I have been tweeting to Pelosi for months about the need to impeach Trump, with the result that she, or more likely her staff, had my account suspended. And that tells me all I need to know about her. She may be good at playing a certain type of Washington game, but those days are over and her time has passed. She should either do what’s right for this country or get out of the way and let a stronger, younger person take over.
81
Maureen Dowd is the best interviewer.
24
.” She said that when she urged Trump to speak to Xi Jinping about religious freedom for the Uighurs and democracy in Hong Kong, he typically was focused on the size of the crowd at the protests. “
I’d love to see the look on Trump’s face when Pelosi spoke up for the Uighurs . Lol
12
I wrote this before the nominations were actually completed back in 2016 and others have said it before: don't bring a knife to a gunfight. Hillary didn't heed this warning and look how it turned out. If anyone thinks 2016 was a donnybrook 2020 will make that look like "show and tell" in kindergarten. lyingdonaldtrump is heinous and he has cornered that market with his sidekick Stephen Miller and his puppetmaster McConnell and the Wizard of Oz Putin. People might think -- so much hyperbole but it's not. trumpty is the worst and he aligns with and supports the like minded. Look how easy it was to gloss over his continued coziness with Putin at the G20 summit. MM--is there a senator in history with a worse record? Miller is behind the whole border/immigration issue and who knows who the people in the shadows are who keep it going. Let's not forget John Kelly who is now on the board of Caliburn which profits from the kids and families in cages. It goes on and on and on. So Pelosi and the rest of the dems better remember 2016 and also remember that 2020 is going to be the street fight of all street fights. DT isn't going down easy. One can only hope that all the investigations from SDNY etc and the Epstein indictment will rattle some of the cages evangelicals and on the fencers are in. July 17th is coming as well but the Dems best remember it's about the economy which includes health care. Kids in cages is reprehensible but the election won't swing on that issue.
66
She’s not as flashy or “in your face” as some republican political shill might be, but, she’s in control and she knows what she’s doing. Going after Trump would be the politically popular course of action but, she’s playing the long game. And, she’s in Trump’s head 24-7! The less said about the leader’s leadership from the left the better...
61
Peolsi knows how to manage the House and manage the president. We have to keep the Dem majority, take over the Senate and rid it of McConnell, and of course, get rid of trump. She is succeeding - without her, our country would be in a complete downward spiral.
100
I don't understand the need to mention her fashion choices that often.
68
It is sad to think that Nancy Pelosi is one of the few resembling a grown up while many people feel compelled to listen to the tantrums from people such as AOC.
72
Compare how much Nancy Pelosi has accomplished over her long career in the House with how much Donald Trump has accomplished in two and a half years as president. There's no comparison.
Donald Trump started working even before he got into office and he's never stopped. He sets a whirlwind pace that few can keep up with.
Take North Korea. It is not even two years ago that Kim Jong Un was taunting Donald Trump who was taunting him right back. "Dotard." "Little Rocket Man." Now they have had three meetings and built a strong relationship that has made North Korea less of a threat than it has been for 70 years.
Donald Trump knows how to get things done. Politicians like Elizabeth Warren don't. They think plans help, and they've got a plan for everything. But plans never work because things never go according to plan.
Instead, you need to get started. Act, see what happens, and then act again. Take small steps, make mistakes, learn from them, and then take bigger steps. Realize that you can't get everything, but get as much as you can.
Donald Trump is a master at that. Look at his favorite catchphrase: "We'll see what happens." That's the key to getting things done.
Nancy Pelosi is good at raising money and getting Democrats elected and kept in line. Those are useful talents. But she never gets anything done. That's a much more useful talent that Donald Trump has and she doesn't.
31
Men and women have equal intelligence. According to Forbes report on the 400 richest Americans, "most of the country’s wealthiest females inherited their fortunes from husbands, fathers and grandfathers. Only 1-2% of wealthy females are self-made."
