Shuler Stands Up to Pelosi on Speaker Vote

Outgoing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to draw the ire of fellow Democrats. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler plans to vote for himself rather than Pelosi in Wednesday’s floor vote for speaker, and he tells Roll Call that other disaffected Democrats will join him.

“I personally feel and I think others still feel like, even after what happened in the last election, we’re still not being heard,” Shuler says. “The American people heard it. That’s for sure. … We think we represent the masses.”

Obviously any votes for Shuler or Pelosi will have no practical effect, as Republicans will elect John Boehner as speaker. Still, “I think it’s significant,” a senior Democratic aide says of Democratic opposition to Pelosi. “We all need to move forward, but that doesn’t mean that people have forgotten how many of their colleagues aren’t here with them.”