Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina said today that he will challenge outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi if she follows through with her plans run for House minority leader in the next Congress. “If she doesn’t step aside, then I will challenge her,” said Shuler on CNN’s "State of the Union" program.
Shuler indicated that Pelosi, whose unpopularity Republican candidates exploited in numerous television commercials that ran in dozens of midterm election campaigns, would continue to be a burden for Democrats who hope to regroup following their loss of the House on November 2. Re-electing Pelosi was “unacceptable for our party, for moving our party forward,” said Shuler. “We’re going to have to go in a more moderate direction.”
Shuler said that either one of Pelosi’s chief lieutenants, Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland or Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, who are going to continue as the number two and three Democratic leaders in the House, respectively, would be better alternatives as Minority Leader than Pelosi. The conservative North Carolina congressman acknowledged, “I don't have the numbers to be able to win,” but he added that he will run to send a message "that we're a big tent party.”
On the same program, Clyburn downplayed the angst that some Democrats have over the party’s upcoming elections for the party’s top jobs in the House in the next Congress. “Much too much noise is being made about the leadership team,” said Clyburn, who predicted Pelosi was unlikely to be deterred. “I think we all know that she will run,” said Clyburn. And he added that Shuler “will not have the votes to be successful.”
http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/shuler-prepared-to-mount-symbolic-challenge-to-pelosi-20101114
