Free Republic

Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, Democrat from California, has big, expensive plans for commemorating her ascension to the head of the “People’s House” in early January. Indeed, the bug-eyed lady from San Francisco has slated a four-day gala of pomp and circumstance that will make the installation of Pope Benedict XVI by the Vatican seem absolutely skimpy by comparison. To begin with, the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and Labor Council delegation of 50 people will be jetting back East to participate in the first coronation of a queen in American history—excepting only the first swearing-in ceremony for Barney Frank several years...

Rocky Mountain News   To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URL: http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/opinion_columnists/article/0,2777,DRMN_23972_5132213,00.html Rosen: Democrats at the gatesNovember 10, 2006Election 2006 is behind us; the consequences await us. Republicans appear to have lost 29 House seats and six Senate seats. The GOP loss is significant but less than the "six-year itch" historical average of 31 House seats and six Senate seats in midyear elections during a president's second term. So it was bad for Republicans but not quite a disaster. Democrats will have a narrow House majority and a two-vote majority in the Senate. With...

Washington -- If women face a "glass ceiling'' preventing success in business or politics, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco has had to deal with what she and other women call a "marble ceiling'' in the august, historic halls of Congress. But if predictions are right and Democrats make a net gain of at least 15 House seats in midterm elections today, House Minority Leader Pelosi will smash through that ceiling by being elected the first woman speaker of the House early next January. For women, that would mean another barrier broken and yet another entree into the inner circles...

This is a vanity statement concerning numerous comments by Rush, Hannity, other conservative talk show hosts, and political ads.

Rep. Hastert, R-Ill., ought to announce sooner rather than later that he will not be a candidate for re-election as Speaker of the House when the next Congress convenes in January, 2007. He should do so for reasons both principled and purely political. He should do so because, in practical terms, his effectiveness is reaching -- or probably has already reached -- an end. And the recent embarrassment of his wild over-reaction to the FBI's search of Rep. William Jefferson's office is merely the 100-pound load that, combined with tons of ethical dead-weight, broke the elephant's back. The first reason...

Title and link only.

Delay's opponent in the Congressional race IS a Liberal Democrat. Tom Delay's Congressional Race Opponent indicated to Chris Matthews (Hard Ball MSNBC), in an interview shown on Monday, that he would vote for Pelosi for Speaker of the House. Since Pelosi cracks the whip so hard, he won't be the only one. Delay's Opponent, Nick Lampson, has now shown that he is a LIBERAL Democrat.

World Magazine profiles two up and coming conservative leaders, Representative Mike Pence and SC Gov. Mark Sanford. They mention Pence as a possible successor to Hastert in 2008: Mr. Pence, a 46-year-old Republican, is getting attention as an advocate of a leaner federal government who also has good credentials as a cultural conservative. He has an instinctive grasp of the news cycle from years of talk-radio show hosting in his home state. He is gaining mention as a possible future speaker of the House, with Rep. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) likely to step down in 2008. Having had the opportunity to...

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Attorneys for U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay sought the immediate dismissal of conspiracy and money laundering charges against the once-powerful Republican on Tuesday, but a Texas judge said he would not rule for two weeks in the case that has derailed DeLay's political career. Judge Pat Priest, new to the case after DeLay complained the previous judge was too close to the Democratic Party, also said he was unlikely to hold a trial before year's end if he did not throw out the indictments. "This is not the only thing on my plate," he said. DeLay has...

Just wondering if anyone else received this survey from Hastert. I just opened mine, not sure what's in it.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), who has been publicly vague about whether he will give up the reins at the end of this Congress, told a group of supporters last week that he plans to run again and serve as speaker for the rest of President Bush's second term. Republican officials said they are relieved by the development because it postpones what is likely to be a brutal succession fight that would be a distraction from next year's midterm elections, which are historically tough for the party in power, and from Bush's domestic agenda, which is already having a...

I just got to thinking about this and I've never seen the issue raised anywhere. Let's suppose that there is are two terrorist teams in the U.S. that are here to destroy the Bush/Cheney or Kerry/Edwards campaign HQ's on November 2nd. At 11PM one or the other is prepared to acknowledge defeat and concede. Terrorists blow up both camps. What happens from a constitutional standpoint if a President and VP elect cannot take office?

Washington -- House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi went out on a political limb Thursday, flatly predicting in the face of conventional political wisdom that her Democrats will win back control of the House in the Nov. 2 elections, making her the first female speaker in the country's history. "We're putting our credibility on the line,'' the House minority leader from San Francisco told reporters at her weekly news conference in her Capitol offices. "I told you we are going to win. I told you that I am going to be speaker. "If the election were held today, there would be...

Rep. John Conyers (D) is asking fellow Michigan Rep. John Dingell (D) to consider dropping his bid for a 24th term in the interests of avoiding a "divisive" primary with Rep. Lynn Rivers (D), suggesting grateful Democrats might later reward Dingell's sacrifice by making him the first non-Member to be elected Speaker of the House. Conyers made the proposal in a letter distributed to House Democrats just before the July 4 recess. In an interview on Tuesday, Conyers said he was trying to ensure that Rivers, who is backed in the primary contest by several powerful liberal constituencies, can return...