No looking back for Pelosi as Democratic House speaker prepares to pass gavel

We Need a Better News Media, Part 1,987,364
The Washington Post: In the minority, Pelosi will be freed from the ceremonial duties of being speaker and crafting a governing agenda. Instead, lawmakers say, she is likely to more narrowly focus on defending Democratic legislative accomplishments and serving as a liberal check on President Obama‘s compromises with Republican leaders. (My emphasis; H/T: Fear and [...] In the minority, Pelosi will be freed from the ceremonial duties of being speaker and crafting a governing agenda. Instea...

GOP Prepares New House Rules
Politico reports: The new House Republican majority will force lawmakers to vote when they want to raise the nation’s Debt ceiling, publish committee attendance records, keep former members from lobbying in the House gym and require new mandatory spending to be offset by cuts to other programs. Those planned changes to rules in the House and elsewhere, scheduled to be adopted Jan. 5, are described in a summary that was provided by House Republicans early Wednesday morning. The actual tex...

Last-ditch McConnell 'don't ask' amendment blocked
A last-ditch effort by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to complicate the Repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy was blocked Tuesday night after Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) objected, Senate aides said. McConnell attempted to add an amendment to the so-called stripped-down defense authorization bill that would have required the consent of the Military service chiefs to proceed with "don't ask" repeal. Under Legislation passed by the Senate last week, certi...

Democratic majority ends with accomplishments
President Barack Obama signs the Don't Ask, Don't Tell Repeal Act of 2010,Wednesday, Dec. 22, 2010, at the Interior Department in Washington. From left are, Commander Zoe Dunning, Marine Staff Sgt. Eric Alva, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif. Shaken by a historic election in which angry voters canceled Democratic control of the House, lawmakers of both parties and President Barack Obama tried something new: They consulted each other. They cooperated. And finally, they compromised. From t...

Twitters Adam Sharp Makes the DC Rounds
Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by fdc in Famous for DC, Front Page, Local, Politics, Technology, Twitter TWITTER’S ADAM SHARP STARTS MAKING THE ROUNDS - If his tweets are any indication, Twitter’s new D.C. hire Adam Sharp (aka @AdamS) was out and about repping the San Francisco-based company around town on Tuesday. According to Sharp’s Twitter feed, he gave a Speech Tuesday morning at the Israeli Embassy and then headed to the Hill to have lunch in Rayburn with House Republican ...

Mass. to lose House seat, influence on Capitol Hill
Massachusetts will lose one of its 10 US House seats in 2012 following the US Census Bureau’s reapportionment of Congressional Districts, which reflects the continued migration of people and political power to the nation’s South and West. The Census Bureau’s 2010 population figures, released yesterday, show that the nation grew by 9.7 percent over the past decade, but that Massachusetts’ population increased by only 3.1 percent, a modest rate compared with fast-growing s...

Rep. Cheokas joining GOP
ATLANTA - Another State Legislator is switching sides. State Rep. Mike Cheokas of Americus is leaving the House Democratic Caucus and joining the House Republican Caucus. “I made this decision in careful consultation with members of my community after being approached by many of them and hearing their thoughts,” Cheokas said in a news release. “As a member of the House since 2004, I have been driven to best represent the needs and interests of my constituents at the State...

Pelosis Proudest Moment as Speaker: Ramming Through That Bill That Helped Get Her Partys Ass Kicked Last Month
This is a little like Joe Hazelwood saying the proudest moment of his tanker captain career was when he had the honor of covering the Prince William Sound with oil, and that the harbor seals and clams were just too stupid to know what a favor he did for them. “Every minute is a new minute to me,” says Nancy Pelosi, and, with boxes packed in the hall outside, the soon-to-be former speaker has already jumped ahead to her vision of the “humming, whirling entity” House Democr...

