Yall Politics

G. Taylor - Linking Dems. to Pelosi could backfire for GOP

G. Taylor - Linking Dems. to Pelosi could backfire for GOP

Republicans have repeatedly tried to take down vulnerable Democratic congressmen by linking them to Nancy Pelosi and her liberal politics. It didn’t work in 2006 or 2008.
And yet, Republicans believe 2010 will be the year Pelosi sinks some of her own members.

They’ve used the California Democrat against Rep. Frank Kratovil Jr. in rural Maryland, because he voted with her to pass a climate bill reviled by much of the farm lobby. They’ve run ads featuring her against Blue Dog Democrats, like Rep. Zack Space in economically depressed Ohio, who voted for the Democratic budget last spring. And they think Pelosi will be an albatross for vulnerable lawmakers like Illinois Rep. Bill Foster, a Democrat in a Republican-leaning district who supports Pelosi’s calls to include a public option in the health care plan.

“Pelosi will be used in appeals from Republican candidates in every district,” said David Wasserman, an editor of The Cook Political Report. “In districts where [President Barack] Obama is still above water, she could be the only figure that’s used.”

But conservative Democrats warn that using the general to kill the rank and file — particularly those who haven’t voted in lockstep with party leadership — won’t be easy.

“I’ve been lucky enough to do this for a while, and they have always done that from the day I got here,” said Rep. Gene Taylor, a conservative Democrat from Mississippi. “But if they are trying to link someone who is not linked with someone else, I actually think it backfires.”

And getting voters to turn their ballots into a referendum on the House Democratic leadership might be difficult, as serious issues such as the still-struggling economy, the war in Afghanistan and massive health care reform stay center stage.

NBC Chicago
9/28/9

Posted September 28, 2009 - 4:41 pm

4 Comments:

All I can say is see is The Speaker of the House voted in by the party in charge The Democrats. Sorry Rep. Taylor she is your leader. As long as you have that D behind your name and she is the Speaker you and the rest of the Dems will be associated with Speaker Pelosi whether you like it or not.

Posted by BulldogJohn on 09-28-2009 at 09:15 PM [link]

“But if they are trying to link someone who is not linked with someone else, I actually think it backfires.”

Uh, Mr. Taylor, since you have served in Congress for several terms you may remember that the first order of business in every new Congress is to elect the Speaker of the House. You voted for Pelosi so you are connected to her.

Posted by reddneck on 09-29-2009 at 07:07 AM [link]

"And getting voters to turn their ballots into a referendum on the House Democratic leadership might be difficult, as serious issues such as the still-struggling economy, the war in Afghanistan and massive health care reform stay center stage.”

Are they serious??? Let’s see.....still-struggling economy. Well, didn’t Obama promise us before the massive spending, I mean stimulus, bill was passed that unemployment wouldn’t get above, um, 8%? The war in Afghanistan. Didn’t candidate Obama promise us that he would stay committed and focused on that front? And now he’s starting to backtrack on that as well. And finally, health care “reform”. Numbers released yesterday say that more Americans don’t want it than do, see Rasmussen.

So, yeah, I can see where tying Obama and Pelosi to these issues would be very bad indeed. But then, can you really blame Gene? It’s classic CYA.

Posted by factord_agin on 09-29-2009 at 07:08 AM [link]

Taylor’r butt ought to hurt from straddling the fence so much of his life.
He can’t take suggestions, he can’t take criticism.....but he takes his salary and perks and comes back for more. Time to retire, Gene...your number is up. You voted for Pelosi for Speaker so she will your Albatross along with alot of other Democratic policies that have become so unpopular.

Posted by catty on 09-29-2009 at 08:47 AM [link]

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