Imagine that you’re Ben Chandler, a blue dog Democrat from Kentucky. You just watched 63 of your House colleagues go down in flames while you managed to hang onto your seat by the razor thin margin of just 648 votes.
Heads are going to roll, you think to yourself. And then you find out that your surviving colleagues think Nancy did a dandy job and should remain as the Democrats’ leader in the House.
Do you think you’d describe yourself as (a) shocked, (b) pissed, (c) dumbfounded, or (d) all of the above.
Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.), who won reelection by only 648 votes, said in a recent interview that he blames outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for Democrats’ deep defeats in the midterms.
“If not there, where else does the responsibility lie?” Chandler told McClatchy. “You’re talking about the loss of 60 or something seats held by capable public servants. There had to be something going on at a level above them.”
He added, “If that isn’t the lesson, I don’t know what is.”
Chandler, a member of the moderate Blug Dog Coalition, voted against Pelosi for caucus leader, saying that her opponent, Rep. Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), was a “better fit” for his district.
“It baffles me that you can suffer the largest defeat since 1938 and still maintain the leadership of your caucus,” Chandler said of Pelosi.
Well, Ben, you’re one step ahead of us. We still can’t figure out how a radical like Pelosi became your party’s leader the first time around.
Source: TheHill.com