NOT SO FAST, NANCY – AT 11:52 A.M. ET:  I still expect Nancy Pelosi to emerge as the next speaker of the House, but there is serious unrest in her ranks.  It's clear that many in those ranks would prefer a new face.  From Fox: 

The revolt inside the Democratic Party against Nancy Pelosi's return to the House speakership is gaining momentum with a growing number of Democrats signing a letter pledging not to support the California Democrat for speaker.

Fox News has confirmed at least 17 House Democrats, including incumbents and incoming members, have signed on to a document saying they will not support Pelosi on the House floor for speaker. A Democrat familiar with the effort says they are trying to add more names before the letter is publicly released.

If all those Democrats vote against Pelosi on the floor, Pelosi would not have the votes for speaker.

To get the gavel, Pelosi will first need to pick up a majority of the Democratic Caucus in internal leadership elections, then go on to win an absolute majority of the House.

Still, even as these Democrats try to convince Pelosi she doesn't have enough support to win, no Democrat has stepped forward yet to challenge her.

But on Wednesday, Rep. Marcia Fudge, a Democrat from Ohio, said she is contemplating running for speaker.

"People are asking me to do it, and I am thinking about it," Fudge told a local news outlet. "I need to give it some thought and see if I have an interest. I am at the very beginning of this process. It is just in discussion at this point."

During a Capitol Hill press conference on Thursday, Pelosi simply replied “yes” when asked if she would have the votes if the election were today. Asked about a potential challenge from Fudge, Pelosi replied, “Come on in. The water’s warm.”

Meanwhile, Massachusetts Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton tweeted his support for Fudge.

COMMENT:  So we have a party that just won control of the House, and already is in disarray.  The big question about Democrats is whether they're ready to govern.  That was also the big question about the Democratic Party in the mid- to late-seventies, after Watergate.  The party was given a golden chance and muffed it, first by electing preening, morally pretentious members of Congress who believed they had saved the Republic, then by gifting us with one Jimmy Carter, whose incompetent administration begat the Reagan Revolution.

It could happen again.  Some learn from history, and some ignore it.

November 15, 2018