Bright: "I cannot support either candidate for speaker"

Freshman U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright said he cannot vote for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi or House Minority Leader John Boehner for speaker in January because they are both too divisive.
Bright has come under increasing criticism for his vote for Pelosi in 2008 and questions about whether he would vote for her next year if reelected.
"Washington is broken," the Democrat said. "The leadership of both parties is too divisive, and our country is paying the price. Neither the speaker nor the Republican leader has displayed the type of bipartisan cooperation required to build consensus and move our country forward. As a result, we must look elsewhere for leadership. I cannot support either candidate for speaker and would like to vote for a conservative centrist who has a track record of bridging divides. Putting an end to partisan politics shouldn't have to wait any longer."
His opponent, Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby, quickly responded and reiterated that Bright's first vote in Congress was for Pelosi.
"Democrat Bobby Bright's latest suggestion that he might vote for someone else for speaker is just the latest contortion on this issue, coming only weeks after he said he had no regrets about his vote for Nancy Pelosi, and a month after he joked that she might 'get sick and die' to avoid answering this very question. This latest statement is just empty rhetoric from a flailing campaign, aimed at avoiding the larger issue: Democrat Bobby Bright's very presence as a Democrat in Congress keeps Pelosi in power. The simple truth is that Pelosi will remain as speaker so long as Democrats have a majority in the House. A vote for Bright is a vote for Pelosi."
Roby said she planned to vote for a speaker who understood the values of the people in Southeast Alabama.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen

'Fire Pelosi' Bus Tour Rolling to Alabama

The 'Fire Nancy Pelosi' Bus Tour will roll through the state on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, with stops in Montgomery and Huntsville.

The bus will pull into the at the Montgomery County GOP Headquarters, 2801 Vaughn Plaza Road, on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Tuesday. ALGOP Chairman Mike Hubbard will hold a press conference with representatives from Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby's campaign and other local officials and Republican candidates.

Roby, the Republican nominee for congressional District 2, faces incumbent Democratic Congressman Bobby Bright in November and she is hammering hard at his vote to put Pelosi in the speaker's chair.

According to the 'Fire Nancy Pelosi' bus tour Website, the Republican National Committee put the tour on as a grassroots effort to get rid of "out-of-touch Democrats" on Nov. 2. The big red bus is rolling into more than 115 cities throughout the country.

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks

ALGOP Blasts Bright and Pelosi

The Alabama Republican Party had a few choice words for Democratic Congressman Bobby Bright over his comments about the possible demise of U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. But the state GOP was by no means sticking up for the oft vilified lawmaker from California.

State Rep. Mike Hubbard, R-Auburn, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, urged voters in the 2nd Congressional District, which Bright represents, to be wary of what he called in a statement "Bright’s spineless response."

“We are facing the largest deficit in American history as well as a liberal Congress that is undermining the entire process by forcing government mandates like Obamacare,” Hubbard said in the statement. “And Bobby Bright is so scared of his fellow Democrats in Congress that he can’t even answer the question on whether or not he’ll give the gavel back to Pelosi? That’s pretty pathetic.”

“Alabamians are tired of the liberal power grab, they are tired of being told what to do by Obama and Pelosi, and they are fed up with wasteful spending and looming tax increases,” Hubbard went on to say in the statement. “The hardworking folks in the 2nd Congressional District need someone who will fight for them and help bring new jobs to their communities, not an empty suit who can’t even answer the easy questions.”

“You ask Republican Martha Roby (Bright's Republican opponent) if she’ll support Pelosi and you’ll get a ‘no’ every time, but ask Bright and you’ll get an answer cloaked in cowardice,” Hubbard said.

