There are two candidates for Majority Leader who were nominated, received a second for their nomination, and who announced their acceptance of the nomination. They are:

Joe Swartz (D-NY)
Chris Piazza (D-OH)

Keep the debate clean and spirited!

*gavel*

I am hereby passing the gavel on to Kevin McGarry, the Majority Whip, as it would be a conflict for me to preside.

This post has been edited by Swartz on January 02, 2007 02:56 am

Pudding skins.

Upon consideration, the Chair (myself) rules that if the other candidate who was nominated and seconded, but did not state his acceptance of the nomination for Majority Leader, President Chichester, states his intention to stand in this thread today and participate in this debate, his name will be added to the ballot when we hold the election. I believe this is fair and just.

This must be stated today, and no extention will be granted.

Thank you and I look forward to a spirited, honest debate on the future of our Coalition and its leadership.

Mr. Chair and esteemed members of the majority,

The people of the United States have chosen a Majority of Democrats to lead this country in Congress. They have elected Democrats that represent all sides of the political spectrum. I, personally am a centrist, I believe in working with everyone, to achieve ONE goal. That goal, is to make us more effective. I am working on that goal currently, as the Acting Majority Leader, and I pledge to continue to work hard for members of this coalition.

My first duty, and it is my duty right now, is to set a Majority Agenda. We will be going into the new session prepared, and ready to legislate. We will remind the American people why they chose us. I am currently contacting several members of the Majority, to get their input on our Agenda. The agenda will be a good representation of the views that lie within our coalition.

My true dedication is to my constituents, and because of the dedication to them, I am dedicated to you. I am dedicated to every American citizen. I think my dedication to this coalition is shown by my active campaigning in recent campaigns, most notably, for Casey Evans in New Jersey. I am not afraid to help where I am needed, and I will go to any length to help.

My friends, I am here today to tell you, that I care about this coalition. That is why I am running for Majority Leader. I will bring all views to the table, and we will make acceptable to all parties. That is what I promise, unity through compromise.

Thank You

Mr. Chair, fellow Democrats and Independents,

Thank you for your confidence in me by nominating me and seconding my nomination. It is an honor to even be nominated for the same position once held by President-to-be Stephen Coyle and former President Richard Williams, among many others.

I, unlike my friend, Joe Swartz, am not a centrist, and you all know that. However, I respect the views of everyone and want to work together to be as effective as possible. I strongly believe in working with independents and any third parties that we might see.

When setting agendas, creating committees, or appointing people to important positions, I will value your input. I will value what Democrats say, what our independents say, and what is best for our coalition. We will work together to form a stronger and better America.

I'd be happy to answer any questions that any one may have and wish Mr. Swartz the best of luck. He's a good candidate and even if I don't win, I know the Majority will be in good hands and look forward to working with him.

Thank you and I yield.

I appreciate that we have two excellent candidates running for Majority Leader. I have known both Joe and Chris for a long time and I am confident in their abilities. With that said, I would like to ask a question of both candidates.

To Chris, I'd like to ask you how you think our coalition would benefit from having both the ML (if you win) and the Whip (McGarry) from the progressive/liberal side of the coalition.

To Joe, I'd like to ask what you will do to make sure all members, including progressive ones, feel welcome and like their voices are heard.

Thank you and I wish you both the best of luck.

Mr. Chair,

To answer the question from the fine gentleman from Virginia, I will always strive to make everyone feel welcomed. A coalition run by me, will be a "big tent" coalition. I plan to make sure that the Majority Agenda is acceptable to all people in the Majority, and I plan to make sure that our committee chairs equally represent our members.

I will not hold back any ideas, that fall well within the ideals of the Democratic party, and the agenda set-forth for the Majority. People will be allowed to speak their mind, and people will always receive my support. I believe that a coalition of one, is a coalition that will lead. If we allow everyone to have a voice, and to allow their views shine, we will be a coalition of one, working towards one goal: Bettering America.

Thank You, I yield.

To the candidates:

To Mr. Swartz: As more of a centrist, what will you do for the more liberal and progressive members of this caucus, such as myself?

And, to Mr. Piazza: As a liberal/progressive, what will you do for the centrists and moderates of the party?

Thank you, and good luck to you both.

Mr. Chair,

The gentleman from Pennsylvania poses a question similar to the one asked by the gentleman from Virginia, but, I digress,

Under my leadership, I will make sure that everyone has a voice. I will not hold back ideas that fall withing the ideals of the Democratic party, and those of the Majority Coalition. I plan to make sure that the Majority Agenda is acceptable to all people in the Majority, and I plan to make sure that our committee chairs equally represent our members. People will be allowed to speak their mind in our "big tent" coalition, and the doors will always be open to new, different ideas.