Soon To Be Former Speaker "Devastated By the Loss We Had" in the Mid-Terms
Politico Every minute is a new minute to me," says Nancy Pelosi, and, with boxes packed in the hall outside, the soon-to-be-former speaker has already jumped ahead to her vision of the "humming, whirling entity" House Democrats can still be in the coming Congress. " I'm obviously devastated by the loss we had," she will admit, but expect no tears, no retreat on Health Care reform. Pelosi mourns the Democratic talent lost but not her gavel . And on this particular Friday afternoon, she skipped ...

The Girl in the Plastic Bubble
Many leftists, particularly soon-to-be Minority Leader Pelosi, live in a plastic bubble. Being a leftist in America means never needing to actually hear or grasp what Conservatives believe. Many leftists, particularly soon-to-be Minority Leader Pelosi, live in a plastic bubble. Pelosi grew up as the daughter of a powerful Democrat, Thomas D'Alesandro, whose power base was Baltimore. In college, Pelosi interned for Democrat Senator Brewster. She met her husband, a native of San Francisco, and...

Rep. Warren Chisum wants Republicans alone to choose next Texas House speaker
Rep. Warren Chisum wants Republicans alone to choose next Texas House Speaker 10:24 PM CST on Tuesday, December 21, 2010 By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] Austin - Eleven Texas House Republicans said Tuesday that they'll demand a party Caucus meeting early next month to try to force selection of the next speaker by Republicans alone. Also Online Blog: Politics Get more politics news Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa announced that he and 10 colleagu...

Rep. Warren Chisum wants Republicans alone to choose next Texas House speaker
Rep. Warren Chisum wants Republicans alone to choose next Texas House Speaker 12:00 AM CST on Wednesday, December 22, 2010 By ROBERT T. GARRETT / The Dallas Morning News [email protected] Austin - Eleven Texas House Republicans said Tuesday that they'll demand a party Caucus meeting early next month to try to force selection of the next speaker by Republicans alone. Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa announced that he and 10 colleagues will call for a meeting of the chamber's GOP cauc...

Rush: Maybe the Real Terrorists Are On Capitol Hill
You have to admit, Rush has a point. Who has done more to undermine this great republic than those we’ve put into office. Via Mediaite: It could well be, ladies and gentlemen, that we’re fighting the wrong enemy in the Middle East. Maybe the real Terrorists that we face are on Capitol Hill. I mean, really, who’s doing as good a job to undermine what this country stands for as the terrorists? ‘Dingy’ Harry, Nancy Pelosi. I mean, look, if they call us ‘hostage takers

Robert L. Borosage: A Toast to a Remarkable Leader: Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Speaker Nancy Pelosi will relinquish the gavel to the perpetually tanned, lachrymose Republican leader John Boehner when the new Congress convenes next January. It will be four years after that January 4, 2007 day when she "broke the marble ceiling" and became the first woman Speaker in the two century history of the House. At the time, Republican pundits mocked Democrats for the choice of a "San Francisco liberal" woman as Speaker, suggesting she'd be a weak leader, unable to control the con...

Pelosi says House won't "re-originate" 9-11 bill
The problem facing the House on the 9-11 bill is time. If the Senate has to invoke Cloture on 9-11 health, that could take days taking us past the Christmas holiday. So House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is trying to get the 9-11 health bill on the floor tomorrow and pray that the Senate can get him a bill. Speaker Nancy Pelosi tells Fox the House wouldn't "re-orginate" the bill. In other words, re-start the process by passing the same bill the Senate hopes to approve and then wash their hands of...

Report: Boehner will keep controversial ethics office
Incoming House Speaker John Boehner will not eliminate the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) when the GOP takes control of Congress, even though he opposed its creation. According to a CNN report Tuesday evening, a House rules package set to be released Wednesday will keep intact the outside investigative panel that most Republicans voted against by maintaining "virtually identical wording to the language that Democrats used in their rules for the current session of Congress." E...

