General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSomebody please explain why there is so many against Nancy Pelosi as Speaker?
Why would so many pledge to be against her BEFORE even winning their seats? They don't even know her. This is so much like what has happened to Hillary over the course of her political career. Effective, smart, fearless women are always attacked and usually by other women who have little idea about why they really dislike either of these Democratic warriors. WTF?
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)LexVegas
(6,483 posts)Sound familiar?
Lefta Dissenter
(6,654 posts)brush
(56,955 posts)Hope Speaker Pelosi puts them on the "scraping gum off the sidewalks" committee.
wiggs
(8,014 posts)DURHAM D
(32,825 posts)apcalc
(4,499 posts)Squinch
(52,281 posts)As for those posting here that they want her gone, about half are trolls. Of the rest, a lot just like sparkly new things, some are just sexist, and some get scared when republicans get angry. Which seems like daddy issues to me.
That leaves a small sliver who have actual gripes against her. I have yet to read any who say what those gripes are, but I'll trust they are there. But its a very small percentage.
FSogol
(46,248 posts)majority with thread after thread of this tripe.
Pretty transparent if you ask me.
Trolls run rampant around here and all over....
zipplewrath
(16,677 posts)There might be 12 - 15 "liberals" that are unsatisified for one reason or another. The balance are Blue Dogs that are tired of having to support positions they don't share and want the party pulled back to the right. Then there are the other 200+.
Silver1
(721 posts)If the democratic party goes to the right we will lose all our gains, which would probably cause another rift in the next election. We saw some of that happen already in 2016, and look at the result.
The Blued Dogs should switch parties if they're unhappy, and make room for progressives who are focused on real issues important to Americans, like the environment, jobs, and healthcare.
Dream Girl
(5,111 posts)Being old and female is unacceptable. Being old is Ok for men though,
hlthe2b
(105,775 posts)lpbk2713
(43,177 posts)There are two bigoted assumptions in play and neither are valid.
Guilded Lilly
(5,591 posts)redstatebluegirl
(12,454 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,946 posts)Hoyer has been either Whip or Leader since 2003. A lot of good Democratic reps have had enough. The mystery is why this is so hard for so many to grasp.
allgood33
(1,584 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,946 posts)People have had enough of being limited in their careers by others who wont let go, even when the writing (ie incoming reps who promised not to vote for Pelosi) is on the wall. This, btw, happens in every human organization.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Heard Sean Patrick Maloney this morning who used to be against Nancy. Said she say down with him and others for 5 months and developed the winning message starting with health care and low priced prescription drugs and down the line. What is their approach, were they out there helping others win, raising money for the Dems in record amounts?
Bev54
(11,789 posts)Get rid of Hoyer, he has done nothing, put someone in whom Pelosi can mentor to take over for her.
BeyondGeography
(39,946 posts)It wasnt. Which makes the we cant possibly change because no successors have been groomedargument look more than a little self-serving, which tends to piss humans off.
brush
(56,955 posts)She has keep her caucus together through all the repug opposition during the O years and the trump debacle.
She just help spearhead our fabulous blue wave. Fuck those who think she should be gone.
Maybe they should realize that when Pelosi is Speaker again the Majority Leader spot will be open and they should maybe try for that to get into leadership.
meow2u3
(24,899 posts)Nobody set them straight on the reality that Pelosi is a boogiewoman because repukes are scared to death of her.
GeorgeGist
(25,397 posts)has directed his minions to fuck shit up.
Johnny2X2X
(21,388 posts)For a good 8 years Republicans branded her and branded the Democratic Party with her. The thought is that to grow the party we need a new face of the party or the effective branding from the Republicans will continue.
I'm not sure what to think, I know she's very effective, but all I want to do is win. Did we win last week because of or in spite of Nancy Pelosi. I know that Republicans used her name and face in endless ads in my state, they obviously think tying any candidate to Pelosi helps them.
What I don't want to see is a messy power struggle. I hope the leaders decide this behind closed doors and move forward as 1.
Pelosi can be effective at her job. Is she the only one in the party that can be effective? Surely there are many others who could be great as Speaker in our party. What do we gain by replacing her? Do we expand the voting block for 202 by replacing her? Do we shrink it?
It's not an easy discussion. And above all, this is not an issue to be decided by emotion, the parties political masterminds need to weigh in on what makes 2020 the biggest blue wave possible. Winning is the only thing that matters.
List left
(627 posts)Banksters and previous administrations not prosecuted for their crimes paved the way for more of the same.
Me.
(35,454 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)And there's always some shit stirrers who are hellbent on imploding the party from inside -- And nevermind the fact that with the sun setting on the Clinton's political careers, the media, the GOP and the leftbros had to invent a new "Hillary" lightning rod or polarization, and Pelosi drew the short straw...
The real question is why is there no similar outcry against Schumer, who is infinitely worse than Pelosi in almost every regard...
Bev54
(11,789 posts)I agree, Schumer has conceded almost everything to the republicans and has done nothing to advance the dems agenda. Pelosi has been strong and managed to keep her caucus together for the tough votes. We need her experience to deal with Trump, this is not the time to put an unknown in. She will step down when the work is done, why can't people understand this.
Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)Whiskeytide
(4,496 posts)FSogol
(46,248 posts)WA-03 Democrat
(3,257 posts)mtnsnake
(22,236 posts)More than a few of our own people worry that her name alone brings out the republican base to vote against us more than anyone else, other than Hillary's name of course.
brush
(56,955 posts)onecaliberal
(35,412 posts)LonePirate
(13,835 posts)Turbineguy
(38,219 posts)That's all.
