U.S. House picks new leaders, including some Georgians

U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi may infuriate Republicans and may have helped cost some members of her party re-election, but House Democrats stuck by her Wednesday, electing her minority leader of the next Congress. "She's a fighter. She's a warrior," said Rep. John Lewis of Atlanta, who also was reappointed as Democrats' senior chief deputy whip in House leadership elections Wednesday. "She brought us to the majority before, and she will bring us to the majority again." Republicans, as expected, picked Rep. John Boehner personalized nfl jerseysof Ohio as their nominee to be the next House speaker and Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia as majority leader. Boehner, who turned 61 on Wednesday, did not make any comments to the media immediately following the caucus election. Rep. Tom Price of Roswell was elected chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee, which helps draft Republican legislative initiatives. That makes him the fifth-highest-ranking Republican in the House when the 112th Congress convenes in January. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County was named to theMiami Dolphins Jersey Republican Steering Committee, which will help decide committee assignments for members of the next Congress. "Now we must begin earning back the public's trust," Price said in a statement after the internal House elections. "I am confident that Americans will see our legislative efforts and know their voices are being heard again in Washington." Pelosi's election came despite widespread angst in her party after Democrats lost more than 60 seats in the midterm elections. During a closed-door meeting that lasted hours, Pelosi, of San Francisco, overwhelmingly defeated more conservative Rep. Heath Shuler of North Carolina to become minority leader -- but not without causing dismay for some Democrats. Democratic Rep. Sanford BishopWashington Redskins Jersey of Albany, who was almost voted out on Nov. 2, said it was a mistake to re-elect Pelosi -- especially for Democrats in the South. "I don’t see how we will be able to recruit candidates to run in the South and other red states with Speaker Pelosi at the helm," Bishop said in a statement, adding that Pelosi's "season has passed." "Given the fact that we suffered substantial losses in the election, I think a new face is needed for leadership of the Democratic caucus," Bishop said. Pelosi will finish her term as the first-ever femaleChicago Jerseyspeaker of the House this year. When asked why she should remain the Democrats' leader in the next Congress despite her low popularity ratings and the big midterm election losses, Pelosi defended herself. "How would your ratings be if $75 million was spent against you?" Pelosi told a reporter, referring to GOP ads that vilified her during the midterm elections. House Democrats stuck with her, Pelosi added, "because I'm an effective leader, because we got the job done on health care and Wall Street reform and consumer protection -- the list goes on." "They know I'm the person that canDallas Jersey attract the resources, both intellectual and otherwise, to take us to victory, because I have done it before," Pelosi said. It is Pelosi's organizational and fundraising skills that some House members cited as her biggest strengths. "She's organized and she can raise money like no one else in our Democratic caucus," Lewis said, adding that to regain the House majority, Democrats will have to recruit and financially back new candidates. Pelosi, he added, was able to push through President Barack Obama's agenda and tough legislation when many said it could never be done. "I give her an A for doing the heavy lifting,"Oakland Jersey Lewis said. "She gave the president everything he asked for." Few politicians felt Pelosi's polarization of voters as much as Democratic Rep. Jim Marshall of Macon. He was defeated Nov. 2 after four terms, in large part because GOP challenger Austin Scott and the national Republican Party linked him to Pelosi at every opportunity. On Wednesday, Marshall sat in on the caucus elections, but he didn't vote. Afterward, he declined to comment about Pelosi's continued role as leader of his party. "That's a decision that's going to have to be made by those who are going to be in the caucus next time," he said. "As they say in the South, I don't have a dog in this fight."