Abandon All Hope... Democrats Seal Fate on Regaining House in 2012

The inscription once reserved for the Gate's of Dante's Hell might now best be hung on the doors of the DCCC, as the Democratic Caucus ensured Republican control of the Congress at least through the 2012 election cycle by selecting Nancy Pelosi as Minority Leader for the 112th Congress. While Pelosi's ability to move legislation should earn her praise as one of the most successful Speakers ever to wield the gavel, her work as the face of the Democratic Party in Congress should be finished for two simple, and less than noble reasons, that are all about image.

No doubt, the deck was stacked against Pelosi from the start - the image of a strong, progressive woman from San Francisco is enough to send shivers running down the spine of many a voter in the South and Midwest. This, coupled with her legislative efficacy, makes her unembraceable by Blue Dogs and even moderate Democrat candidates, and, by extension, makes those candidates unembraceable by the electorate. As distasteful as it is to have to pander to these darker angels of the Party, the political reality is the battle for control is the battle for the middle. If the Democratic Party is to regain the majority, that majority will have to include moderate and conservative Democrats. As long Pelosi is waiting in the wings to take back the gavel, moderate and conservative Democrats will remain unelectable.

Scholars of every stripe will long debate whether the message sent by voters in the 2010 Mid-Terms included a mandate to the Republican Party to resurrect some sort of Pre-New Deal constitutional regime in which the Senate is chosen by the States, the franchise is the exclusive luxury of the landed gentry, and African Americans count as three-fifths for apportionment of taxation. This much of the lesson, however, is clear: the 2010 Mid-Terms stand as an uneqivocal repudiation of the 111th Democratic Congress. By retaining Pelosi as Minority Leader, the Democrats seemingly send the message that they didn't get the message. Arrogance surpassed only by ignorance may have worked for W, but it will only seal the fate of the Democrat's hope for regaining the House in 2010.