I have said it before, and I will say it again, if we allow people's voices to be heard, and ideas to be free, we will be a coalition of one. Our coalition will only have one goal, for one group: The American People.

Thank You, I Yield

To both candidates :

You have both spoken of being inclusive and indeed this is a big tent.

But given the shift rightward of the Republican Party, do you feel that there is a need for the coalition to follow suit ?

Mr. Chair,

I'd like to thank the former President, Senator, and Vice President-to-be for their questions. I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

My personal politics are very left-wing and progressive, but I realize that not everyone thinks the same as me. As a matter of fact, the majority of the coalition doesn't think like that. I'd work with Mr. McGarry to assure that the left-wing continues to have a voice in this coalition. I say "continues" because lately the left-wing has had a voice, but when I first joined, we did not. I felt more than marganalized back in the days of Lnog.

I will respect and work with all members of the coalition to include the voices of all. From centrists like Windu, to left-wing such as myself. While not forgetting the important left-leaning centrists that make up this coalition.

To respond to the other Senator, I will do the most important thing that I can do, listen. Listen, understand, accept, and put their opinions as the voice of the committee. I've worked with President Williams on issues, I've cosponsored Senator Windu's legislation. There are many good ideas that come from the center, so I will listen.

To respond to the distinguished vice presidential candidate, my answer is no. I don't feel we need to shift to the right. The GOP has shifted to the right and the American people are not in agreement with that. They do not want the party to return to the Yoshida days. Even Senators from the GOP have refused to endorse the right-wing shift. We need and will, under my leadership, keep the coalition where it is, while accepting the views from people who may be further to the left than most of us and those who may be further to the right.

If the idea is good, and good for America, then this coalition should work to implement the idea. It does not matter if the idea is mine, yours, or from Erin Yoshida.

I yield.

Mr. Chair,

To answer the question posed by the esteemed Vice-Presidential Candidate:

I, like Mr. Piazza, believe that a shift to the right is not necessary. A shift to the right would not only alienate OUR base, it would alienate the rest of America. If you also noticed, that with their recent shift to the right the GOP Candidates for President/Vice-President lost the support of one of their own Senators. WE CANNOT AFFORD THE SAME.

A coalition under my leadership will stay where it is right now, a comfortable place for the left, a comfortable place for moderates, and a comfortable place for America.

Thank You, and I Yield.

The Chair notes that debate shall be through January 4, 2007, at which time we will move to a vote.

Debate continues.

Thank you for your responses.

Quite a few of us obviously have questions about a possible ideological tilt in either direction and I'd like to make a quick statement if I may.

When I was Majority Leader, and even during my time as House Democratic Party Leader, it was well-known that I was a bit more moderate than most members of the party/coalition. In spite of ideological differences I had with some, we all worked well together. I point to my longstanding friendship with Kevin McGarry and Chris Piazza as examples. We never compromised our principles but we did offer each other something that is important and that is RESPECT.

I have no doubt that both candidates can and will rise to the occasion if elected to serve as Majority Leader. There are positive traits that both possess that will help this coalition now and in the future and I encourage both to stay active and involved no matter what the outcome.

I am very proud to be a part of a coalition that has two candidates like Joe and Chris running for Majority Leader. It says a lot about us as a group and as a party and as a coalition.

Ideology is important to be sure. But I'd rather concentrate on who is going to be a workhorse in the mold of a Stephen Coyle because, in truth, I believe he is the best Majority Leader AGS has ever seen.

Good luck to the candidates.

The Chair rises to echo the remarks of my friend the former President and Majority Leader, and wishes to expand on them a little further.

As he states, the ideological differences and those figures who represent them are well known to most in this Coalition. The primary reason, I think, for the reasonable success we have had is that despite those differences, at the end of the day we are, above all, pragmatists.

Being involved in Coalition leadership involves a certain level of simple, nuts-and-bolts day to day work. Given that we only have a short time left in this debate, I for one am less interested in hearing the candidates views on ideology as I am on their plans for maintaining and encouraging:

1) the writing, coordinating, co-sponsoring, and introducing of agenda legislation;

2) the coordination of debating, public relations, election, and voting strategies, talking points;

3) recruitment, activity, plans for the delegation of certain low-level positions of responsibility, and new ideas for keeping members involved;

4) timely communication and insuring things are kept updated, as in rosters, warroom access privileges, contact information, etc.; and...

...other things along those lines I'm probably forgetting. None of that is very glamorous, doesn't earn you much in the way of prestige, requires putting personal ambitions to the side, and is just plain tedious work. Yet it's needed to keep things going, and as Richard says, when Coyle was leader he excelled at it.

So I'd like to hear from the candidates on some of those points. Thanks, and good luck to you both.