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Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has given $54,000 to nine
Democrats running in conservative districts,
and not one of them will say if they will vote for her for Speaker.
Democratic candidates Bobby Bright (Ala.), Ethan
Berkowitz (Alaska), Betsy Markey (Colo.),
Paul Carmouche (La.), David Boswell (Ky.), Frank Kratovil (Md.), Judy
Baker (Mo.), Jim Esch (Neb.) and Charlie Brown (Calif.) received donations
from Pelosi ranging from $2,000 to $14,000, either directly from
her campaign account or from her political action committee, PAC to the
Future. When contacted repeatedly by The Hill, none of the campaigns would
comment on whether they would vote for Pelosi as their leader if elected.
Every House Democrat voted
for Pelosi as Speaker on Jan. 4, 2007. At the time, Pelosi’s staff worked
hard to ensure that there would not be any Democratic defectors. The vote
for Speaker and the accompanying photo of her holding the gavel with
children of various lawmakers was front-page news across the country.
When Democrats were in the
minority, Rep. Gene Taylor (D-Miss.) voted for Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.)
for Speaker in 2003 and 2005. In 2003, then-Democratic Reps. Ralph Hall
(Texas), Ken Lucas (Ky.) and Charlie Stenholm (Texas) voted “present.”
Hall would later switch parties and become a Republican. In 2007, the
vote focus was on the many conservative freshmen who had won races in
districts that President Bush carried three years earlier.
National Democrats have gone deeper this cycle into red
America, and the makeup of the Democratic
Class of 2009 could be more conservative than two years ago. All of
the nine candidates who received Pelosi cash are running in GOP-leaning
districts. Six of them are in open contests. Berkowitz, Esch and Markey
are challenging incumbents. All nine are part of the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue program.
The Hill also contacted nine
other Democratic candidates running in Republican-leaning districts who
have not received donations from Pelosi: Harry Teague (N.M.-2), Walt
Minnick (Idaho-1), Jill Derby (Nev.-1), Michael Montagno (Ind.-3), Daniel
Johnson (N.C.-10), Victoria Wulsin (Ohio-2), Michael Skelly (Texas-7),
Larry Joe Doherty (Texas-10) and Gary Trauner (Wyo.-at large).
Of the 18 total campaigns contacted, only one campaign
offered a response. A spokesperson for
Doherty, who is running against Rep. Michael McCaul (R), said its campaign
is “still in the process of trying to get elected and haven’t taken on
that thought yet.” Pelosi’s office did not respond to requests for
comment.
With the Democrats looking to increase their majority
this cycle, Republicans have attempted to
fight back by tying Pelosi to Democratic candidates. Yet, that strategy
failed in two special elections earlier this year when two Democrats were
elected in conservative districts. And in an interview early in the 2008
cycle, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole
(Okla.) acknowledged that GOP attempts in 2006 to convince the public that
Pelosi would imprint her “San Francisco liberal” values on the House
misfired.
“Sure worked, didn’t it?” Cole said at the time.
But Republicans have not stopped trying. In Alaska,
embattled Republican Rep. Don Young attacked
Berkowitz last month, saying the Democratic candidate would do anything
Pelosi requested if he was elected to the House. NRCC spokesman Ken Spain
said, “Nancy Pelosi has slowly but surely become a liberal lightning rod
in congressional districts across the country. While political expedience
requires Democratic candidates to reject Pelosi’s San Francisco values on
the campaign trail, there is little doubt that all of them would become
loyal soldiers in her left-wing army should they make it to Congress.”
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