Perhaps if all the business and government leaders in the world had been females instead of males.....then females would have prevented WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, and the little fights in the Arab countries from ever occurring. Correct? Or are females just as angry and warring as males? In terms of human behavior, the more things seem to change....the more they remain the same. Correct? Then some will say, "no hope left for humanity." But actually there is hope if you believe in God. That hope is great for Christians. So what hope is there for atheists and agnostics??? Is this why separation of church and state exists?
6
Good for you Nancy Pelosi -- a true leader -- too bad you are third in line to be President -- you are really the President we need. As for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez and the other members who would not vote, you are so correct -- they represent 4 districts and while they are important districts, they are not representative of the country at large. They should grow a few and move on and get done what they can get done in this terrible time.
44
Good peice, but wh even mention her outfit and shoes and even have a picture of the shoes. We continue to focus on fashion for women, rise above the stereotype and stick to the content.
54
A very interesting comment that "top Democrats" were once calling her and asking her to write a column saying that it's time for Pelosi to go. Is that how it works? People with a specific message to get out call New York Times columnists to set up what amounts to a ventriloquist act? I've often suspected as much. A recent column by E.J. Dionne in the Washington Post read like representatives from the Third Way sat down with him and told him which points they'd like him to make for them.
18
Pelosi.
A life well lived.
25
In a long article about Pelosi's leadership, one where you even bring up sexism, one of the few pictures is focused on her shoes. What her clothing has to do with her efficacy at her job is beyond me, and only reinforces that sexism in the workplace that you mention. Great article, but you'll have to try harder.
48
Who am to question the political savvy of Speaker Pelosi. I am certain she has weighed many factors, many I have not even considered, in deciding against impeachment.
On the other hand, it is the wily President with the coyote on his head who has out-maneuvered the Le Petit Polite.
Impeachment is the Constitutional means for holding a President who has defied his oath of office by preaching bigotry and divisiveness, defying conflict of interest and anti-nepotism norms, coddling autocrats and shunning allies, and among other misdeeds, pathologically lying. Yes, the Republican Senate’s dirty hand and Trump’s glove are a perfect fit, so they will acquit; but impeachment hearings and trial will make the case to the American people, and for posterity. Trump knows and fears the public and historical record, even though he will be acquitted by a jury of his overwhelmingly rich, white, male peers. He is a master of optics, and he knows impeachment ain’t gonna look good for him.
Never the less, he has eenie-meanie-miney-mo’ed Pelosi into letting the terrible tiger go. Pelosi’s logic was always faulty: the Dems can’t do the “people’s” business for the same reason Trump cannot be removed by the Senate: McConnell will block whatever Pelosi’s House passes. As to impeachment being divisive, doesn’t Pelosi see that the north and south poles have been replaced by the Red and Blue poles for years? The Dem’s strategy to attack Trump is fractured; impeachment hearings would be laser focused.
18
"Hillary enabled W.’s folly, afraid if she voted against it she would seem like a hippie chick"
That kind of attitude was one of the things that kept her from the presidency, a lack of authenticity. It is one of the reasons so many people didn't trust her, a perceived lack of sincerety. She should have won by so many votes that the electoral wouldn't have mattered.
Dem candidates, -please stop worrying about how people will interpret what you do, or how the GOP is likely to attack you on something. Say what you mean, and mean what you say.
39
Eventually, Pelosi will need to be dreadfully honest about AOC and her ilk -- calling them out for what they are: uninformed, arrogant, emotionally-stunted, promoters of screwball ideas, and ultimately unfit for office. Without doing that, one can hardly be in a position to call out President Trump for the very same things (of which he is clearly guilty).
We are in a political era bereft of grown-ups. Pelosis is fast losing the chance to be one.
37
I am usually a fan of your columns and find them interesting and insightful. I was enjoying reading this one too until you mentioned Nancy Pelosi’s shoes, colourful dress and physical stature - really - who cares. She is the most powerful woman in your government and what she wears is of no consequence.
