Dems push back against Pelosi critics

I was reading the Atlantic article about Nancy Pelosi, when I found an interesting quote:

Indeed, post-Georgia, there has been a flurry of media reports about the swelling size and brazenness of the boot-Pelosi contingent. Massachusetts’s Seth Moulton set tongues wagging when he tweet-slammed his party for ignoring the reality that “business as usual isn’t working” and began publicly calling for new leadership. Two days after the election, Moulton joined Rice and Ryan in co-hosting a meeting for colleagues looking to discuss possible paths to such a change. Twenty members were invited. A dozen or so showed up. Others reportedly chickened out after news of the gathering leaked early. (One crosses Pelosi at one’s peril.)

Keerist! Pelosi sounds like the Godfather.
How can one old woman inspire such fear? What secret power does she have?

Most of Pelosi’s $25.9 million haul was directed toward the coffers of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which will be leading the party’s quest to take back the House in 2018. Pelosi has sent the group $24.7 million this year as opposed to $14 million she raised for the DCCC in the same period two years ago, in the last congressional “off year.”
...Her political operation counts $593.8 million in fundraising attributable to Pelosi since she entered the House leadership in 2002.

More than half a billion in secret powers I see.
Which is why you see this.

“We ought to be focused on 2018 [and] not be distracted by who we have [as leader] right now,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas). “We can’t be talking about this … right after we had a November election.
“We’ve got to focus on 2018. After that, we can have a conversation.”
...With that in mind, many Democrats say, Pelosi’s public dissenters are undermining the party’s efforts to forge a 2018 economic message and contrast it against that of President Trump and the Republicans.
“Members are getting pretty tired of these ‘Democrats divided,’ stories,” said a Democratic aide keeping tabs on the ongoing saga.
...Hobbling the efforts of Pelosi’s detractors, no lawmaker has stepped up to challenge the long-time Democratic leader. Moulton said he’s been approached by those with some interest, but he’s taken himself out of the running, as has Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who lost a challenge to Pelosi in December.

Seriously! No one is running against her for Speaker?!?
No Dem has any guts at all? That's just sad.

It's doubly sad after reading this.

During an appearance on “Fox News Sunday,” host Chris Wallace asked Pelosi to estimate the chances of Democrats winning back the lower chamber in 2018 and whether she would run again for Speaker if they did.
“That’s so unimportant. What is important is that we have the lively debate on a better deal,” Pelosi said.

Winning the next elections is soooo unimportant.
And not a single person will run against that!

Wallace during the interview also asked Pelosi if Democrats need new leaders, noting that the members of her party’s House leadership are all over 75.
“I am a master legislator. I know the budget to the n-th degree. I know the motivation of people,” responded Pelosi, who has faced criticism from some in her party recently.
“So I feel very confident about the support that I have in my caucus. I have never not been opposed within my caucus,” Pelosi added.

There is nothing true about anything she said, except for the last two sentences.
Come on San Francisco! We've got to vote her out to save the country!

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chuckvw's picture

Very wealthy zombies...

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You should only listen to both sides when one side isn't totally full of shit. -Jim Jefferies

Not Henry Kissinger's picture

Found a really good article from DownWithTyrrany about the state of the party.

Yesterday’s Democratic operative quote of the day was "We no longer have a party caucus capable of riding this wave. We have 80-year-old leaders and 90-year-old ranking members. This isn't a party. It's a giant assisted living center. Complete with field trips, gym, dining room and attendants." I would just add that the younger leaders-in-waiting are even worse-- much worse than the ones on their way out.

Another taste:

the DCCC is out recruiting, something that should scare the crap out of all Democrats since all the DCCC looks for are uninspiring wealthy self-funders, Republican-lite misanthropes and identity politics garbage.

Do yourself a favor and read the whole thing.

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The current working assumption appears to be that our Shroedinger's Cat system is still alive. But what if we all suspect it's not, and the real problem is we just can't bring ourselves to open the box?

housing in the US. I think Pelosi may be safe there.

