Mikie Sherrill: Avoiding a Colossal Blunder
Mikie Sherrill and Nancy Pelosi have been sort of entwined since Sherrill’s campaign began.
This was a bit odd, considering that Pelosi at the time was a former Speaker of the House and Sherrill was just another person running the first time for Congress.
There really was no doubt Sherrill was going to win the Democratic primary in the 11th District. But as the campaign was wrapping up, Sherrill announced at a debate in Livingston that she would not back Pelosi for another term as speaker. She said afterwards that the topic was something she had contemplated for some time.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
As the fall campaign kicked into high gear, Sherrill said the same thing – she would not back Pelosi – but this time it was in a TV ad.
All this made sense. Sherrill was running in a district with more Republicans than Democrats. So it was good strategy to distance yourself from someone the GOP likes to portray as a villain.
Republican Jay Webber still tried to make this an issue. He began calling her a “Pelosi Democrat” and then seized on a recording of Sherrill praising Pelosi at a political gathering. Webber’s point was that Sherrill was not really “anti-Pelosi.”
This position was flawed from the outset. You can praise someone for good work, but still contend new leadership is needed. And as we know, Webber made little headway with his argument; Sherrill won easily.
In late November, the now Congresswoman-elect Sherrill opposed Pelosi for Speaker in caucus. The “real” vote comes this week when the new Congress convenes.
Interestingly, one comes across various social media posts imploring Sherrill to support Pelosi. Are these people crazy? Sure, there are legitimate reasons why Pelosi deserves to be Speaker, and by all accounts she will be. Supporters say she’s experienced, forceful and will be a strong counterbalance to President Trump. All of that is true.
But it is not as important as Sherrill’s pledge not to back Pelosi for Speaker. Some may now regret that she made that pledge, but make it she did. Just why would individuals who are presumably Democrats and/or liberals want their newly elected Congresswoman to break a campaign promise her first day on the job?
That would be a colossal blunder and one Sherrill should have the good sense not to make.
From “A chat with congresswoman elect Mikie Sherrill” on NJ.com
“Q. Are you planning to vote against Nancy Pelosi as Speaker again? Won’t that hurt your chances of getting the committee assignments you seek?
A. I made a commitment to the people of my district so I won’t be voting for Nancy Pelosi as Speaker. I think that we need to find ways to break the cycle of partisanship, and I’m happy to see that the caucus is taking those concerns seriously.”
Representative Mikie Sherrill is not the kind of spineless politician to break a promise that she so clearly made to her constituents; when she makes promises she keeps them.