Rep. Bobby Bright, Alabama Democrat, Jokes About Nancy Pelosi's Death

Rep Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is often the target of attacks by Republicans running for re-election to Congress, but this year the House Speaker is even fair game for some Democrats trying to score points with voters.

Asked at a Chamber of Commerce event whether he would support Pelosi to hang on to the speaker's gavel, Alabama congressman Bobby Bright, a centrist Democrat, avoided the question by suggesting that Pelosi might lose her election or perhaps decide not to run again.

Bright then joked that Pelosi "might even get sick and die," The Montgomery Advertiser reported.

His remarks reportedly drew laughter from the audience.

Pelosi has not commented.

Bright, who voted against President Obama's health care reform bill, faces an uphill re-election fight against Martha Roby, a Republican Montgomery City councilwoman who has Sarah Palin's endorsement.

The New York Times points out that Bright's not the first Democrat to take a swipe at the speaker as a way to keep his political hopes alive:

"Representative Joe Donnelly of Indiana, a Democrat also running in a competitive district, recently ran an advertisement repeatedly calling himself an "independent" and touting his vote against 'Nancy Pelosi's energy tax on Hoosier families.' " The Times reported. "And, in Pennsylvania, the first ad of Representative Jason Altmire's campaign features a female supporter praising him for standing up to the speaker."

Bright's campaign did not immediately respond to a request for a comment.