Pelosi's ally loses bid for top spot on Energy Committee
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-California, ginned up some controversy last week after she refused to let a pregnant congresswoman vote by proxy in the Democratic leadership elections, presumably because that congresswoman backed New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone's bid to serve as top Democrat on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.
However, the tussling over proxy votes may have been pointless. Pallone managed to secure the spot over Pelosi's preferred candidate, California Rep. Anna Eshoo.
Earlier in the week, the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, chaired by Pelosi, recommended Eshoo for the spot by a vote of 30 to 19. Then Pallone's supporters petitioned for the entire Democratic caucus to vote. Pallone won that vote, 100 to 90.
Pallone had more seniority on the committee than Eshoo and also had the support of Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Maryland, the No. 2 Democrat in the House.
The vote gained more attention after Rep. Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, asked to vote by proxy because she was pregnant and her doctors said it was unsafe for her to fly at that point. Duckworth announced on Thursday that her daughter was born on Tuesday. Democrats considered Duckworth's request, but it was rejected after concerns arose that it would set an unwanted "precedent" of allowing members to vote by proxy for various reasons.
In that same week, Pelosi -- a longtime advocate for women's rights -- caused a stir when she complained about gender-based double standards in political reporting.
Earlier this week, Comedy Central's Jon Stewart skewered Pelosi for rejecting Duckworth's request for a proxy vote, calling her "every bit as politically craven as her male counterparts."