A friend (who is himself a high level wage earner) used to refer to socially liberal folk who voted Republican because Republicans hate taxes as "income level Republicans." However, that view is likely based on the "tax and spend Democrat" cliche/stereotype that has been outdated since the Koch brothers and a number of corporations founded the Democratic Leadership Council: Save for perhaps those with a million or more a year in "earned" income, but are nonetheless too greedy to pay another nickel in income taxes, no one who is not poor people has had to worry about changes in income tax laws in quite some time. For example, despite his 2008 campaign rhetoric, most of the Bush temporary tax breaks became permanent under Obama.

Rich folk these days have little to fear from New Democrats (which Pelosi has become) on the tax front and rich folk Dems get to luxuriate in being morally superior to Republicans on both the social and economic fronts. Win win for the rich and for the New Democrats for whom the LINO (liberal in name only--and maybe not even in name) rich love to vote.

Note: After the horrific 2014 midterms, Capuano and Lynch, both of whom are in the same Congressional delegation as Moulton, said mildly that maybe Democrats should think about trying something different. Dembots immediately castigated them. I guess that was because only doubling down makes sense when you've been losing massively? (Capuano, whose votes put him in the same class as Barbara Lee, IMO, supposedly gets on very well with Pelosi despite that.)

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Wink's picture

@HenryAWallace
lived in the Assisted Living center? Thirty years? There's something to be said for experience, but there's also something to be said for retirement. Most of us know when it's time to leave. Either aches and pains tell us, time has passed us by, or a combo of both. An athelete knows when it's time to hang up his or her jersey. It's time for Pelosi to read the tea leaves. The problem with living in such luxury (as the House provides) is one doesn't recognize the signals. Is why we need Term Limits or a Mandatory Retirement Age of, say, 75.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink

Her neo-liberalism is. Well, that, and her selfishness and sense of entitlement.

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Wink's picture

@HenryAWallace
I'm thinking 3-year terms for the House, becuz all they all do for two years is raise money for their reelection. With 3-year terms 1/3 of the House would run every year like the Senate does every two. It also gives the minority party a chance to "retake the House" every year instead of every two years. Term limits of six terms - 18 years - leaves enough years for elders to assume leadership roles while kicking them to the curb before they get a sense of entitlement, assisted living. If voters back home won't vote them out, term limits will.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

@Wink

And, they'd be staggered. Why? So it's not perennial amateur hour, like the Presidency. No wonder the deep state runs things. Can you imagine the responsibility a sane person would feel on Day One?

I used to oppose term limits on the ground that voters had too few options as it was. I foolishly thought that anyone voters did not want would be gone. However, I've since realized that term limits are necessary. I think the right was pushing term limits at one point. If so, this may be something right and left may be able to effect by uniting, but, obviously, the pols will fight it.

Then again, would this be only a diversion from something more urgent, like global warming? So many priorities, so little time.

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@HenryAWallace it's an attitude.

And the dem 'leaders' like Pelosi are all dinosaurs in that regard.

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dfarrah

dervish's picture

@dfarrah It's far too difficult to remove a bad legislator.

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"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."

@dfarrah

Corrupted into place by the stacks of dirty money hemming them in. Poor babies, no retirement for them!

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

@HenryAWallace .

... becuz all they all do for two years is raise money for their reelection. ...

And there's the root of the real evil. Nothing to do with age and everything to do with requiring and rewarding bought-and-paid-for corporate/billionaire-dependent-and-serving corruption merely to get and retain the public service job - which fund-raising leaves little time for anyway - at all. What an obvious set-up for disaster!

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

strollingone's picture

@HenryAWallace ..."tax and spend liberal" so often that it completes itself when I hear just "liberal". And never, not once, have I heard "borrow and spend conservative". It should have started with Ronnie Raygun, but liberals were too ashamed to fight back.

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@strollingone

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WheninRome's picture

@strollingone In order to tax, you have to spend first.

Simple order of operations.

