If not Ms. Pelosi ..... then who?

[Stinky The Clown]

Your dream presidential candidate from the last primary cycle is not a good enough answer. Neither is someone who once made a loud, defiant statement that you agree with. Or even more than a few loud, defiant statements. That's easy to do when your home district sends you back time and again, even if you pick your nose and eat the boogers on live teevee the night before the election. Similarly, scratch anyone who doesn't have wide spread support and respect from her/his colleagues.

The Speaker has to **actually** be **able** to get shit done.

So ..... if not Pelosi, then who?

(For the non-thinkers and the binary thinkers ..... this is not a thread in support of Pelosi.)

[gateley]

1. Wexler.

[electropop]

2. I concur. Boxer or Feingold in the Senate, but in the House...

Waxman? Conyers?

[gateley]

4. Yeah, I answered with Senators before it dawned on me that I was in the

wrong place. :7

I just feel Wexler is stronger than Waxman or Conyers. Based on nothing, really, except my impressions gathered over time.

[lame54]

3. How about this guy?...

He couldn't do any worse

[gateley]

5. Who's on your list, Husb2Sparkly? nt

[Stinky The Clown]

6. I'm open

To be honest ..... no one leaps to mind. A few possibles, but no clear favorite. I see a real paucity of leadership.

I like Barney Frank, maybe. I don't like his politics, but I like the attitude/punaciousness of Rahm Emmanual.

[gateley]

10. And it's hard to know what one would do when one assumes the role.

So many of us were hopeful and excited when Pelosi became Speaker.

[MessiahRp]

13. I don't see Emanuel as a break from Pelosi, in fact he might be worse

eom

Rp

[Stinky The Clown]

17. You *may* have missed my point.

I didn't choose him. I mentioned him. I mentioned part of him, actually. His pugnacious behavior. That, specifically, is what I admire about him.

[kpominville]

7. Wexler or Kucinich have the respect of the people

But Congress is too divided between the normal Dems and the conservatives "blue dogs" to be able to agree on someone.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

8. Perhaps a potted plant to be consistent.

Cheaper to feed, easier to maintain, and accomplish the same.

[1monster]

9. And just what has Ms. Pelosi gotten done? Other than keeping necessary things from getting done

and pushing the Bush Admin's agenda?

Kucinich would be head and shoulder above her in getting things done.

Otherwise, any of the Representative who have NOT folded (and that requirement excludes Waxman and Conyers, unfortunately) in the face of the Bush Aministration's obstruction.

[gateley]

11. She's done what she's needed to do

to keep her complicity in the torture program hush hush.

[Stinky The Clown]

12. I think there are more requirements than simply 'not having folded'.

Expanding on what I said in the OP, the Speaker has to be able to get actual things actually done by actually getting the actual Members to actually follow an actual lead.

Simply not having voted a certain way is far short of that.

[1monster]

14. Who knows? If Kuncinich were in a position of power, he might get things done.

He has a lot of support among people who know who he is.

Unfortunately, not a lot of people do know who he is. I found that out during the primaries.

When they asked me who I was voting for and I answered Kuncinich, they'd say, "Who is that?" They had no clue.

And the news media did their darned best to make sure it stayed that way.

[LWolf]

15. Kucinich, Wexler, I'm sure there are others.

Getting things done starts with actually WANTING to get things done, and making some kind of effort to do so.

Put someone who has demonstrated commitment to accomplishing something in a position of power, and I'm betting he or she would accomplish something.

Start with someone who will actually leave a democratic agenda on the table.

[mmonk]

16. Anyone who supports the constitution of the United States

enough to defend it. All others are unfit for office. The dividing line between George Bush's Democrats and the ones that are opposed to his assault on your rights should be pretty easy to find out.