Democratic Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.) on Wednesday ducked a question on whether or not he would vote for Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) by joking that she “might even get sick and die.”
Bright, a centrist Blue Dog who voted against the healthcare reform law, made the comments in response to a question about whether he’d support Pelosi to retain the Speaker’s gavel.
Speaking at a local Chamber of Commerce event, Bright “joked that Pelosi might lose her own election, decide not to run for the speaker’s job or otherwise not be available,” the Montgomery Advertiser wrote.
He then suggested “jokingly” that Pelosi could fall ill and die in the coming months, thus preventing him from having to vote for her as Speaker. His remarks reportedly drew laughter from the audience.
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Conservative Dem lawmaker jokes about Speaker Pelosi dying
Pelosi says the ‘swamp’ is one thing, Rangel is another
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi defended her party’s record on ethics Thursday, insisting that her 2006 vow to “drain the swamp” did not mean that ethical violations by Democrats would be eliminated.
Pelosi said her campaign season pledge referred to efforts to police and eliminate close ties between the former Republican majority and lobbyists. “The swamp was described as a criminal syndicate operating out of the Republican leader’s office,” she said referring to former Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, (1985-2006).
Pelosi declined during a weekly news conference to comment on specific allegations facing Charles B. Rangel, D-N.Y., who faced a public reading later Thursday of charges brought by a House ethics subcommittee.
Nancy Pelosi predicts Democrats will keep the House
Speaker Pelosi just sent this message to DCCC supporters:
Friend –
Here is what will happen in November. Democrats will keep control of the House. Period.
While some Washington pundits are claiming that Republicans have the momentum, I remain more confident in our chances for victory as long as we have our secret weapon — you.
Next Sunday, July 25th, marks 100 days from the fall elections. I have set a goal of raising $1 Million in grassroots contributions to send a powerful message to the media and to the world that we will keep control of the House and we will continue America’s New Direction!
Please stand with me to send an overwhelming message of grassroots strength. If you contribute today, you will receive a special invitation to join me on our National Campaign Kickoff Conference Call.
House may try to pass Senate health care bill without voting on it
The Washington Post, “House may try to pass Senate health-care bill without voting on it”
by Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane
After laying the groundwork for a decisive vote this week on the Senate’s health-care bill, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested Monday that she might attempt to pass the measure without having members vote on it.
Instead, Pelosi (D-Calif.) would rely on a procedural sleight of hand: The House would vote on a more popular package of fixes to the Senate bill; under the House rule for that vote, passage would signify that lawmakers “deem” the health-care bill to be passed.
The tactic — known as a “self-executing rule” or a “deem and pass” — has been commonly used, although never to pass legislation as momentous as the $875 billion health-care bill. It is one of three options that Pelosi said she is considering for a late-week House vote, but she added that she prefers it because it would politically protect lawmakers who are reluctant to publicly support the measure.
The Washington Post article continues here.
Pelosi: ‘Once we kick through this door,’ more reform will follow
Washington Examiner, “Pelosi: ‘Once we kick through this door,’ more reform will follow”
by Byron York
If you have any doubt that the Democratic leadership of the House views passing the current health care reform bill as the beginning, not the end, of the process of creating a national government health care system, just note what Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of bloggers on Monday. “My biggest fight has been between those who wanted to do something incremental and those who wanted to do something comprehensive,” Pelosi said, according to an account by Washington Post reform advocate Ezra Klein. “We won that fight, and once we kick through this door, there’ll be more legislation to follow.”
But since the current bill is unpopular, and Pelosi at the moment does not have enough Democratic, much less Republican, votes to pass it, the door she will be kicking through is the back door. Pelosi told the bloggers she favors using the “self-executing rule” strategy in which the House would pass the Senate health care bill without going on the record as specifically voting for it. “I like it,” Pelosi said of the scheme, “because people don’t have to vote on the Senate bill.” The strategy of passing the Senate bill while avoiding a direct vote, writes Klein, “is all about plausible deniability for House members who don’t want to vote for the Senate bill.”
Washington Examiner article continues here.
Clyburn: House Democrats still short on health care votes
Fox News, “House Democrats Short on Health Care Votes, Clyburn Says”
House Democratic leaders still do not have enough votes to pass health care reform, the chamber’s top vote counter said Sunday, even though the administration is aiming to have the bill passed this week.
