MS-04

Blue Dog Dem Gene Taylor: I Voted For McCain In 2008!

Eric Kleefeld | October 25, 2010, 12:03PM

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS)

When it comes to Blue Dog Democratic Congressmen in red districts distancing themselves from President Obama, it doesn't get any better than this: Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) says he voted for John McCain in 2008, the Biloxi Sun Herald reports:

Taylor said he voted for Republican John McCain for president and is annoyed a Palazzo ad blasts the Mississippi congressman for voting with Pelosi 82 percent of the time. He likes to emphasize the times he's broken with the leadership on major votes, such as health care and cap-and-trade. Taylor is often viewed as a potential party-switcher; asked about switching to the GOP, he said, "Both parties are screwed up. They're screwed up in different ways."

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Nancy Pelosi

The Next Gingrich? How Democrats Could Win, And Pelosi Still Lose

Brian Beutler | October 21, 2010, 11:48AM

Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner

A small but growing number of Democrats have abandoned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- the GOP's second-favorite bogeyman in contested districts. Depending on how you count, about five have even said they oppose her continued Speakership if the Democrats retain the House.

That may sound like no big deal -- who cares if some of the most conservative Democrats in the House won't vote for Pelosi, so long as a majority of her caucus still supports her, right? Wrong.

The Speaker is a unique office-holder on Capitol Hill, elected by a plurality of the full House of Representatives. Even if Democrats can retain the House, their margin will likely be slimmer than it is now. And that could touch off a scenario in which there's a majority of Democrats in Congress, but a minority of members of Congress willing to vote for Pelosi as Speaker.

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Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Mullen On DADT: Show Me The Data

Christina Bellantoni | June 24, 2010, 11:35AM

Rep. Gene Taylor (D-MS) and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen

Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen said today that the Pentagon will continue to enforce the Don't Ask, Don't Tell ban on non-heterosexuals serving in the military, saying that, while he personally supports the policy's repeal, he still believes Congress should not pass any repeal legislation before a review is completed.

Mullen said the review must include all the "voices" of people affected by the potential repeal and that, once the review is done, he should be the one to "lead" the charge to implement the repeal. Mullen, who fielded questions from reporters and members of the defense community this morning at a breakfast sponsored by The Hill, said that he and other military brass still prefer "to wait until the review was through" before Congress passes the repeal because it's hard to know the impact because the "data that just doesn't exist."

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