Assuming the Republicans keep the House, this may not be just the election of a majority leader, but the selection of the next speaker. |
Concerns about ethics tend to be episodic, and those episodes are stimulated when there are horror strikes. And, of course, Tennessee Waltz was a real horror story. |
My sense is that he's said what he's going to say about his family and feels that there's no need to bring further attention to them. |
Suppose you're on some committee - say the Transportation Committee, and a major transportation reauthorization bill is in the works. If you're managing the bill, you're going to make sure that the speaker's, majority leader's and whip's districts are treated pretty well. |
The real problem he faces is that 2006 is an election year, and he will be a lame-duck majority leader. His capacity to put together deals in the Senate will be limited by the fact that he has nothing to bargain with. |
The Republican leadership in the House is more ideologically homogenous than parties have been in a century. You don't find great variation in policy positions. |
They all want to differentiate themselves in positive ways. |