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gwydionLook, trust me, I know exactly why people are frustrated, but please take a minute to consider that a lot of the push to oust Nancy Pelosi is coming from conservative media and when your enemies are egging you on and you are taking their political advice, it's generally time to stoop for a minute and think.
Speaker of the House is an incredibly complex and difficult job and most of the time we only see the tip of the iceberg far as what's actually going on. Most of the job is things we never see: the grueling fundraising shedule, the endless work behind the scenes to line up votes in a party in which that resembles herding cats, and a host of other exhausting, unglamorous things that make leadership the connective tissue without which nothing much happens. Would I rather money was ought of politics? Hell yes! But until that happens, we need donations to keep and gain seats in Congress. That's the ugly reality.
Do I agree with Pelosi on everything? Obviously not. I'm a radical progressive. You know what though? I was born during the Nixon administration and have been watching politics in real time since the Ford/Carter Debates. In my opinion she's the most effective Democratic speaker in my lifetime. It's not even a contest. The guy who ran against her last time wasn't even close to qualified to do her job. No way would we have done as well this midterm if he'd taken her leadership position because literally the money wouldn't have been there for the less flashy, less publicized campaigns.
On the Senate side I actually cheered out loud when Harry Reed quit, because he was not good at his job from an obvious political strategy perspective. Chuck Schumer despite his faults is a dramatic improvement, yet I'd support demoting Chuck Schumer on the grounds that he didn't even come close to fighting hard enough or clever enough these last two years, as long as he were replaced by someone better at fighting while still doing all those difficult unglamourous bits that come with leadership I was just talking about. But you you know what? Despite the losses in the Senate this Midterm, no one's really talking about that.
The thing is, I was an adult during the Clinton/Bush Sr. election. (Remember, I'm on record as never having been a fan of Bill and the list of substantive things I objected to in real time over the course of that Presidency is a whole other rant. I hated him; I hate him even more now, so this isn't coming from someone starry eyed about Clintons). I remember that first ugly election and I followed he news closely all through the Clinton Presidency. I remember the gross, relentless sexist attacks against her for being not pretty enough or feminine enough; for being too intelligent and too shrill and too ambitious; for having a mind of her own and for being actually interested in policy and what was going on in the world. I remember the press obsessing about her clothes and her hair cuts and nothing ever pleasing them no matte what she did.
I've been watching the things detractors have said about Ms. Pelosi ever since she became speaker. It's never been quite as intense as it was for Hillary, but I've seen a lot of the same memes, the same language. The mocking of her laugh, the claims that she's too shrill, too ambitious. It's not quite the same melody, but boy, a lot of the lyrics seem familiar.
The thing is, yes, I'd support replacing her with someone more progressive, IF THAT PERSON COULD DO THE REST OF THE JOB AS WELL OR BETTER. Yes, I support the younger, more progressive wing using their votes as LEVERAGE to move her FURTHER LEFT on things I care about like civil and human rights and us not dying for example (Climate change, health care, etc.). I have a list, I'm sure you do. Absent someone who can be the new best Speaker in my life time (and I'm not ruling that out, given how good and tough and smart some of the progressive folks in the house will be in the New Year), I can't support a change, because without someone really good at all the parts of being Speaker, our successes this midterm WON"T BE SUSTAINABLE. I'm not fucking around with this. FIGHTING HARD IS GREAT BUT FIGHTING HARD AND SMART IS BETTER. This is a job about sausage making and deal making and fundraising.
I have huge hopes for the incoming freshman because a lot of absolutely amazing people in there, but they aren't going to be ready for leadership for a while. It's not just the settling in and figuring out how things work process, which takes a while all by itself, it's that the sausage making part is really hard and involves building a hundreds of personal relationships with other Congress Critters. Some of the new Congress Folk know how to fight strong and hard and are rock star fundraisers, but none of them have the relationships or deep knowledge of the personal interest and foibles of that many other congress Folk. Picking someone who hasn't built those things yet would be political suicide. I've no doubt some of the amazing freshman class coming in have eyes on Leadership and will work hard at being ready to do that, but it's not going to happen in the tiny amount of time between now and the Democratic Caucus vote. That's the reality.
I will not trade the future of my country and the world for ideological purity. Oh, I'll fight ass hard as hell for the best candidates in Primaries. I will beg people to turn out to pressure their Congress Critters to fight hard and do the right thing, because those things work. I'll be watching this generation of younger Congress Critters for stand out qualities and I'll root for them when I think they have a shot at being successful at the hard and messy and complicated work that is house Leadership. I can't rule out that some amazing candidate won't turn up as a challenger this time around, but I'll only push for them and harass my Congress Critters for them if I think they will be better better at her job than Nancy Pelosi is.
