Way to go Dems!

[Foxfyre]

Several endangered House Democrats think they may have found a way to escape voters' wrath in next month's midterm elections: run against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Call them the anti-Pelosi Democrats who are openly opposing Pelosi for another term as speaker if their party can somehow maintain control of the House. Republicans are widely expected to make big gains in the Nov. 2 elections.

Two Democrats, Reps. Jim Marshall of Georgia and Bobby Bright of Alabama, have even taken out ads saying they won't support Pelosi in the next Congress.

Marshall told Fox News he's not running against Pelosi per se; just seeking to neutralize the resonant issue Republicans have created by tying all Democratic candidates to the California Democrat.

Yet Marshall still hedged when asked if he thinks Pelosi has been a "good" speaker.

"It's a real challenge when somebody comes from a district that is as liberal as Ms. Pelosi's district to govern from the middle, which is where we need people to be governing," he said.

Vulnerable first-timer Bobby Bright in Alabama is also pledging to oust Pelosi as speaker as are at least four other House Democrats, from New York to Oregon.

It's a survivalist tactic in a potential "wave" cycle whose atmospherics strongly favor the GOP. House Minority Leader John Boehner is poised to claim the gavel if Republicans capture the lower chamber.

But this sudden growth of weeds in Pelosi's own garden is also a measure of her unpopularity across the country, which stands in three national polls at 56 percent or higher.

"I think a lot of members want to prove their independence from leadership and I think there are a lot of voters right now looking for that," said Democratic strategist Joe Trippi. "They don't want a rubber stamp."

State Sen. Roy Herron, a Democrat gunning for a House seat in rural Tennessee, told Fox News his jump aboard the anti-Pelosi bandwagon resulted in punishment from party leaders.

"The day that it was reported that I would not support either Speaker Pelosi or Mr. Boehner for speaker, it was announced that some of the TV ads that had previously been bought would not go forward," he said. "If that's the price of being independent, then it's a price I'm prepared to pay."

Fox News' James Rosen contributed to this report

And now the Democrats are starting ot jump ship a bit.......

[Vic]

Well it's about time that some Dems see that their party has been hijacked by the loony left.

[SuperSaiyaMan12]

Oh yes, the Left is so Loony, its not like its just trying to give civil liberties to everyone.

[Vic]

Nicely balanced by the civil liberties that htey are trying to deny people.

[Sionnach Glic]

In what way have the Democrats been in any way hijacked by the far-left? Exactly what legislation have they put forward that is far-left?

Given everything that's happened since the "socialist" Obama has been elected, I still feel pretty safe in stating that the Democrats are still sitting somewhere in the centre.

[Reliant121]

Depends on your yard stick. As far as I know, the majority of American politics is more right wing by nature than anyone else's in the west. Our left wing would probably be complete hippy nutcases by American standards.

[Mikey]

Well, Pelosi has long been called "far-left" or "left-wing fringe..." by people who are afraid of the moderate left or die-hard right-wingers.

The GOP has been using this for a bit, though - a number of local campaigns have being the description of a Democrat as "voting in sync with Pelosi" as an insult/reason to vote against that person.

I'm not sure I get the whole idea, though, or Vic's description. The sobriquet of far-left or left fringe used to only apply to people or groups who were... well, far-left or left fringe, like the ACLU or Franklin Roosevelt.

[Sionnach Glic]

Depends on your yard stick. As far as I know, the majority of American politics is more right wing by nature than anyone else's in the west. Our left wing would probably be complete hippy nutcases by American standards.

Hell, even the Tories are probably further left than the Democrats on some issues.

But even by American standards, I'm finding it hard to think of anything the Democrats have done within the last couple of years that could be classed as "far left".

[Tyyr]

I'm not sure if this will work. It's pretty blatant jumping ship. They see Pelosi turning into a lightning rod and they're scattering as quick as they can. Not sure if the voters are going to go for it. How disliked is she on the left? Do they think they can pick up enough undecided and right wing votes to hold their seats with this or are they just desperate?

[Mikey]

Everything is relative, and as Ireland's own philosopher Bishop Berkeley admonished, perception is everything. When vocal minority groups from the far right are gaining support, the moderate left becomes the far left in popular parlance. People have also become used to defining "moderate left" as Clinton-style Democratic platforms. If the current grassroots vocal fringe groups were fringe leftists, then the moderate conservatives would in turn be referred to popularly as the "far right."

@ Tyyr - the left doesn't really demonize her or understand the particular right-wing vitriol for her, but we don't idolize her either. If she were to go, then I believe the majority of the left would be of the opinion, "Oh, well - let's get someone else, then."

[Tsukiyumi]

I never liked her, personally.