A couple of notes about leadership votes…
House Republicans gathered to elect their leadership and, despite the chin pulling in some quarters this summer about John Boehner’s chances of winning the top job again, Boehner was re-elected without opposition. Not even from the self-styled rebels within his caucus. Good morning, Mr. Brat.
Over in the Senate, Democrats managed to re-elect Harry Reid as their leader, but it was mildly contentious. Reid did not have the support of either Tim Kaine or Mark Warner. And Warner went out of his way to put distance between himself and the Nevadan:
“I was one of the ‘no’ votes,” Warner said in a statement. “The message I heard on the campaign trail was that Virginians are frustrated with the dysfunction and gridlock that has become the status quo in Washington. That has to change.
Amazing how a close race can change one’s outlook. But there is also a degree of payback in all this:
Warner, who narrowly won reelection this month amid a wave that netted Republicans eight Senate seats, has long had a fraught relationship with Reid. He has been shut out of high-level fiscal negotiations, and the compromise he spent two years helping craft as part of a bipartisan “Gang of Six” was rejected by leadership. Asked about his party’s leader at an October debate, he said, “We could perhaps do better in both parties.”
This isn’t about “we,” it’s about “me.” Mark Warner wants to be president. His ambitions were nearly binned earlier this month (though a loss very likely would have seen him make a run for governor in 2017). Without Harry Reid in his way, Warner has an opportunity to be the guy he claimed to be in his press releases.
We have six years to see what he does. Right now, it looks like he’s playing buzzword bingo…
But more interesting, by far, is Kaine’s vote. That was unexpected and also shrewd. Kaine bought himself some cheap insurance against a future campaign ad. Plus, he burnished his credentials with Liberals, always a useful thing for a guy who is openly and aggressively auditioning for the No.2 spot on the 2016 Democratic ticket.
