As House Republicans waged a nasty internal debate on whether Speaker John Boehner should keep his post, the chamber’s Democrats calmly forged into the new Congress with the same top three leaders they have had for the past eight years.
And despite getting badly beaten in three consecutive congressional elections, House Democrats say they still have faith that their leadership team will maximize the caucus’ minority potential and eventually lead them out of the political wilderness.
“The debate [in the House Democratic Caucus] is not focused on personalties at all, or leadership, such as it is. It’s about what are the dynamics at work here that allowed us to lose two midterms so decisively?” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va. “What do we need to do, what do we need to understand, what do we need to change? I would say that’s the emerging debate … and that’s the discussion and the debate we should have.”
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer of Maryland have held the No. 1 and No. 2 spots in their caucus continuously since 2003. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina has been the third-ranking leader since 2007.
So committed are House Democrats to their leadership team that when they lost control of the chamber in 2011 they created the new position of “assistant Democratic leader” for Clyburn — who was at risk of falling out of leadership after his party had to give up the speakership to Republicans — just to keep the trio intact.
The team’s retention comes despite a highly disappointing 2014 election that left the caucus with its smallest membership in eight decades.
And while there were some grumbling after the November midterms by a handful of Democrats who suggested their party should consider an infusion of new leadership blood, Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn all easily kept their positions.
The trio isn’t young, with Pelosi and Clyburn both 74, and Hoyer 75.
But Democrats say now isn’t the time to clean house, placing party harmony above any push for fresh faces.
“This year was about unity, and grumblings or [talk] on when [a leadership] transition is going to happen became secondary to the fact that the group — which is a much smaller group that’s historically ever been here — needs to be unified,” said Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, D-Ariz., who has served in the House since 2003. “It’s no time to create a diversion over internal politics.”
Democrats say they’re not ignoring the future, as a cadre of younger members serve in lower-level leadership positions, including caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra of California (age 56), caucus Vice Chairman Joseph Crowley of New York (52), Policy and Communications Chairman Steve Israel of New York (56), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairman of Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico (42) and Policy Co-Chairwoman Donna Edwards of Maryland (56).
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who has served as Democratic National Committee chairwoman since 2011, is 48.
“Beneath the top spots there has been a generational shift,” Connolly said. “I wouldn’t argue that it’s a static situation [in leadership as a whole]. But I also think there’s enormous respect in our caucus — and frankly at the base of our party throughout the country — in our top leadership.”
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., said there is significant emphasis for grooming young potential leaders within the caucus’ ranks.
“There is an interest in making sure that all the talent that is in the caucus gets to be exploited, because we’ve got lots of great people,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean that there’s any interest in wanting to change [the current leadership team] up.”
“That’s the leadership generation in waiting, and there’s no question in my mind that’s what’s coming down the road,” Grijalva added.
Pelosi’s proficient fundraising skills also give members a reason not to challenge her leadership. She raised more than $2.8 million during the 2014 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ OpenSecrets.org. Much of that money was spent helping to elect fellow Democrats to the House.
“She’s the best fundraiser,” Speier said.
There also is precedent for party leaders to stay on after losing elections. House Republicans were in the minority for four decades until taking control of the chamber in 1995. And during much of that time, there was considerable continuity in their leadership team, such as Rep. Bob Michel of Illinois, who served as minority leader for 14 years, and Rep. John Rhodes of Arizona, who held the post for eight years.
“Bob Michel and his predecessors endured through more losing elections than Nancy Pelosi has,” said Bill Galston, a political expert with the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank. “Forty years in the minority — that’s 20 straight cycles of getting your bell rung.”
Still, those leaders didn’t hang on to their leadership posts after losing the majority, like Pelosi and Hoyer have. But Crowley, who is considered the fifth-ranking House Democrat, said his caucus has no intention of remaining in the minority for long.
“I think we have a message and we have a vision for the country that different what [House Republicans] have, and I think that’s reflected in their frustration” with Boehner, the New York lawmaker said. “We’re all focused right now on winning back the House.”