I bet I could pick a better Chuck Schumer. I have a list (and no Bernie's not on it). I can't off the top of my head pick a better Nancy Pelosi for this particular year, though I can think of some people who might warrant research if their names come out because I don't know enough about their fundraising numbers or backstage skills. I'm persuadable with the right candidate and data to back them up, but i'm not trading bird in hand for two in the bush until those two are captured and examined thoroughly before I make that trade.
I can't afford to take a big risk on an unknown quantity when my life literally depends on it. A lot of Republican policies are designed to strip me of my basic rights and/or kill me. I need us to hold the House in 2020 and preferably win a super majority and take the Senate and the Presidency. I have an expectation that Nancy Pelosi's skill set will set us up well for more House wins in two years. Talk to me then about replacing her. Show me candidates with all the boxes checked and we can have a discussion about who would be best going forward. A Presidential candidate needs to be widely popular; a Speaker needs to be an A+ sausage maker and fund raiser. It's great when a president has both skill sets, and I'd not sneeze at the same in a Speaker, but they really are different jobs.
I for real don't want to die, y'all, and I'd like there to still be a livable planet in twenty years. These are my goals right now. To really start moving forward again on a while library of issues we need to win 2020 and win it big. There's all sorts of useful stuff the House can do by itself, but the big things we all need to not die? That takes one party rule by people who actually care about the greater good. That means kick ass rock start progressive candidates for 2020 to get people out and voting and making real political change for the better, but it also means tooth and nail real politik fighting in the mud and the stink of the political battlefield between now and then.
I'm gong to want experienced people who know how to do that on the big can we survive this issues, even if I don't always agree with them and they don't always fight for the things I want them to fight for. I'm going to dance with them what brung me because I want there to still be a here to fight for in three years.
We can survive this if we stick together and keep the pressure on. Don't give up hope. Keep being loud and angry. It has carried us this far and it can carry us so much further, but don't sacrifice what we've gained this month on the altar of perfection, because then we really are lost.
Speaker of the House is an incredibly complex and difficult job and most of the time we only see the tip of the iceberg far as what's actually going on. Most of the job is things we never see: the grueling fundraising shedule, the endless work behind the scenes to line up votes in a party in which that resembles herding cats, and a host of other exhausting, unglamorous things that make leadership the connective tissue without which nothing much happens. Would I rather money was ought of politics? Hell yes! But until that happens, we need donations to keep and gain seats in Congress. That's the ugly reality.
Do I agree with Pelosi on everything? Obviously not. I'm a radical progressive. You know what though? I was born during the Nixon administration and have been watching politics in real time since the Ford/Carter Debates. In my opinion she's the most effective Democratic speaker in my lifetime. It's not even a contest. The guy who ran against her last time wasn't even close to qualified to do her job. No way would we have done as well this midterm if he'd taken her leadership position because literally the money wouldn't have been there for the less flashy, less publicized campaigns.
On the Senate side I actually cheered out loud when Harry Reed quit, because he was not good at his job from an obvious political strategy perspective. Chuck Schumer despite his faults is a dramatic improvement, yet I'd support demoting Chuck Schumer on the grounds that he didn't even come close to fighting hard enough or clever enough these last two years, as long as he were replaced by someone better at fighting while still doing all those difficult unglamourous bits that come with leadership I was just talking about. But you you know what? Despite the losses in the Senate this Midterm, no one's really talking about that.
The thing is, I was an adult during the Clinton/Bush Sr. election. (Remember, I'm on record as never having been a fan of Bill and the list of substantive things I objected to in real time over the course of that Presidency is a whole other rant. I hated him; I hate him even more now, so this isn't coming from someone starry eyed about Clintons). I remember that first ugly election and I followed he news closely all through the Clinton Presidency. I remember the gross, relentless sexist attacks against her for being not pretty enough or feminine enough; for being too intelligent and too shrill and too ambitious; for having a mind of her own and for being actually interested in policy and what was going on in the world. I remember the press obsessing about her clothes and her hair cuts and nothing ever pleasing them no matte what she did.
I've been watching the things detractors have said about Ms. Pelosi ever since she became speaker. It's never been quite as intense as it was for Hillary, but I've seen a lot of the same memes, the same language. The mocking of her laugh, the claims that she's too shrill, too ambitious. It's not quite the same melody, but boy, a lot of the lyrics seem familiar.