And remember, Federal taxes do not fund Federal spending. It is operationally impossible. Only Congress can spend money into the economy through legislation. Fact.

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Wink's picture

@WheninRome
"how are you going to pay for it" is just that. Be it Medicare or Defense spending it all gets "paid for" the same way. "How are you going to pay for Single Payer?" The same way we pay for everything else. Next question.

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

k9disc's picture

do you liberals not understand!?

That is the criminal omission since the Norquist pledge happened in the mid 90s.

Here we are, in the bathtub, and both parties pretend that it's some kind of mistake that we're here.

Between the Democrats corporate sponsors and the Republican slaves to wealth, we're right where any honest look at the policies offered would project.

@strollingone @strollingone

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“Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” ~ Sun Tzu

@HenryAWallace
I happen to live in Pelosi's district. I know a bunch of people willing to vote against her.
Will it happen? Maybe not, but it isn't a slam dunk.

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WheninRome's picture

Way past her expiry date.

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Alligator Ed's picture

Pelosi pearls thrown before er, a journalist (?)

Pelosi didn’t disagree with Wallace, instead highlighting the fact that Congressional Democrats are in charge of the messaging for the first time since 2006 and that they, unlike Clinton in 2016, won.

Geez, Nancy, if that's what you call 2016 as a victory, what constitutes defeat? This is only one of the stupid remarks issued by both Chris Wallace and Puddin' Head Pelosi.

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I am not keen on going down with it, but I don't know what else to do. No pain, no gain. The arrogance, condescension, sense of entitlement dripping off these preening divas has to be held accountable.

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

Wink's picture

@dkmich

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the little things you can do are more valuable than the giant things you can't! - @thanatokephaloides. On Twitter @wink1radio. (-2.1) All about building progressive media.

Azazello's picture

We hate to bug you again, but you have 15 MISSED MESSAGES to renew your Democratic Membership.

This is the FINAL NOTICE OF YOUR DEMOCRATIC MEMBERSHIP before tonight’s crucial End of Month Deadline.

Final Notice
Our critical deadline hits at midnight tonight, and we’re MILES behind our goal.

That’s why these top Democrats called you to action:

James Carville ? Is he still around ? Pelosi emailed me a dozen times and I still didn't donate ? John Lewis too ? The guy who helped smear Bernie ?
This is my FINAL NOTICE, I guess I'd better cough it up.

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We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.

@Azazello

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"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon

@Azazello

...This is my FINAL NOTICE, I guess I'd better cough it up.

'It' as in a lung, due to uncontrollable laughing?

I saw one labelled like that the other day, failed to view it. Getting sick of trying to get unsubscribed to enough of them in order to avoid these things piling in in my inbox...

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Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

@Azazello
I must have unsubscribed once too often. I didn't get it.

You have to wonder about people in politics who think that group of people is going to cause people who have not contributed to come running back. After that email they should start worrying about people stopping payment on checks.

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@FuturePassed

Lol, don't people usually respond well to abusive (we don't need your 'racist, sexist, White male basement-dwelling' Bernie-policy-supporting vote; we'll make up our own vote totals as we go along) groups - who don't believe that people like those they're demanding money from should have a living wage - which, when numerous demands for money get no response, send notes effectively saying that they've been ignoring all of these repeated demands, so had better pay up now? And without any unicorn dreams of that living wage, health care or political representation!

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0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.

Creosote.'s picture

@Azazello
and notice that they then shift to other pols -- especially Lewis -- in lieu of Pelosi now that she's finally on the auto-spam list. Also of interest are unsolicited dem candidate emails. When unsubscribing, they all have the same screen with only an "unsubscribe" box, not the usual "tell us why," so I assume DNC funding.

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Every mafia-type organization needs an Enforcer backed by Big Muscle/Big Money. Senile or not.

up
0 users have voted.

Psychopathy is not a political position, whether labeled 'conservatism', 'centrism' or 'left'.

A tin labeled 'coffee' may be a can of worms or pathology identified by a lack of empathy/willingness to harm others to achieve personal desires.