No one ever writes about a man and says - the elderly obese man in the blue suit and black shoes ... sounds absurd doesn’t it.
60
It's like several have said, progressives want to make the same mistake in 2020 that they made in 2016: "I want my candidate, or I'm not going to vote." They've seemingly learned nothing.
Have fun with another 4 (or more) years of Trump, assuming we last that long. Then there's Trump 2.0, Ivanka waiting to jump in. Your idealism is ridiculously naive in this nightmare environment.
30
So speaks the original Limousine Liberal, in her purple Manolo heels. History will not be kind to leaders who fail their constituency and are derelict in their constitutional duties. Pelosi is sorely lacks the intellect and the passion, and, oh yes--the following of the new leftist leaders. She is no match for them. We. Have. Had. Enough.
31
Please. I like Nancy Pelosi but I hardly find her to be the Super Woman Maureen gushes about. This article reads as liberal propaganda. Here’s the bottom line; either the democrats impeach Trump or they give credence to the Trump’s Russian hoax theory. Nancy’s position that impeaching Trump will backfire and cause the Democrats to lose the 2020 election doesn’t hold water. Nancy, if you HONESTLY believe Trump’s behavior rises to the level of impeachment than you have a moral and legislative duty to start impeachment proceedings immediately! To do otherwise, signals to the American voters that the whole Russian collusion investigation was a complete hoax and a waste of tax payers money all on your dime. You don’t get to talk out of both sides of your mouth. I’m beginning to suspect that Nancy’s dismissive attitude toward AOC and company is to distract from moving forward with impeachment. What are you hiding Nancy? Everything comes out in the wash. Nancy may have some explaining to do.
36
All this bla bla bla with Pelosi is interesting but will not change the fact that Trump will be re-elected in a land slide given the social leftist democratic agenda. I don’t want to live in a socialistic America akin to benign communism or worse. God help Trump to save us from the social democratic left.
20
Spare me. Is this the best Ms. Dowd can do? Hagiography for a has-been collaborator with the cretins currently carrying on wars for profit around the globe. Killing children in Yemen, Palestine, Afghanistan and covertly nearly everywhere?
Global warming will have done with us all and it is thanks to leadership from the pusillanimous and corrupted Democratic party.
22
#PelosiPower. Don't underestimate a smart, angry woman. Although the younger politicians have some very good ideas, those ideas are irrelevant if they don't understand the complicated fight required to unravel the grip of desperate men. Times have changed but these men operate as they always have and Pelosi gets that. As we watch Jeffrey Epstein being surprised and another woman claiming trump raped her, we must see that underneath the headlines, there is a plan. The noose will tighten...Go Girl!
19
Thank you Richard from Illinois. lets all of us go after Maureen to do one of her great put downs on McConnell and week by week all of the syncophrants in the Senate. We all know there is a lot there. Is she brave enough to expose their sins as she was to go after Hilary or is she deep in her soul a republican?
20
Ms Dowd, did Nancy Pelosi really say that Clinton did “a dumb thing as guy”? Having an affair with a young woman barely out of college who worked for him and then lying under oath while he was being accused of assaulting other women is dismissed by Pelosi as a dumb thing he did as a guy? And she marvels at how, twenty years later, Trump gets away with his behavior. This is why so many in America view her as a phony. Either call them both serial abusers of women or say that their personal behavior doesn’t matter relative to their job, but you can’t have it both ways.
Sure, Trump is worse, but the allegations against Clinton, his false statements, and his and Hillary’s documented discrediting of his accusers were also very serious abuses and should in no way be dismissed at this point as “a dumb thing he did as a guy”. If so, then she should be prepared to shrug off Trump’s behavior as well. That would be consistent. That would be authentic. At least just come out and say, ‘He’s a sleazebag, too, but he’s my sleazebag.’
28
It is amazing how such a flippant, supercilious Clinton bashing comedian could generate so many intelligent and serious comments. I've learned to skip Dowd and go straight to the Times Pick. Great job readers.
