Last night, Nancy Pelosi — the happy new 78-year-old Democratic majority leader — made a victory speech about how the new Democratic-led House will differ from the GOP-led one. While it had lots of great parts, she also said Democrats will “strive for bipartisanship … to find a common ground.”
Uhhh, has she met a House Republican lately?
Pelosi’s speech started off by thanking campaign volunteers, stating, “Thanks to you, tomorrow will be a new day in America.”
Then she said, quite accurately, “Today is about more than Democrats and Republicans. It’s about restoring the Constitution’s checks and balances to the Trump administration. It’s about stopping the GOP and Mitch McConnell’s attack on Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act, and the health care of 130 million Americans living with pre-existing medical conditions.”
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She continued, “It’s about ending wealthy special interests’ free reign over Washington. But more than anything, it’s about what a new Democratic majority will mean in the lives of hardworking Americans. [We will] lower the cost of healthcare by lowering the cost of prescription drugs, raise workers wages with strong economic growth by re-building the infrastructure of America, clean up corruption to make Washington work for all Americans….”
But here’s where things started to turn.
“In stark contrast to the GOP Congress,” she said, “the Democratic Congress will be led with transparency and openness. So that the public can see what’s happening and how it affects them and weigh in…”
Alright… sounds good…
But then, she added, “We will have accountability and we will strive for bipartisanship with fairness on all sides. We will have a responsibility to find a common ground where we can stand our ground where we can’t, but we must try. We have a bipartisan marketplace of ideas that make our democracy strong.”
Okay, let’s stop here for a moment. She does realize in 2017 that 217 House Republicans voted to repeal major parts of the Affordable Care Act, voting to deny insurance to tens if not hundreds of millions of Americans, right?
And she does realize that only 27 House Republicans voiced any opposition whatsoever to Trump’s zero-tolerance policy of tearing immigrant kids away from their parents at the border, right? That’s 27 out of 240. The 213 other Republicans had nothing to say about tossing kids in jail or forgetting about them.
And she’s aware that in July 2018, Republicans created an infrastructure plan that only addressed roads and completely ignored mass transit, water supplies, waste management, power generation, or telecommunications, right? And even this weaksauce plan went nowhere despite Republicans controlling both houses of Congress.
No to mention, has she heard any House Republicans even mention Trump’s constant rolling back of LGBTQ rights or his attacks on trans people?
And she expects to reach a bipartisan consensus with these people?
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Remember how in 2008 newly elected President Barack Obama had a plan to reach a bipartisan consensus with the Republican minority? Remember how that turned out? It blew up in his face and two years later, voters blamed him for not getting anything done even though Republicans branded themselves as “the party of No.”
Pelosi didn’t want to come out last night talking about kicking Republican housemates in the face. And the Democratic Party can’t spend the next two years just trying to impeach Trump and refusing to work with the GOP — it might fire up the base, but Dems lose when they run on an uninspiring platform of “We’re not Trump.”
Rather, Pelosi’s speech makes me worry that the Democratic House leadership lacks backbone or a coherent plan for 2020. In fact, if the House Dems actually lower drug prices and create a coherent infrastructure plan, Trump could always take credit for them, actually undermining Democratic interests in 2020.
That doesn’t mean that House Dems shouldn’t try to legislate positively. Rather, as I said earlier, they should also force votes on issues that on social issues beloved by all Americans — like protecting healthcare and increasing voter access — and then use the GOP’s “no” votes against them to build a serious pro-Democratic case for 2020.
Many of last night’s Democratic candidates won, not by luring Republican voters or promising bipartisanship, but by suggesting bold policies that made their opponents seem disconnected to real people’s needs.
Pelosi should consider stepping aside for a more confrontational leader, one schooled in the political art of war. The new face of the Democratic Party is more diverse and more focused on economic, gender and racial inequality and community improvement.
funpitt412
If the Democrats do not work with the Republicans nothing will get done. We need to get over the 2016 election, if Russia helped Trump win where is the evidence? We need to focus on getting drug prices down, lower taxes for the middle class, and help get cities that have huge homeless populations get affordable housing.
Vince
Yeah tell that to the Republicans who are in big pharma’s back pocket and hate the poor. Plus wasn’t Trump just bragging about getting a tax break to the middle class?
WillParkinson
Like the Republicans getting over Obama being elected twice? Yeah, they were beating down his door to work together, weren’t they?
djmcgamester
Things are too extreme right now. If we could find some common ground between the two parties it would be something. Not saying it would be perfect but maybe it would help change things from “mortal enemies” to “rivals”. It’s got to be better than what’s going on now.
Pelosi has the right idea. Not sure she can pull it off but don’t fault her for wanting better.
