Heath Shuler new minority leader? ahahaha.

[R13]

(CNN) - One Democratic representative says he will challenge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader in the next Congress if she does not step aside.

North Carolina Democratic Rep. Heath Shuler said the Democratic Party needs to be a "big tent," which will not be possible with Pelosi as head of the party.

"To be able to put Speaker Pelosi as minority leader is unacceptable for our party, to move our party forward in a moderate direction," Shuler said on CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday. "I'm hoping Nancy Pelosi will step aside."

But he was frank about his chances.

"I can add and subtract pretty well. I don't have the numbers to be able to win," Shuler said.

His jockeying comes after a week of leadership battles in the House that ended over the weekend when Pelosi announced plans to create a third position in the Democratic leadership. When Democrats become the minority party in the House they will lose the House Speaker leadership post.

Pelosi said she will nominate South Carolina Democratic Rep. James Clyburn for the new "assistant speaker" position. Clyburn currently holds the majority whip position.

Clyburn said Shuler would not win the elections for minority leader and addressed Shuler's criticism of Pelosi and the leadership team.

"Much too much noise is being made about the leadership team. We all know what happened this past year," Clyburn said on "State of the Union." "This is the team that brought us out of the wilderness? into the land of milk and honey."

Dem has a request for Pelosi – CNN Political Ticker - CNN.com Blogs

[R13]

Ole Heath was defeated by Pelosi today 150-43.