up in inside politics they haven't a clue about who or what they are suppose to represent. More importantly, I now think they don't even know what their own constituencies are all about. What they care about is safe guarding their personal piece of the politcal sandbox.

As far as Gephardt, he will never get my vote. He was the first sell out to the Bushites, and less we forget, Feinstein sold out the seniors in the medicare affair.

By endorsing Gephardt, Pelosi is probably involved in some "I'll scratch you back if you'll scratch mine" deal. Democrats should make sure these jerks who exploit our votes don't stay around.

[Cocoa]

27. she stood up to the GOP over Medicare

and she stood up to Bill Thomas over the capitol police incident, and Thomas ended up crying on the House floor.

Regarding "inside politics," that's kind of the job of congressional leaders. Right?

[TexasSissy]

12. So I guess that means she's endorsing him. Not a bad endorsement.

Though I think she's wrong. But Gep is probably better against Bush than the other top candidate in IA.

[TSIAS]

14. She endorsed him months ago. n/t

[BrewCrew]

13. Wow!

What a bitter and negative thread. Can't Nancy have an opinion of her own? Loyalty does still mean something to people and Pelosi has said before she wouldn't be where she is today without Dick Gephardt. Gephardt caving to Republicans? You guys are friggin cranked! The fool fought Newt Gingrich tooth-and-nail for years. Heck Dick Armey even credits the Gep's slow pragmatic reserved style for being the perfect contrast to Newt and a main cuse behind Newt's fall. Can we as Democrats give the guy a little credit. Trust me, you'll miss him when he's gone. Especially if you're in a labor union. With both him and Bonior gone, our real true diehard friends are starting to disappear forever.

Now I know the Iraq votes pissed folks off and that's your opinion. But the guy didn't just sit their and do-nothing while Bush tried to do other things like drill in the Artic Refuge, ease environmental regs which would lead to more arsenic in the water, privatize Social Security, vouchers for public schools, not give more unemployment benefits to workers. Gephardt and the House Dems have stopped him from doing that, and we got that done. He fought against him hard!

This thread just demonstrates everything that is now wrong w/ DU. Sorry for the lecture, but grow up!

[spooky3]

16. She's doing the right thing. Part of getting things done in Washington is

maintaining good relationships. Gep will likely return to the House. Had she been the Senate leader, she would likely have done things differently, with the multiple Senate candidates.

Let's please stop bashing our Democrats. Gephardt is not my favorite but he overall has a long history of fighting hard for working people.

[Cocoa]

29. nicely said about Gep

I agree, the very imo ignorant view of him, and even moreso of Tom Daschle, really are irksome features of DU.

Ironic as well, since they are probably the two favorite targets of people like Rush Limbaugh, and the attacks are similar in their viciousness and thoughtlessness.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Renew Deal]

18. Where did you get this from?

Since when do we call our House leader a commie?

[dnbmathguy]

17. I happen to agree with her

Gephardt will do very well in the Midwestern states, such as Iowa, Missouri, Ohio, etc. This will cancel out all of the new electoral votes that were given to the Bush states, and lead the Democrats to victory.

[the populist]

19. Face it, she's right.

Gephardt can win battleground states in the MidWest and his pro-Israeli-ness will give him a hell of a boost in Florida, where the Jewish community is very influential in politics. While I disagree with the degree of his pro-Israeli-ness and his hawkish mentality, I recognize that this is a man whose every vote has been in defense of the American worker. Some of you who dislike him might come to realize this when you get out of college.

[dfong63]

20. she's not looking at the big picture

the race will not be "won or lost" in the midwest, any more than it will be "won or lost" in the northeast, the south, or the west. we can't take any region for granted. we need a candidate who will do well in many places, not just the south and not just the midwest. overall the strongest candidate is Dean. Gep has regional appeal at best. Dean is eating Gephardt's lunch in Gep's own backyard.

[the populist]

21. Dean lags behind Bush in national polls

despite his centrist record as governor. Many working class people are in Bush's pocket because of his character myth, but a worker's candidate could give Bush a run for his money in any region. Dean would hardly be able to put the issue of unfair trade on the table as Gephardt would.

[mouse7]

24. Dean is about 20 points better in head to head as Clinton was in 92

Dean is positioned just fine.

[mouse7]

22. Translation: Last time Nancy Pelosi endorses so early n/t

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

28. Go Gephardt!

Gep will take Iowa and belive it - no "free trade" Democrat is going to be President.

[the populist]

30. You tell 'em.

I'm saddened to see how everyone here lumps Gephardt in the same category as Lieberman. Sorry, buys; but there are more issues out there than the IWR; and Gephardt's position on reconstruction is hardly different from Dean's. To paraphrase Bill O'Really, "I respect all of the major Democratic candidates except for Gephardt. He's a bit too socialist for my tastes." Gephardt is THE worker's candidate (if you forget about Kucinich).

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

32. Gephardt/Kucinich - Works For Me!

:bounce:

[the populist]

38. That would be a dream come true.

People fail to see that, foreign policy aside, there's not much that separates the two.

[dansolo]

40. Gephardt betrayed the Democratic Party

My problem isn't that Gephardt supported the IWR. What pissed me off was the fact that he struck a deal with the Bush Administration without consulting the Democratic leadership, thereby undercutting any possible debate about the IWR.

[MIMStigator]

33. like somebody else said LOLOLOLOLOLOL

EOM

[IndianaGreen]

35. We saw how great Gephardt was in opposing Bush

Pelosi thinks like a Beltway type. She does not understand the dim view many Americans have of Washington's business-as-usual.

Supporting Gephardt simply because he was House Leader won't wash outside the District. This does though:

President, House Leadership Agree on Iraq Resolution



President George W. Bush along with bipartisan leaders from the House and Senate announced the Joint Resolution to authorize the use of the United States Armed Forces against Iraq. "The statement of support from the Congress will show to friend and enemy alike the resolve of the United States," President Bush said during the announcement in the Rose Garden, Wednesday, October 2, 2002. White House photo by Paul Morse.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021002-7.html

[the populist]

39. There are other issues out there.

It depends on what you think is more important:
1. A vote that has already occurred (Dean and Gephardt don't differ on Reconstruction plans much).
2. Worker's rights and trade.

You'll see when entire towns are unemployed because of NAFTA, which Dean supported back in the day.

Gephardt had the integrity to stand up to his party's leadership, Clinton, when Clinton was serving corporate interests. He deserves my respect and your respect whether you like it or not.

[patricia92243]

36. What is the difference in her saying he is the best man or an endoresement

[IndianaGreen]

37. An open endorsement is nice and clean

Let Big Dog endorse Clark instead of lurking in the shadows trying to manipulate Hillary's nomination as a running mate.

[goodhue]

41. "This election will be won or lost in the Midwest"

very true