Kangol
There’s tons of evidence Russia helped Trump, as did Saudi Arabia and UAE. Just wait; it’s coming from Bob Mueller, no matter who the Orange Oaf fires. And it’s not going to be pretty. But if need to study up, you can read Seth Abramson’s Proof of Collusion (Queerty doesn’t allow links, but you can Google it). It’s pretty informative, and he’s a lawyer and professor who’s very carefully documented and vetted his claims. Also, if Russian didn’t help Trump, why is he so constantly hysterical in denying it, obstructing attempts to investigate it? Because he knows he’s guilty! His behavior at that Helsinki press conference were proof positive that he’s Putin’s puppet.
Charlie in Charge
What indication have the Republicans given you that they are interested in making compromises?
KanoChris
This is exactly why we NEW PROGRESSIVE blood in the Democratic Party. Pelosi and Feinstein have been in office too long and are too centrist to deal with today’s problems.
Paco
Good luck with that. Moving toward the center will only make the Trump party lurch further to the right. It’s time to give them a taste of their own medicine by using their dirty playbook against them. I’m tired of Democrats letting the right walk all over them and the Trump party is counting on the Dems to not fight back or plan for the future to safeguard against voter suppression, unfair gerrymandering, court control, and the systemic suppression of minority groups.
Pelosi needs to wake up and realize the times have changed and the Trump party will gleefully punch you in the face for trying to appease them.
Lacuevaman
yes yes yes…. working on immigration, preexisting conditions, infrastructure solutions etc. while
investigating trump’s crimes is doable.
we will not be judged badly
we will be the party that gets things done
onward thru the fog. we will succeed.
Scout
It doesn’t matter how vile you think the Republican party is. We still have a two party system and the Republicans hold just under 200 seats in the House and a majority in the senate. So, we can despise them as much as we want, but they’re going nowhere. Best we COMPROMISE and deal with the realities of having to deal with issues that affect Americans: health care, infrastructure, trade, immigration laws.
tham
Yeah that really worked in the Obama years.
Let’s get Trumps tax returns…then go from there.
Charlie in Charge
Yeah why is it that the Senate wouldn’t allow Obama a final Supreme Court Justice? Where was the bipartisanship there?
Scout
Charlie in Charge, you have a point, but that was then, this is now. We can not run our legislative branch by retribution and pay-backs. Nothing will get done. Just more investigations and attempts to impeach.
RIGay
Nothing will get done. Any… ANY laws that come out of the House that even remotely offend McConnell will be dead on arrival in the Senate. There will be NO cooperation, no bi-partisanship.
Our one saving grace are now the committee chairs will be in Democratic hands. Time to peel back the layers of crap that have been obfuscating government.
barkomatic
I can see where the author is coming from. It seems that Republicans are far more aggressive at getting their message out and getting their way. They make these bipartisanship pronouncements as well at times like this but they never mean it. I too hope the Democrats grow a backbone and have learned that they need to deliver more for us than a few bones the Republicans throw at them to get a bill passed that largely benefits the wealthy.
Mack
I think both parties need to make an attempt to work together for the American People. I don’t think that the Democrats should bend over and take it up the backside to give the Republicans every thing they want. It is about compromise. Trump thinks he can lord over both parties and get what he wants on a silver platter-not if it goes against Democrat’s principles.
Polaro
Love Nancy, but it’s time for her to let someone else run the party.
justgeo
That would be a totally Fu use of the voters wills.
Xzamilloh
Dems flipped the House of Representatives IN SPITE of Pelosi, not because of her, and here she is, sounding exactly like the same feckless Dems that lost over a thousand legislative seats under Obama.
You know who else sounded like Pelosi? Joe Donnelly and Claire McCaskill, two Democrats who decided to flip off their own base to appeal to Republicans, and guess what? THEY LOST
Meghan McCain said it best: Democrats need to be more moderate to reach across the aisle and appeal to Republicans, but I’m a Republican and will always vote Republican.” So there you go.
Pelosi needs to go. Barbara Lee for Speaker of the House!!
Aires the Ram
You all hate Trump so much, even though you can never articulate why, and can’t get over your loss in the 2016 election, to the point that you are fostering violence and hate against conservatives, up to and including physical violence, and we all know where that will ultimately lead. If you keep it up, 1968 will look like a walk in the park on Sunday.
You don’t know what you’re doing, you have no education as to why this country was founded, what our forefathers did for us. You know not what evil you do. And you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Aromaeus
Pelosi needs to go. I’m sick and tired of these centrist democrats giving in from the get go. They always scream about bipartisanship but when it comes down to it they always kneel to the republican craziness and it gets us nothing. There was a super majority under Obama and what did it really get us other than a very corporate friendly healthcare bill. The current establishment democrats always start from the center and move right when pushed against because they are cowards and Pelosi is the poster girl for that cowardice.