The reality check came from Rep. James Clyburn, the House Democratic whip.
“No, we don’t have them as of this morning, but we’ve been working this thing all weekend,” Clyburn, D-S.C., said.
But despite the challenge of corralling wavering Democrats, Clyburn joined with other Democratic officials in saying he was confident the measure would pass, echoing comments from Speaker Nancy Pelosi Saturday.
Fox News article continues here.
Pelosi: Health care reform will finally allow artists and writers to be comfortably unemployed
MSNBC, “‘The Rachel Maddow Show’ for Thursday, March, 2010”
Think of an economy where people could be an artist or a photographer or a writer without worrying about keeping their day job in order to have health insurance or that people could start a business and be entrepreneurial and take risk, but not job loss because of a child with asthma or someone in the family is bipolar—you name it, any condition—is job locking.
Think of a situation where we can internationally competitive because we don‘t have this weight on us that other country—other businesses really don‘t have in other countries because they don‘t have this expense of health care which will all be reined in, those costs under this bill.
We cannot afford the status quo. We will make this difference and it will make a wonderful difference in the lives of our people, but also, in the vitality of our economy. That‘s what we want people to talk about.
MSNBC article continues here.
Pelosi: “We have to pass the bill so that you can find out what’s in it”
From Pelosi’s remarks at the 2010 Legislative Conference for National Association of Counties,
You’ve heard about the controversies within the bill, the process about the bill, one or the other. But I don’t know if you have heard that it is legislation for the future, not just about health care for America, but about a healthier America, where preventive care is not something that you have to pay a deductible for or out of pocket. Prevention, prevention, prevention—it’s about diet, not diabetes. It’s going to be very, very exciting. But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy
A dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion threaten to kill the bill
Yahoo! News (Reuters), “Pelosi: Lawmaker healthcare concerns can be satisfied”
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Thursday she was confident of satisfying Democratic concerns about a Senate-approved healthcare bill and passing the measure.
Pelosi made the comment at her weekly news conference — just hours after one lawmaker said a dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion were willing to kill the legislation unless it satisfies their demand for language barring federal funding of the procedure.
Their threat to kill healthcare reform came a day after President Barack Obama launched a final push to pass the overhaul, a top domestic priority, and urged Democrats in Congress to vote on the bill this month, even without Republican support.
Yahoo! News (Reuters) article continues here.
Pelosi selects fellow leftist to replace Rangel on tax-writing committee
The Hill, “Pelosi picks fellow Californian to take gavel after Rangel bows out”
by Michael O’Brien and Jared Allen
Speaker Nancy Pelosi has picked liberal firebrand Rep. Pete Stark to replace ousted Chairman Charles Rangel on the tax-writing committee, according to a House leadership aide.
The decision was made during a Wednesday morning leadership meeting following Rangel’s announcement that he would temporarily step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, the aide said.
Rangel (N.Y.) had come under growing pressure in the wake of several ethics investigations, and he faced a vote Wednesday on a GOP-backed privileged resolution to force his ouster.
The Hill article continues here.
Rangel takes temporary “leave of absence”
Fox News, “Rangel to Step Down From Ways and Means Post Amid Ethics Probe”
Embattled Rep. Charlie Rangel announced Wednesday that he plans to step down as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee amid a wide-ranging ethics probe.
The announcement came as Republicans readied a formal resolution to strip the Harlem Democrat of his chairmanship, and as several Democrats began to peel away and call for Rangel to step down from his leadership post.
The New York Democrat made clear that he initiated the move. He said he sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday morning asking her to grant him a “leave of absence” until the ethics committee investigation into his activities is completed. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., is expected to succeed him.
Fox News article continues here.
Pelosi not willing to can Rangel: He didn’t jeopardize national security
The Hill, “Pelosi: Rangel’s ethics admonishment ‘is not good’”
by Kim Hart
Rep. Charlie Rangel’s admonishment for violating House gift rules “is not good,” but his actions did not put the nation at risk in any material way, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday.
Pelosi said it is not her place to interfere in any investigations of the matter and said she would not get involved politically.
“But the fact is, is that what Mr. Rangel has been admonished for is not good,” she said on ABC’s “This Week.” “It was a violation of the rules of the House. It was not a–something that jeopardized our country in any way.”
The Hill article continues here.