No Dem Majority, No Leader Pelosi

Bob Novak reports that the Dems are already making plans in the event they fail to take the majority in the House after the '06 elections, and those plans don't include Nancy Pelosi:

Talk is increasing among House Democrats that if they fail to regain control after 12 years of a Republican majority, Rep. Nancy Pelosi should be replaced as the party's leader in the House.

If Democrats recapture the House, Pelosi surely will be the first female speaker in the nation's history. But Republican strategists are posing that possibility as a reason for voting Republican, and she will be widely blamed as a San Francisco liberal if there is a Democratic failure in November. Pelosi's colleagues complain about her public performances, especially on NBC's "Meet the Press" May 7.

The highly regarded Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, second-ranking in the House hierarchy as Democratic whip, ordinarily would be in line to succeed Pelosi. However, tension between Pelosi and Hoyer has been so great that many Democrats would prefer somebody not identified as her antagonist. Consequently, there is speculation about Rep. Rahm Emanuel of Illinois, a second-termer who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as Pelosi's logical replacement.

If the Dems fail to win the majority, you can guarantee that the thought of "Speaker Pelosi" had a lot to do with it. What's surprising is the apparent choice to replace her is only a two-term House member who used to work in the Clinton White House. Boy, their bench is really weak.