Rep. Joe Donnelly, the Indiana Democrat who will be Richard Mourdock’s opponent in November, is off to a roaring start to the general election, telling voters in his fairly conservative state, “Well, I did not vote for her for Speaker and so, you know, my focus is on the Senate race, what we’re doing here and on job creation.”
He says this as Pelosi travels to Indiana for a fundraiser to help Donnelly.
Except Donnelly did vote to make Pelosi the Speaker of the House, in 2007 (after the 2006 elections) and in 2009 (after the 2008 elections). After almost losing his seat in the 2010 midterms, he voted for another member.
“This afternoon, I cast my vote for Representative Heath Shuler of North Carolina for Speaker of the House in the 112th Congress,” said Donnelly. “I supported my friend Congressman Shuler over former Speaker Nancy Pelosi during our party’s leadership elections in November citing a need for new leadership. This need remains the same. What the voters told us in the 2010 election was that they wanted a change. And I believe a moderate approach with a dedication to working across the aisle, something I know is important to both me and Congressman Shuler, is the best way forward.”
So-called “independent Democrat” Donnelly voted for the stimulus, for Obamacare, for TARP, voting with Pelosi 88 percent of the time as of summer 2010…