20
Anybody old enough to remember when Nancy was a young progressive demanding to be heard? I think she’s kicking Trump butt. But she must start grooming the next generation and stop being so defensive.
8
Pelosi has been around awhile and Knows her Stuff. She Tough. Smart and pragmatic. What OAC and her squad need to do is Listen, Pay Attention and get an education from Pelosi' They are the Future but if they don't stay awake in class they just may blow it all for themselves.
21
Ha! Pelosi is a great politician and a decent person. The kooky left-wing of the party is fine (with the exception of Omar who is a true sleaze), but Pelosi is the adult in the room.
9
And while the Democrats and their media fans chuckle over how Pelosi “throws shade” or “gets into Trump’s head”, Trump tortures immigrants, his current and former aids ignore subpoenas without consequence, and in 2020 he will be re-elected. But at least we won the late night shows, right?
14
A real fluff piece. Pelosi has to cut deals. McConnell is truly the zero sum politician for the ages. Certainly impeachment is truly ridiculous. A completely fabricated case. Pelosi and the super delegates in the their short sighted drive to have H. Clinton as the Democratic nominee and the presumptive president failed miserably. A lazy fly over campaign that let Trump claim a dumb victory. Add to that the cockamamy charge the Russians stole the election. The anti Russia hysteria which Pelosi has joined in, calling any contact with the Russian gov't treason, certainly has moved the nuclear midnight closer. Pelosi has decided that major initiatives on green house gases and the like are losers because the moderates want safe.
5
If Madame Speaker doesn’t represent the left, what’s left? A country, to paraphrase Gore Vidal, with one party—with two right wings.
16
Maureen, this is one of your best columns. Priceless photos as well.
7
Just another Sunday pro left, rah rah piece from Maureen: Diminish Bill Clinton’s dalliances (let’s not forget he flew multiple times on his buddy Jeffery Epstein’s private jet where god knows what went on), trash Trump, fail to acknowledge that demotion centers are not meant to be like a night in the Waldorf, and close the piece with lavishly praises of Pelosi.
All in, the same left leaning noise devoid of substance.
12
Pelosi is the long distance runner. AOC is the spritner. I would like to see an inquiry into the possibility of impeachment, which might lead to more unanswered questions. However, Nancy Pelosi knows much more than she is saying, and her instincts should be followed closely by all dems...that is if they want Trump gone.
14
Self-impeach? Pelosi’s “alternative facts”.
8
She eats from the same trough that Trump eats from. We can do so much better. End Citizens United!
29
Anyone who can stand up to the most vulgar president of America and yet maintain civility is Nancy Pelosi. Trump genuinely appears scared of Pelosi. Now we need a match for McConnell ..... may be AOC.
12
"they impeached Clinton for something so ridiculous — getting impeached for doing a dumb thing as a guy"
Ahem, lying under oath is just a guy thing Just another example that partisanship stinks on either side of the aisle.
I'm sorry but 79 is too old for pretty much everything. It's just indicative of how hard these politicians are "working". Flying home to California from d.c. costs money too, no? Living a life of squalor at her vineyard. These pols are so out of touch it's mindboggling.
22
“With all due respect, the press likes to make a story that is more about Democrats divided than the fact that Mitch McConnell doesn’t care about the children,’’ she said.
Yep. Here we go again, making the election all about click bait.
NYT - put Republicans on the spot with every atrocity Trump commits instead of all this hair splitting on the politics of the public option. It feels like everyone has given up on holding the GOP accountable and now all the focus is on the Democrats because the soul of the GOP is dead. Where is Marco Rubio? What about Mitt Romney? They are never quoted on these pages. They should be challenged every day to take a position on Trump's heinous and stupid actions and statements.
19
Excellent column. Thanks, Maureen.
4
I adore Nancy Pelosi. She’d be a good president
15
Rome is burning and the best we can do is incrementalism. Ugh.
