When Democrats lost majority control of the House 2 weeks ago, Nancy Pelosi was pushed out of the Speaker’s Chair in favor of current GOP Minority Leader John Boehner, leaving her scrambling to find a place among the leadership. Last week, Pelosi announced her intentions to run for Minority Leader once Republicans seize control in January, which prompted other Democrats to follow suit. Except, 2 very prominent Dems both wanted the position of Minority Whip — Rep. Steny Hoyer and Rep. James Clyburn.
With both men calling in political favors to assure a win, the fight for Minority Whip was just on the brink of turning ugly. And the fact that Clyburn is black and Hoyer is white also added a bit of fuel to the fire. Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh took to the airwaves to compare any potential political combo of Pelosi and Clyburn to “Driving Miss Daisy,” while the Congressional Black Caucus considered any negative perception from the brewing battle between the 2 men. But in the end, Nancy Pelosi had her way.
Over the weekend, Pelosi struck a deal that would, supposedly, keep both James Clyburn and Steny Hoyer in the House Democratic leadership. Hoyer would get the Number 2 position of Minority Whip he coveted, while Clyburn would get some other to-be-determined Number 3 spot (whatever that would be). But unless Clyburn has already been told specifically what his role amongst the leadership would be, how is that at all a fair deal?
You make a good point about Clyburn DJ. Hopefully he got some concrete promises for him to step aside. Otherwise it's not worth it.