Pelosi embarasses herself again as she gives up the gavel....

In typical Pelosi fashion she spoke too long, showed her distaste with giving up the gavel and didn't represent her party very well....but that's Princess Pelosi...it's great to see out of any real power position....Boehner did a good job...he was humble, but forthcoming and expressed his hope for fairness.....

Her lack of popularity among Democrats is understandable. She will continue to be the lightning rod for criticism and will do nothing to help democrats get elected in 2012....her popularity will only get worse going forward.

It's a Great Day to see Pelosi gone as speaker.


Boehner elected speaker of the House; Pelosi's support divided

By Stephen Dinan

Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio was elected speaker of the House Wednesday in an historic vote that saw a significant portion of the Democratic caucus vote for someone other than outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Mr. Boehner received 241 votes, all Republicans, to capture the gavel and become third in the line of presidential succession, following only the vice president.

Mrs. Pelosi, meanwhile, received 173 votes, but watched as 19 Democrats from her caucus either opted for another candidate or merely voted "present."

It was the most defections from a party caucus's candidate in at least the last two decades, and underscored the simmering tensions among House Democrats who suffered staggering losses in last year's midterm elections.

Republicans gained more than five dozen seats, and will control the House 242-193 in the 112th Congress. In a show of just how much Republicans' numbers have grown, they spilled across the aisle into the traditional Democratic seats on the chamber's East side.

The gavel and sound block for House Speaker-designate John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican, is carried through Statuary Hall to the floor of the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2011. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)As she handed the gavel to Mr. Boehner — a traditional signal of unity by the two party leaders — Mrs. Pelosi thanked her colleagues for giving her four years in that spot as the first woman speaker in the country's history.

"Recognizing our roles under the Constitution, united in our love of country, we now engage in a strong symbol of American democracy: the peaceful and respectful exchange of power," she said. "I will now pass on this gavel—and the sacred trust that goes with it – to the new speaker."

Mr. Boehner wiped tears from his eyes as Mrs. Pelosi spoke, and taking the gavel she handed him, he vowed to make the House more open to rank-and-file lawmakers' ideas.

"Our aim will be to give government back to the people," he said. "We will dispense with the conventional wisdom that bigger bills are always better; that fast legislating is good legislating; that allowing additional amendments and open debate makes the legislative process 'less efficient' than our forefathers intended."

In a roll call that was at times solemn and at times light-hearted, all House members present announced by name their choice for speaker.

In the vote, 11 Democrats voted for North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler, who ran against Mrs. Pelosi in the Democratic Caucus's internal vote last year. Mr. Shuler has become the face of conservative Democratic opposition to Mrs. Pelosi.

Another two Democrats voted for Rep. John Lewis, Georgia Democrat and a civil rights hero, while several members received a single vote, including Rep. Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, the second-ranking House Democrat. Mr. Hoyer, who was sitting next to Mrs. Pelosi at the time of the vote, seemed surprised by the support and looked around to see who had cast it.

When it came time for Rep. Steve Cohen, Tennessee Democrat, to vote, he said "Pelosi, proudly." But the clerk apparently couldn't hear him and asked for his vote again, and he spelled it out for her: "Pelosi! P-E-L-O-S-I," he said.