23
Pelosi is about all that stands between "the kids" and the trainwreck in 2020 that awaits the Democratic wanna-bes. Interesting that La Dowd didn't ask about Kamala. That would have been a trip into the dank Bay Area cellar of California's byzantine Democratic party politics.
13
Moral absolutism is the enemy of democracy. Those who argue for "impeachment now" are moral absolutists. They are listening to their own dark anger, without regard for the feelings and opinions of millions of their fellow Americans who judge the time is not yet now.
There is not yet enough support among the voters. Impeachment will suck all the air out of Washington. All other issues, including beating Trump, will be sidelined. And for all the untold damage, what will be the end result? It will die in the Senate.
Those arguing for impeachment now reject this argument. In their wild imaginings, impeachment hearings will set the public on fire. Where is the evidence? The available evidence suggests, to the contrary, that the public is hearing fatigued. What they want, above all, is a Congress that will stop the destructive partisan infighting, and begin to address their urgent needs—for jobs, healthcare, and economic security generally. Those who argue for impeachment now disregard all this; they’re looking only for personal catharsis.
19
Maureen Dowd, I haven’t enjoyed one of your columns in a long time- this one was the exception. Your portrayal of Speaker Pelosi was brilliant on so many levels.
The detour off to more Hillary Bashing was unfortunate, however.
Nancy Pelosi is fabulous!
17
if both the president and vice president could be shown once and for all, knowingly were elected illegally, then senate would have to vote to remove both and pelosi could sit in the white house and undo some of the considerable damage wrought during the last 2+ god awful years.
10
What a fossilized, calcified "leader" having overseen the decimation of the Democratic Party Nancy Pelosi is. Content with the ebb and flow of power back and forth between election cycles, she has no vision for that this nation needs at this time. She seem stuck in the 90's and is content to stay there. Is it any wonder the Democrats have been wiped out. The recent gains in the House were a gimme given the moronic man-child in the WH, but should have been more. Her press conferences are cringe-worthy. I actually feel sad for her as she attempts to comprehend the circumstances she faces and tries to form an un-garbled coherent sentence. She lacks vision and fortitude and her inexplicable resistance to starting impeachment proceedings is par for her course. Weak.
23
My heart wants to see Trump tied to a post and...
My head wants to see the House line up all the documents, evidence and witnesses in order to create a rock solid case.
So as for Nancy's role I take heart from the following:
Her daughter Alexandra Pelosi the filmmaker was interviewed on CNN many months ago and asked about Trump and company tangling with her mother over border security.
Her response was priceless:
"She'll cut your head off and you won't even know you're bleeding."
https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2019/01/02/alexandra-pelosi-nancy-pelosi-daughter-cut-head-off-trump-meeting-newday-vpx.cnn
Warms my heart actually.
17
Pelosi is worthless and weak. She is negligent. She should have held Bush and Cheney accountable for their many war crimes. She should have begun impeachment hearings for trump a long time ago. She should have had Barr arrested for perjuring himself before congress. She should have had Mnuchin arrested for ignoring the order to Han over Trump's taxes. She does nothing.
22
I loved it when Pelosi's daughter said, "My mother could cut off your head and you'd never even know you were bleeding."
11
Maybe Nancy Pelosi should have run for President now. That would scare the heck out of Trump.
7
If this was a profile about a man, would their be a photo of his shoes and a description of how they match his shirt?
16
AOC & her cadre please note:
Pelosi feels that the four made themselves irrelevant to the process by voting against “our bill,” as she put it, which she felt was the strongest one she could get. “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” she said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
*keyword: irrelevant
10
As you mentioned Ms. Dowd ,the Democrats who challenged Ms. Pelosi for her seat , could not even make a dent in the first debate.
Nancy Pelosi still not done yet with trump. and this awesome song by another Nancy came to my mind.
https://youtu.be/SbyAZQ45uww
5
“ their shared need to be at the center of all conversations.”
By the end of the first paragraph we see needless and inapplicable both-siderism in full flower.
