” I Fear Retribution If I Don’t Support Pelosi For Speaker “

Townhall: House Democrats could be on the verge of a massive leadership fight. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wants that speaker’s gavel back in her hands. The problem: she may be short of the votes. The anti-Pelosi wing, or Never Nancy-ites, are sticking together for now, but they don’t have a candidate. Lauretta wrote that Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-CA), could be a potential challenger (via WaPo):

Rep. Marcia L. Fudge said on Thursday that she has been “overwhelmed” by the support from many of her colleagues for her possible entry into the race for House speaker, becoming the first Democrat to publicly acknowledge a challenge to longtime party leader Nancy Pelosi.

“Over the last 12 hours, I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support I’ve received,” Fudge said in an interview with The Washington Post, adding that there are “probably closer to 30” Democrats who have privately signaled that they are willing to oppose Pelosi.

“Things could change rapidly,” Fudge said with a smile as she sat in her office, with her phone buzzing nearby.

Fudge, 66, a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said she is building a diverse coalition as she mulls a speaker run, talking with allies on the CBC, moderate Democrats, and newly elected members.

Pelosi doesn’t seem to be worried, telling Fudge to “come on in, the water’s warm.” Yeah, that’s not creepy at all. Before Fudge makes a decision on whether to help Nancy ‘Buffalo Bill” Pelosi get her sofa in the truck, it’s a trap, folks, there will have to be a solid commitment from this wing of the party to boost Pelosi—and that could mean burning some bridges with senior members of the caucus.  more here