-- posted by Markeshia Ricks

Bright mum on Pelosi comment

Former Montgomery mayor and freshman U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright created an uproar with comments he made jokingly earlier this week about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
During a question and answer session following his speech to the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, Bright was asked about his support for Pelosi. After a laundry list of reasons why Pelosi might not be in the running for speaker, Bright said "heck, she might even get sick and die."
The comments, made to the audience and repeated by Bright to Montgomery Advertiser reporter Cosby Woodruff, were first reported on the Advertiser’s political blog, "South Union Street," but have received attention from the Washington Post, the Drudge Report, the Associated Press, CBS News, Rush Limbaugh, and a variety of Websites and blogs. "South Union Street" had received more than 325,000 hits by 7 p.m. Thursday.
The chamber audience laughed at the comments. Bright also reiterated to Woodruff after the speech that he was joking.
Bright, who is facing a tough reelection campaign against Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby this fall, joked during the breakfast that Pelosi might lose her own election, decide not to run for the speaker's job or otherwise not be available.
"I don't like to cross bridges until I get to them," Bright said when answering the question about Pelosi at the Eggs and Issues breakfast. "Maybe she won't even be a candidate."
Bright, a Democrat, has voted with Republicans on most major issues and has been labeled as one of the most independent members of Congress, but has been criticized by Republicans in his conservative district for voting for Pelosi as speaker.
"Bobby Bright's statement yesterday was an undisciplined comment at a time when America needs a disciplined approach to get our economy back on track, stop runaway Washington spending, and remain focused on creating jobs," Roby said in a statement.
A spokesman for Bright said Thursday that "we're not commenting any further."
Auburn University Montgomery political scientist Brad Moody said he didn’t think that Bright's comments would have much effect on his quest to be re-elected to a second term in Congress, though his opponent is clearly running against Pelosi.
Moody said he does have some other things working against him including a political climate that is anti-incumbency and an economy that is still struggling.
"To me that is going to hurt a lot more," he said.
Moody said Bright has voted conservatively as a Democrat, but his position on the issues are not clear.
"We know what he's against, but what is he for," Moody asked. "I think that's a whole lot more important than whether he will or will not vote for Nancy Pelosi for another term as speaker of the House."
Bright is the first Democrat since the 1960s to represent the conservative district, which includes parts of Montgomery and southeast Alabama.
His reelection battle is expected to be one of the most competitive this fall.
With Bright voting with Republicans on most major issues including the health care and banking overhauls, the GOP has turned to criticism of him voting for Pelosi as speaker.
Bright has refused to answer whether he would vote for Pelosi again as speaker. In 2008, he refused to answer which candidate he would vote for for president, vowing not to burn bridges and to work with whoever was elected, and would not say if he would vote for Pelosi, but did say he would prefer a conservative Blue Dog Democrat as speaker.
Roby, a Republican, is in her second term on the council.
"Clearly Bobby Bright will say anything and do anything to get out from under the tanking popularity of Nancy Pelosi and her job-killing agenda," Roby continued in her statement. " ... There's only one way we can put an end to the Pelosi agenda, and that’s by changing the party running Congress, starting right here in Alabama's 2nd District."
One of Pelosi's most frequent critics is calling on Bright to apologize to her.
"Bobby Bright's comments -- even if made in jest -- are indefensible," said Andy Sere, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, in a statement.
The last time an Alabama congressman received so much attention because of something he said about Pelosi wasn't all that long ago.
Last year, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks referred to Pelosi as "crazy," "mean as a snake" and "Tom DeLay in a skirt," because of what he believed was her partisan leadership of the Democratic majority.
"I personally think she's crazy," Rogers said of Pelosi, eliciting chuckles from a group he was speaking to at Auburn University Montgomery.
His comments, like Bright's, were first reported on the Advertiser's "South Union Street" blog and then picked up nationally. The post garnered hundreds of thousands of comments from people all over the country, mostly supporters of Rogers' view on Pelosi.
The head of the Alabama Democratic Party, Joe Turnham, immediately issued a press release demanding that Rogers apologize to Pelosi.
"At some point, you have to maintain professional decorum and at least reach out and try to work with folks ...," Turnham said at the time. "She is the speaker of the House of Representatives."
No such demands for an apology were issued Thursday.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen, Markeshia Ricks and Cosby Woodruff

Eggs and Issues: Bright's Comments about Pelosi Draw Laughter

U.S. Congressman Bobby Bright, the first-term Democrat and former mayor of Montgomery, was heard having a little fun at U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi's expense during his recent participation in the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce's Eggs and Issues.

Bright, who is facing a battle against Montgomery City Councilwoman Martha Roby this fall, joked that Pelosi might lose her own election, decide not to run for the speaker’s job or otherwise not be available.

He suggested, jokingly he insisted to his audience, that Pelosi could fall ill and die in coming months. That remark drew laughter from the crowd.

Though he has a reputation as the second most independent member of Congress, he has been routinely blasted for voting for Pelosi to be speaker.

Roby, a Republican, is in her second term on the council.

Bright is the first Democrat since the 1960s to represent the conservative district, which includes parts of Montgomery and southeast Alabama.

His reelection battle is expected to be one of the most competitive this fall.

-- Cosby Woodruff

Bright scores better than other Democrats on Club for Growth report

Freshman U.S. Rep. Bobby Bright of Montgomery scored better than any other Democrat on a scorecard from the Club for Growth, which supports low-tax, pro-growth Republicans who want limited government.
He also scored better than about two dozen Republicans including two Alabama Republicans, Rep. Mike Rogers of Saks and Rep. Parker Griffith of Huntsville. He also finished well ahead of Rep. Artur Davis, D-Birmingham.
Bright was in the middle of the pack among Alabama's seven congressmen.
Rep. Jo Bonner of Mobile finished ahead of the pack with a score of 90 percent.
Bright, with a score of 64 percent, was one of only three Democrats in Congress with a score of 50 percent or higher. The other Democrats are Rep. Gene Taylor of Mississippi and Rep. Walt Minnick of Idaho.
Bright ranked 155th among the 435 members of the House.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, for example, scored a 7 percent. Some members, including Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Illinois, Rep. Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island and Rep. John Conyers of Michigan scored 0.
Alabama's two U.S. senators, Jeff Sessions and Richard Shelby, finished with strong scores.
Sessions had a 100 percent score while Shelby had an 83 percent.
The Club looked at lawmakers' records on "pro-growth policies" including reducing income tax rates, repealing the death tax, limited government through limited spending, social security reform with personal retirement accounts, free trade, lawsuit abuse, tort reform, education choice, and regulatory reform and deregulation.
Members who refused earmarks were also awarded points.
The lawmakers who score 90 percent or higher receive the Defender of Economic Freedom award.

-- posted by Sebastian Kitchen