6
From the infighting to reparations to free stuff, the Democratic Party is the leading organization for getting out the vote for DJT in 2020.
7
Pelosi for President. Now More Than Ever!
4
What a woman! Can we have a few million more like her?
She's our Achilles, our Lincoln, our Churchill, in our battle with pure evil: unafraid, unbeatable, and undeterred by haters. Surely, the gods are with her, the woman of courage and common sense.
She's got guts, and knows how to use them. If only she were president!
9
Ms. Dowd - have you read the work of Nancy Fraser?
You have written a perfect illustration of what Fraser calls "Progressive Neoliberalism":
" a real and powerful alliance of two unlikely bedfellows: on the one hand, mainstream liberal currents of the new social movements (feminism, antiracism, multiculturalism, environmentalism, and LGBTQ rights); on the other hand, the most dynamic, high-end “symbolic” and financial sectors of the U.S. economy (Wall Street, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood).
https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2017/11/progressive-neoliberalism-trump-beyond/
2
Nancy Pelosi is about the only bright spot in an otherwise dismal landscape.
She is one of very few Democrats who is consistently and reliably smarter than Trump. She knows that impeaching him is the dumbest thing the Democrats could possibly do.
This country has been able to survive is by having the right people in the right places at the right moments in history.
Nancy Pelosi is one of them.
12
Alexandria Orcasio Cortez isn't a patch on Nancy Pelosi's elbow and she never will be unless something changes.
She's not smart enough to shut up and learn her job before she mouths off.
NP has spent decades learning how to wrangle the gov. She's smart, passive aggressive and downright mean. You go Nan!
I'd like to see Trump punished as well. I hate the idea that people who come after will think they can get away with this nonsense. He's has spawned the belligerence of people like AOC. What happens when all we have left are loud-mouth, know-nothing bullies?
12
It seems the men underestimate Ms. Pelosi ; the young and the old with ageist attitudes tried to dismiss her as passe . She is not ! a total lady , that excels in her position . OAC and her gang need to show more deference for her abilities ; that also goes for the so called justice democrats , they may be smart but still wet behind the ears and deafen by their screaming . Have some respect and learn by her adeptness .
5
"For the parade, the speaker matched her purple jacket with purple Manolo heels"
I was glad to learn that both Maureen and Pelosi care about expensive shoes.
11
“If the left doesn’t think I’m left enough, so be it,”
Typical arrogant response from Pelosi. This is precisely her problem- she's too wrapped up in herself to see the barn is burning. Somebody hand the Speaker a fiddle.
26
She has a lot in common with Mitch McConnell.
There are children in American cages -- and this lady won't impeach of instigate a 'movement' in the form of exercising this democracy: massive protests, boycotts, targeted strikes, etc. She like Mitch M is responsible for the demise of this democracy. And she should be covered with shame.
She is also weird in her communication style, her facial mannerisms, her ridiculous hand gestures -- all a turnoff to the young and those of us elders who can spot a crony corrupt player.
Will I vote for any democrat because fascism is here, along with Trump and his GOP swamp. Yes. Nancy Pelosi is wholly inadequate to what is going on.
Reality bites. But Nancy is complicit.
19
Dear Nancy,
With respect, you abandoned "our bill", and 95 House Democrats voted against the final border funding bill, not just the 4, because it's such a bad bill. Yes, I know you are trying to put the best face on it after the Democratic debacle in the Senate, but if you abandon fundamental decency and integrity, you will lose the support of people like me, and ultimately fail. For every swing voter you might save, I fear you will lose the energy of at least one core voter. Say what you like about Trump, he does know the importance of keeping his base fired up.
John Navas
San Francisco
15
Speaking about AOC et. al., according to Ms. Dowd, Ms. Pelosi says: "They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.” To that I say to Ms. Pelosi: "YOU GO GIRL!" I'm a "Pelosi Democrat all the way!"
18
I admire Nancy Pelosi. Ok, maybe she’s a bit too left for me, but she’s a Goldwater Republican in comparison to some of the New Democratic Commies.