The thing is, yes, I'd support replacing her with someone more progressive, IF THAT PERSON COULD DO THE REST OF THE JOB AS WELL OR BETTER. Yes, I support the younger, more progressive wing using their votes as LEVERAGE to move her FURTHER LEFT on things I care about like civil and human rights and us not dying for example (Climate change, health care, etc.). I have a list, I'm sure you do. Absent someone who can be the new best Speaker in my life time (and I'm not ruling that out, given how good and tough and smart some of the progressive folks in the house will be in the New Year), I can't support a change, because without someone really good at all the parts of being Speaker, our successes this midterm WON"T BE SUSTAINABLE. I'm not fucking around with this. FIGHTING HARD IS GREAT BUT FIGHTING HARD AND SMART IS BETTER. This is a job about sausage making and deal making and fundraising.
I have huge hopes for the incoming freshman because a lot of absolutely amazing people in there, but they aren't going to be ready for leadership for a while. It's not just the settling in and figuring out how things work process, which takes a while all by itself, it's that the sausage making part is really hard and involves building a hundreds of personal relationships with other Congress Critters. Some of the new Congress Folk know how to fight strong and hard and are rock star fundraisers, but none of them have the relationships or deep knowledge of the personal interest and foibles of that many other congress Folk. Picking someone who hasn't built those things yet would be political suicide. I've no doubt some of the amazing freshman class coming in have eyes on Leadership and will work hard at being ready to do that, but it's not going to happen in the tiny amount of time between now and the Democratic Caucus vote. That's the reality.
I will not trade the future of my country and the world for ideological purity. Oh, I'll fight ass hard as hell for the best candidates in Primaries. I will beg people to turn out to pressure their Congress Critters to fight hard and do the right thing, because those things work. I'll be watching this generation of younger Congress Critters for stand out qualities and I'll root for them when I think they have a shot at being successful at the hard and messy and complicated work that is house Leadership. I can't rule out that some amazing candidate won't turn up as a challenger this time around, but I'll only push for them and harass my Congress Critters for them if I think they will be better better at her job than Nancy Pelosi is.
I bet I could pick a better Chuck Schumer. I have a list (and no Bernie's not on it). I can't off the top of my head pick a better Nancy Pelosi for this particular year, though I can think of some people who might warrant research if their names come out because I don't know enough about their fundraising numbers or backstage skills. I'm persuadable with the right candidate and data to back them up, but i'm not trading bird in hand for two in the bush until those two are captured and examined thoroughly before I make that trade.
I can't afford to take a big risk on an unknown quantity when my life literally depends on it. A lot of Republican policies are designed to strip me of my basic rights and/or kill me. I need us to hold the House in 2020 and preferably win a super majority and take the Senate and the Presidency. I have an expectation that Nancy Pelosi's skill set will set us up well for more House wins in two years. Talk to me then about replacing her. Show me candidates with all the boxes checked and we can have a discussion about who would be best going forward. A Presidential candidate needs to be widely popular; a Speaker needs to be an A+ sausage maker and fund raiser. It's great when a president has both skill sets, and I'd not sneeze at the same in a Speaker, but they really are different jobs.
I for real don't want to die, y'all, and I'd like there to still be a livable planet in twenty years. These are my goals right now. To really start moving forward again on a while library of issues we need to win 2020 and win it big. There's all sorts of useful stuff the House can do by itself, but the big things we all need to not die? That takes one party rule by people who actually care about the greater good. That means kick ass rock start progressive candidates for 2020 to get people out and voting and making real political change for the better, but it also means tooth and nail real politik fighting in the mud and the stink of the political battlefield between now and then.
I'm gong to want experienced people who know how to do that on the big can we survive this issues, even if I don't always agree with them and they don't always fight for the things I want them to fight for. I'm going to dance with them what brung me because I want there to still be a here to fight for in three years.
We can survive this if we stick together and keep the pressure on. Don't give up hope. Keep being loud and angry. It has carried us this far and it can carry us so much further, but don't sacrifice what we've gained this month on the altar of perfection, because then we really are lost.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-18 04:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-18 05:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-18 04:31 pm (UTC)https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1063056159052128257
https://twitter.com/brianbeutler/status/1062777503591342080
https://twitter.com/paulkrugman/status/1062788584611155968
(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-19 06:01 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-19 12:24 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-20 02:54 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-20 03:07 am (UTC)No, not distressed, just afraid I'd been mansplainining at you, which I would want to repent if it had been my intention, and fortunately did not intend.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-11-20 04:36 am (UTC)Now, I would back replacing Hoyer with someone earmarked for next generation leadership, but that's so not going to happen.