FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may wind up doing in her own party in the midterm elections.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/10/14/art.pelosi.jpg caption="Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA)."]
Jonathan Allen writes for Politico on how Pelosi, even more so than President Obama, could be the heaviest drag on the Democrats' hopes of holding onto the House in November.
All around the country, Republicans are using Pelosi's image on billboards, in mailers and in video clips to encourage voters not to support the Democratic candidate.
In Florida, billboards show one Democrat as a marionette with Pelosi as the puppeteer; and the National Republican Congressional committee is airing anti-Pelosi ads in dozens of districts that show how often a Democratic lawmaker has voted with Pelosi.
Midterm elections are usually seen as a referendum on the president, but Allen writes that if the Democrats lose the House, it's as likely to be a rejection of Pelosi, one of the most unpopular figures in U.S. politics today.
One expert says the strategy of demonizing Pelosi didn't work for the Republicans in the past two elections, but this time around it just might. He says the "vitriol" against Pelosi is similar to what Democrats showed against Newt Gingrich.
And Democrats are feeling the pressure. Several of them have already said they will not vote for Pelosi as speaker in the next Congress, that is if their party manages to keep control.
Other Democrats insist the GOP is pouncing on Pelosi because she has been so successful passing legislation such as health care and Wall Street reform.
Here’s my question to you: How much might House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hurt the Democrats in the midterm elections?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Frank in California writes:
I think she will significantly hurt the Democratic Party in the mid-terms. Living in the San Francisco Bay area, I know how liberal and divisive she is as a politician. The Democratic Party made a mistake by having the most liberal politician from the most left-leaning city in liberal California be their Speaker of the House. It is difficult to sell her in California, so it will be nearly impossible to sell her brand of politics in middle America.
Jacques writes:
Pelosi seems to be the face of the enemy for the Republicans this cycle the same way that Bush was the face of the enemy for the Democrats last cycle. She's an easy target, and politicians LOVE easy targets. Much easier to do the guilt-by-association thing than to, you know, debate the actual issues.
Steve in Danville, California writes:
I am a registered Democrat, but she IS the problem. She hijacked the president's guidance and policy direction which resulted in the nationwide disdain for incumbents and gave the Tea Party legs.
Sherri in Indiana writes:
How can she make it worse? Silly to blame Pelosi for what the Democrats as a group have done to this country. She didn't do it all alone. She may have led the sheep to the slaughter, but if they weren't sheep, they wouldn't have followed. The Dems could hear the people saying "no, no, no." They ignored their constituents. Time to pay the piper.
Mike writes:
Has anybody noticed that the very qualities that help somebody become speaker seem to make it impossible for somebody to BE speaker? (Think Newt.) Pelosi seems to be in the same mold.
Al in Delaware writes:
Every time I look at your questions, you've always got something derogatory to say about President Obama and the Democrats. Meanwhile you've got these bat crazy lunatics over in the Republican Tea Party saying all kinds of idiotic crap. Why don't you rag on them once in a while? Is the FOX noise channel paying you under the table?
Jack writes:
Holy moley, Jack, what an idea! If the Democrats want to scare people (in return), how about slapping John Boehner's photo on the nation's billboards? That overly-tanned blowhard is the poster boy for remembering why not to elect Republicans.
D. writes:
Nancy and Harry will put cap and trade on their own party.