Pelosi leads celebration of 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Washington (CNN) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday led jubilant legislators and Soldiers discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in singing "God Bless America" to celebrate the upcoming Repeal of the Controversial law. President Barack Obama will sign the Repeal bill on Wednesday, and Pelosi did her part at the ceremony attended by hundreds of supporters of the Repeal by signing the measure passed by Congress to send it to the White House. ...

Pelosi leads celebration of 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal
Source: CNN Washington (CNN) -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday led jubilant legislators and Soldiers discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy in singing "God Bless America" to celebrate the upcoming Repeal of the Controversial law. President Barack Obama will sign the Repeal bill on Wednesday, and Pelosi did her part at the ceremony attended by hundreds of supporters of the Repeal by signing the measure passed by Congress to send it to the White House. SNIP "Isn't this a joyful...

New House Intel Chair: I Will Defend the CIA
Congressman Mike Rogers (R-MI) has been chosen to chair the House Intelligence Committee.  FrumForum interviewed the congressman as well as some former CIA officials to see which direction the committee will move after Republicans take control of the House. Rogers appears to be an excellent selection, knowledgeable about the issues facing America today.  He was a U.S. Army Officer, an FBI agent, and has served on the intelligence committee since 2003. All of the former CIA officials regard R...

The 111th Congress: history and hysteria
WASHINGTON — However history judges the 535 men and women in the House and Senate the past two years, one thing is certain: The 111th Congress made more laws affecting more Americans than any other since the "Great Society" Legislation of the 1960s. For the first time since President Theodore Roosevelt began the quest for a national health-care system more than 100 years ago, the Democratic-led Congress took the biggest step toward achieving that goal by giving 32 million Americans acces...

Democratic Congress Ends With A Whimper
The Democrats’ four-year control of the House of Representatives crawled to an end with the passage of a short-term spending bill, which will allow Republicans to set the government funding levels in the new year. On Tuesday night, The House passed the CR by a vote of 193-165. The Senate passed it by 79-16 earlier in the day. The Continuing Resolution (CR) will be signed by President Obama, and funds the government at 2010 spending levels until until March 4. The House will adjourn on We...

GOP Blocks Democrats' Last-Ditch Spending Spree
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) forced Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-N.V.) to surrender his efforts to fund the government with Democratic priorities for another ten months. Reid accepted a short-term, clean Continuing Resolution (CR), which funds the government at current spending levels until March 4. The lame-duck Senate will vote on the new CR on Tuesday. To prevent a government shutdown, the CR has to pass the House and get signed by the President on Tuesday. McConnell used...

Reid and Pelosi Finally Get Mugged by Public Opinion
Elections have consequences. The consequences of the November 2010 Elections -- and one might add the November 2009 Elections in New Jersey and Virginia and the January 2010 special Senate election in Massachusetts -- became clear as lights shone over the snow at both ends of the Capitol on Thursday night. At the north end of the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid abruptly withdrew the 1,924-page omnibus spending bill he had submitted two days before. Reid had hoped that the $8 billion ...

Shocker: Nancy Pelosi Feels No Regrets
Ms. Pelosi channels her inner Edith Piaf, via the Politico: Nancy Pelosi: No regrets By: David Rogers December 21, 201 “ Every minute is a new minute to me ,” says Nancy Pelosi, and, with boxes packed in the hall outside, the soon-to-be-former speaker has already jumped ahead to her vision of the “humming, whirling entity” House Democrats can still be in the coming Congress. This seems to be true. Ms. Pelosi does not seem to have any short term memory. Perhaps it was destroyed

Senate Votes For Cloture On New START, Votes Are There For Ratification Tomorrow
Senate Votes For Cloture On New START, Votes Are There For Ratification Tomorrow The Senate just voted 67-28 for cloture on New START. This ends debate on the treaty and means a final vote is likely tomorrow. 11 Republicans voted for cloture and in a Press Conference after the vote, Senator John Kerry (D-MA) said three other senators Judd Gregg (R-NH), Evan Bayh (D-IN), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) are all for the treaty. Senator Kerry remarked, “In today’s Senate, 70 votes is yesterday&#...