I’m not an unreserved supporter of Nancy Pelosi, but I think she was the best Speaker of the House in my lifetime. If she wants to stay on as Minority Leader then I will definitely support her. I think her biggest mistake was forcing her caucus to vote on Cap & Trade when it had zero chance of passing the Senate. But I’ll take mistakes in that direction over the kinds of mistakes that Harry Reid tends to make.
I don’t think Harry Reid should stay on as Majority Leader. For starters, he just found out how bad a fit the job is for someone representing Nevada. He should be free to vote in a way that doesn’t imperil his career. He has completely failed to attract support from across the aisle, so I don’t see any upside to him being the leader. Either Chuck Schumer or Dick Durbin should take over the job. They both have downsides, but they both have real strengths. We’re entering a period of pitched combat and we need someone who is from a safe seat and who really understands the Senate rules, and who can strike fear into Republicans. Schumer is chairman of the Rules Committee and he’s sharp as a tack and perfectly capable of being ruthless. I have to give him the nod over Durbin. But I’d actually vote for Durbin because he’s the one member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate that I don’t feel is a total phony. I’ll be happy with either one of them because they are better suited to fight the foolishness of Mitch McConnell than is Harry Reid.
If Pelosi does step down, I’ll support John Larson. I will not support Steny Hoyer. Having just lost half his support, I don’t think I have to worry about Hoyer.