WHIP GETS CRACKING-Gephardt To Retire if House Stays with GOP

The American Spectator ^ | March 8, 2002 KGT | Washington Prowler

[codebreaker]

House Democrats expect that current minority leader Dick Gephardt will resign from the leadership post if his party fails, as expected, to win back the house from the Republicans. Gephardt would then focus all of his energies on a presidential bid.

Already Texas Rep. Martin Frost has announced his intention to succeed Gephardt should he step down. Although Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi has been coy about going public with her plans, the California congresswoman has told several staffers in Washington and back home that she intends to challenge Frost for the leadership post.

Frost operatives have wasted no time attacking Pelosi. Several associates of Frost on the Democratic leadership team say Frost backers leaked information about contibutions Pelosi made to Democratic colleagues. In the most controversial, she gave 10,000 from her leadership PAC to Rep. Lynn Rivers, who is running against warhorse Rep. John Dingell for a newly redistricted Michigan seat. Pelosi stands to win big if Dingell loses: Her longtime friend and political ally Henry Waxman would be the new ranking member on the Commerce Committee.

"Waxman would do just about anything for Nancy," says a Democratic House member. "And she would do the same for him. There were other ways Nancy could have helped Rivers. The fact she did so directly had to be a message to Dingell on behalf of Waxman."

[Blood of Tyrants]

Yea, right. Just like all the liberals swore to leave if Bush was elected.

[Diddle E. Squat]

I dunno, we may be better off with Gephardt. He's pretty much a known commodity, and not taken very seriously anymore. Frost and Pelosi would get a grace period from the public, and it would likely take several years to expose them as the liars that they are. Frost has less of a downside, less regional impact. But Pelosi is a nightmare waiting to happen. As someone else mentioned, she's as adept as Daschle at saying the right things in public and running the Politburo in secret. And she'd enjoy the double-standard advantage(remember Lazio violating Hillary's 'space'?). Finally, her daughter has a lot of outtakes and behind the scenes film of Bush's campaign team. Who's to say strategic leaks of the outtakes, edited to present a distorted picture, could be used as blackmail(not so much on Bush himself, but others from the campaign)? Technology increasingly enables one to go beyond editing to fabrication.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

How many candidates do you know of that look more presidential in a drawing than they do in a portrait?
At least you can tell he has eyebrows here:

[deport]

Is he retiring from Congress or just his leadership position? I read it as he'll stay in congress and persue the Democrat Primary nomination for President. I really don't know what the MO laws are on this aspect.

[Conservababe]

He is going to focus on another failed run for president. What a stupid Dick.

A cyborg for POTUS? I am laughing so hard.

[Grampa Dave]

You posted, Gehpardt Leads Among Dead Voters in 2004 Presidential Field

Actually that seems about right to me. Gephardt appears to be dead and has been so for years. The DemonicRat party is the party of the voting dead and has been for a century!

[Macaw]

I worked on the trading floors at Enron for four years and I saw Gephardt there more than any other politician.

[Common Tator]

Gephardt knows that this cycle of redistricting did not favor Democrats. It is worse for Democrats than 1990. That means that if the Republicans are only down a couple of points in the Generic house polls, then the Republicans will hold the House. Right now the Repulicans are up a couple of points. In 1994 the Republicans were dead even and won by 20 seats. They were down a point in 2000 and still held control. Republicans can be further down than they were in 2000 and still hold the house. But they are UP not Down. Republicans will likely be up a couple of points in the fall. Gephardt is almost certain he could not be speaker before the 2010 redistricting takes effect in 2012. He will most likely be retired by 2012.

So if the Democrats don't win, he will retire. He will take a shot at the brass ring of the presidency, but in truth he knows he doesn't have much of a chance. But then in early 1990 it did not look like Bill Clinton had a chance either. If the polls stay the way they are or do not fall too much for the Republicans, then the Republicans hold the house and win the senate.

If the economy seems firmly in expansion and the war on terror is going well, lots of Democrats will see the first big oportunity not happening for them until 2006. And even that may be a long shot. Some will retire to try to make big money in the years they have remaining.

When the brass ring is out of grasp, politicians just naturally reach for the Gold sack.

[Grampa Dave]

Now you have insulted all of the good cyborgs out there. I'm sure that they reject Dead Dick as much as we do!

[rbmillerjr]

He'll keep that promise as truthfully as Baldwin and Babs and others kept their promises to leave American should Bush win.

[DaughterOfAnIwoJimaVet]

This is the photogenic pair that scares me. I know women who would vote for either of them just based on these pictures.

[Dog Gone]

Is he retiring from Congress or just his leadership position? I read it as he'll stay in congress and persue the Democrat Primary nomination for President. I really don't know what the MO laws are on this aspect.

Obviously, he's running for his seat again this November. No question about that. I was speculating that he wouldn't run for it again in 2004 if he was running for President that year.

I don't know whether Missouri law would permit him to run for two federal offices at the same time or not.

[mercy]

****Gephardt would then focus all of his energies on a presidential bid.****

What a joke. Such hubris. They need to stop putting LSD in the House's drinking fountain. This clairol boy is lucky he gets elected in his own district. Algore could beat him. His own mother probably has to hold her nose to vote for him.

[Conservababe]

Now you have insulted all of the good cyborgs out there. I'm sure that they reject Dead Dick as much as we do!

Oh my word, I must have used the wrong word to describe him.

What is the sci-fi word to describe a robot that looks like a human being? LOL

[My2Cents]

Super! That would probably make Nancy Pelosi minority leader! Another boon for the Republican Party.

[rightwing2]

Do you really think the Dems will go for Gore......a four time loser?

Yes, I do think the Dems will go for two time loser, AlGore. Current Democrap party polls show that he retains overwhelming support over all his potential rivals at this point in time. Anything can happen in two years, but I am definitely predicting that Gore wins the Democrap Presidential nomination in 2004.

[b4its2late]

His parents were visionaries when they named him.

[smithson]

Hi GD,

Have you ever watched this guy foam at the mouth? He gets all red, steamed and yammers on about nothing. It's down right funny.

[mountaineer]

He couldn't be elected mayor in his own supposed hometown - way too white.

[rightwing2]

Is he retiring from Congress or just his leadership position? I read it as he'll stay in congress and persue the Democrat Primary nomination for President. I really don't know what the MO laws are on this aspect.

I really don't see why he would want to step down from the House leadership to run for President and remain in Congress. He would do better to keep his leadership post since he will likely lose his party's presidential nomination to Gore anyway. He could even create an arrangement whereby Pelosi is appointed Acting Minority Leader for the Dems while Gephardt takes a break from his job.