In fact, Nancy Pelosi is not yet Speaker of the House, because the 110th Congress has not yet begun. Until then she is simply the Democratic nominee for Speaker.

Each party nominates a candidate for Speaker with the understanding that each representative will support their party’s candidate in the official vote. There is no guarantee that the election for the party’s nominee for Speaker will be uncontested. Because Pelosi is seen- rightly or wrongly- as the architect of the Democratic victory she was rewarded with a unanimous victory. However, if Blue Dog Democrats were certainly free to stand up to her far-left ideology by supporting another nominee- it is a secret ballot after all.

The Blue Dogs didn’t have a choice as to whether or not to vote for Nancy — well, they did — but that other choice was to vote for the Republican nominee.