She also raised five children. That’s no joke — I only have two children, and that was hard enough.
Stay the course, Nancy!
7
The one thing that AOC and her compatriots need to understand is Nancy Pelosi got where she is by not by screaming and yelling or by saying 'it's my time' or my constituents demand it. She got where she is by recognizing the sandbox is a dirty place to play. If you can't handle a little sand in your face, you mifght as well stay home. And sometimes, despite not wanting to, you have to share your toys with kids you don't want to. Because at the end of the day, you have to stay in the sandbox in order to play. At the end of her career in politics, there likely won't be a stautue placed in her honor. But America will be a far better place for her having been there. Step back, AOC, and look at Pelosi's big picture: She is a woman, a daughter, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and, probably the easiest job of all those roles, a politician. When she has accomplished even half of what Pelosi has, AOC will have a leg to stand on. In the meantime, AOC should sit down, pay attention, and learn how the game is played in the sandbox. And stop throwing sand in your friends' face. Save that for the Republicans.
25
My pick for 2020 is Nancy Pelosi by acclimation at the DNC Convention and for her VP is Mayor Pete B.
6
The Speaker is right--the newbie Gang of Four consists of four bright (but not THAT bright) politicians, each having won a single election in district-level contests--and each is convinced that she has a mandate to rule. This, at a time when 2020 looms ahead, with the distinct possibility that a too-heavy hand on the progressive throttle will send the Democratic Party careening into the ditch, and You-Know-Who back to the White House.
Politics isn't just the Art of the Possible; it's (pardon!) The Art of the Deal, and The Art of Timely Compromise--in the interest of nudging a very unwieldy electorate toward your side of the ledger.
It may very well be that this is the election in which significant gains can be made in the interest, and to the benefit, of a downtrodden and often-shafted electorate. But it's going to take creativity, humility, and the willingness to bank some fires while stoking others. Speaker Pelosi is one national leader who I think is capable of helping to craft the overall message that will bring the controls of governance back into progressive hands.
I urge the new and energetic left wing of the party to join in the fight for victory--not by caving or abandoning values in the slightest, but by keeping eyes on the prize and taking such ground as can certainly be reclaimed, in the earliest stages of what we can hope will be their long and successful careers.
9
What a class act And thank you too, Maureen.
4
Interesting comment about her being comfortable in her gender. I think there's something there in figuring out why people "didn't like" Hillary. But then, until AOC came along to take all the "harpy hail," Pelosi was vilified by men across the political spectrum, too.
6
Nice puff piece Maureen. "Pelosi has offered a master class, with flair and fire, on how a woman can spar with Trump." Right. It has now been eight months since the midterm elections and six months since the new House members took their oaths. Aside from issues involving impeachment, immigration reform, and Russian interference in the 2016 election that have all but disappeared, I'm wondering what Pelosi is doing about Trump's tax returns, his bucketful of emoluments, a budget bill that does not have McConnell and Mnuchin's finger prints all over it, and the naked contempt with which Trump treats Pelosi (and other Democrats) by refusing to allow anyone who ever worked for him to testify before House committees. Color this lifelong Democrat very skeptical, but hey I bet Nancy really loved this piece.
14
Self-impeach isn't a thing.
11
Thank goodness for Pelosi. I just hope the Democrats don't cut off their noses to spit their faces as they usually do. The country as a whole is not as far left as AOC but they are great to have in Congress but risk losing the country.
6
I love you and her. But are you really allowed to give her chocolates during an interview?
2
What I have read repeatedly in the comments are references to the "Squad." Hmmmm. Why are people being so quick to dismiss these four democratically elected minority women? The PEOPLE put them in Congress so they could have a voice. Then we think racists only exist in the Republican Party. Time to check your privilege.
9
Pelosi knows (because she learned the hard way) the difference between making a career out of "fighting for_____" and actually accomplishing at least part of it.
Hint: accomplishing part of something is way better than demanding all or nothing and getting nothing.
