If Democratic staffers, instead of their bosses, had voted in last month’s House caucus leadership elections, Tim Ryan of Ohio would be the new minority leader.
That’s the result of a poll taken of staff on Capitol Hill by CQ Roll Call. Members of Congress went more than two-thirds for Pelosi, but a vote among staffers would have gone to a second ballot, with 40 percent picking Ryan to 35 for Pelosi.
The reasoning behind this opinion is not hard to understand, and I’d recommend reading Roll Call’s entire write-up to see it from their perspective. For Hill staffers, elections can have life-changing consequences. Democrats did not just lose a majority, but victory and a majority mean more jobs and more opportunities for your clan.
Life in the minority is not fun — you get the smaller offices, you lose votes every day, and the majority makes sure your name isn’t attached to anything noteworthy besides a few Post Office-naming bills, failed motions to recommit, etc. Especially in the House, the minority is powerless to do much of anything.
I doubt Tim Ryan was the answer to anyone’s prayers, but the poll — it’s small, self-selecting sample aside — at least hints that staffers definitely did want a new direction more than their bosses did.