Ferrets are Cool
(21,712 posts)It's the only "excuse" I can come up with.
dlk
(12,231 posts)In our sexist culture, women over a certain age are expected to go quietly into the ether, no matter their level of accomplishment and success. This isnt ever expected of powerful, successful, older men, just the women.
Docreed2003
(17,618 posts)Some were pinning House losses on her for years, but when we take back the house, thanks to her fundraising and messaging, people are now calling for her to step aside.
Personally, I think we need her experience and expertise at wrangling votes at this time in history.
Sentath
(2,243 posts)LibDemAlways
(15,139 posts)Tarc
(10,559 posts)and it's what they had to do to win.
I fully support Pelosi and hope that she is the Speaker for the next 2 years. At the same time, a challenge to her leadership isn't evil or nefarious, it is a part of our democratic ideals. By no means should she step down just because someone things "it's been long enough" or such gibberish.
If someone else wants the gavel, then they have to challenge her for it.
rzemanfl
(30,217 posts)PurgedVoter
(2,364 posts)There are long term members of the Democratic Party who have had issues with Pelosi well before the Republican smear jobs started. I for one, have trusted her more since the attacks. When the lying, twisted, vast, right-wing conspiracy starts to attack you, it means you are doing the right thing. Whenever they attack we need to do the right thing. Keep our minds open, look for evidence and not judge the victim. Grayson, Avenatti and Franken are all victims of our sides over enthusiastic willingness to turn on our best defenders.
I don't want to cast shade on anyone fighting the good fight and Pelosi is currently fighting the worst most lying and unethical crew of Republicans we have seen in my lifetime. I will ignore the weak issues that many bandy about without proof or logic. Here are the convincing and negative arguments that I know of that quite a few old time Democrats hold against Pelosi.
Patriot Act and the Iraq war. The vast majority here on Democratic Underground knew that both were wrong. They shared information that has been confirmed time after time. In Pelosi's position, many thought she should be better informed and have a better understanding of things. Pelosi was against Re-authorization of the Patriot Act and she has indicated regrets over the Iraq war. In my own view she has not been a statesman on these issues, but then only a few Democratic Party leaders have been. She learns from the past and sadly that is not always the case in our leaders and never the case in Republican leadership.
Pelosi has never supported impeachment. More than once she has said, "Impeachment is off the table." She has referred to her preference to supporting battles that can be won as "Keeping your powder dry." The environment and the numbers have been against the success of an impeachment during both Bush and Trump's tenure so this may be wisdom. I am not sitting at any of these table so I can't judge this as well as I would like to be able to. Pelosi is against wasting the time, effort, connections and government money on useless fights. This is good management and what we expect from good leadership. On the other hand, we live in a political system, and by saying, "Impeachment is off the table," you are handing over one of your better weapons without a single negotiation.
As far as replacing Pelosi as Speaker, my answer is simple. Find someone better. Find someone who has survived the worst that Republicans can throw at you and still stay strong. Then we will talk.
Aristus
(68,001 posts)So they do. Just as with Hillary Clinton.
It's like the concept in Nineteen Eight-Four: "Who are we hating this week?"
Greybnk48
(10,340 posts)Mr. Sparkle
(3,072 posts)So doesn't attract independents or left leaning republicans. She cant grand stand at all. Some are also worried that she will look poorly going up against trump.
She is right(as in correct) on most of her positions but due to the nature of congress, not much is going to get passed.
haele
(13,352 posts)Populists are great in front of the media. They're really great come election time, convicting people that their great rhetoric is going to get things done. But Congress isn't a Board of Directors; once one is elected, then the real work begins.
Being able to gage the way 536 people are going to vote and assess what in bills is going to pass and what is going to fail, no matter how much you push and plead, is far more important when dealing with policy and process than standing in front of a camera and pounding the podium.
I actually wish earmarks were back, even with the potential for corruption. For all the cries of "pork", earmarks really didn't affect the budget much (as most earmarks were made up of "sweep-up" or left over discretionary funding), but they were a great way to convince members of the opposition to vote your way because they get to bring home a benefit that outweighs their political "discomfort" by voting against party and potentially against the majority of the social attitudes of their constituent voters.
Earmarks - how Social Security, Medicare and the subsequent improvements for them got passed. That's how Civil Rights, and Voting Rights got passed. That's how the CCC got established.
Haele
Small-Axe
(359 posts)haele
(13,352 posts)Many of those who want her out are concerned with "economic anxiety issues" far more than pro-choice or equal rights for LGBTQ folks, so they see her as someone who isn't totally on their side, because she considers those issues as well as their favorite issues.
Those who actually understand how politics works are willing to support her, whether or not they approve of her personal beliefs or focus. Because unlike a lot of folks who live in an "all or nothing" world, Ms. Pelosi understands how politics works - how to count, when to commit to an agenda, and how to put an issue on the incremental back burner rather than push for everything at once so that it continues to advance, even if there's significant opposition to it from people with other agendas.
Haele
Greybnk48
(10,340 posts)over and over and over, and they've made her out to be Satan incarnate. Some Dems have gotten sucked in by right wing spin, unfortunately.
MrGrieves
(315 posts)Because there is a lot of propaganda being spread around amplifying the few voices that have been her opponents for some time.
Botany
(72,208 posts)n/t
PubliusEnigma
(1,583 posts)MaryMagdaline
(7,653 posts)INdemo
(7,014 posts)But we also gained a lot of Republican lites
randr
(12,462 posts)workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)of Nancy Pelosi.
Its terrible to see the effects of Fox right wing brainwashing in our own democratic House members.
struggle4progress
(119,737 posts)pwb
(12,144 posts)It's three or four people mostly. Trying to divide us for comrade Putin And trump.