12
time for nancy and george will and david brooks and other wnna be non progressives to move on.
no more business as usual.
10
I am sick of her cowardice. Donald Trump must be impeached - period! Failure to impeach, given Trump's many crimes and his utterly lawless administration, excuses his level of criminality now and for any future administrations. That is inexcusable.
It is also too much of a gamble to rely upon the 2020 election to solve this problem, as Trump has openly admitted that he will accept foreign interference in our elections, and the Republican party is failing to secure our elections while further trying to disenfranchise the voting public.
Donald Trump is the most lawless and corrupt president in our nation's history. Failure to impeach is failing to uphold the oath to the Constitution that every elected official swore.
Impeach Trump!
14
I think some commentators here don’t understand the process of impeachment and don’t know why Ms. Pelosi isn’t pushing for it. From a NYT article May 2017:
“First, the House of Representatives votes on one or more articles of impeachment. If at least one gets a majority vote, the president is impeached — which essentially means being indicted. (In both the Nixon and the Clinton cases, the House Judiciary Committee considered the matter first.)
Next, the proceedings move to the Senate, which holds a trial overseen by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
A team of lawmakers from the House, known as managers, play the role of prosecutors. The president has defense lawyers, and the Senate serves as the jury.”
It takes two thirds of the senate to vote for removal from office. There is simply not the votes in the current Senate to make this happen. Impeaching Trump would likely have the same result as when Bill Clinton was impeached, giving him more support at the polls and Ms. Pelosi knows this.
Be patient people. Trump will have his day(s) of reckoning, it just won’t be by impeachment.
10
No matter how popular progressive ideas are they will not become law unless the democrats put up a candidate who can win the electoral college . We will also need to keep congressional seats and win not just a majority, but a super majority in the senate. Fortunately, here in the real world, I don't know a soul who has twitter.
4
What frightens me most these days is the possibility-perhaps even probability-that Trump can be re-elected. The multitude of Democratic contenders better put aside their individual desires for the presidency and circle the wagons around one person who can beat Trump and support that choice. To paraphrase a quote from President Obama (remember him) we do not need a circular firing squad. TRUMP’S RE-ELECTION MEANS THE END OF OUR DEMOCRACY.
7
The old fashioned party bosses in the smoke filled room knew what they were doing: while they may have done well for themselves they did very well for the country because they realized that if the country falls apart, they do too. Our present primary system gave us nominees like Trump and McGovern. We have our democracy and may not be able to recover.
2
The DEMOCRATS CONTROLLED CONGRESS FOR 60 YEARS when they were not afraid to spend money on workers and the poor.
When the Democrats were proposing, running on, and passing massive legislation that created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,massive jobs programs, the highway system, airports, public parks and beaches, environmental stewardship, etc., the Democrats controlled Congress for 60 years.
And much of this was done while we were paying for WWII, and to rebuild Europe and Japan.
Since the Democrats moved to the right, to help pass Republican legislation, like NAFTA, Three Strikes, media consolidation, Bank deregulation, wars, etc., the Democrats have lost control of the House for 14 out of 20 years and the Senate, 16 out of 20 years.
And, lost control of 2/3 of states, where gerrymandering is done.
The Centrist Democrat strategy of moving to the right is a provable failure.
Supply Side Economics is a provable failure.
Trump is, at best, a provable failure.
Billionaire controlled media won't say it, or compare the avg. GDP growth of 1970's with GDP growth after 40 years of trickle down.
The Democrats became the other party of the rich, even though their base needs to tax the rich. It has been bad for everyone, including the rich.
A two party system demands two opposing narratives. A narrative that merely demands compromise with the first narrative cannot win or govern. Lesser Evil is the worst slogan ever.
There IS money.
Spend it it correctly to win.
11
"As I say to these people, come to my basement. I have these signs about single-payer from 30 years ago." They are sitting there because for 30 years the Democrats have done nothing but sit on their hands. They are accomplices to the Republican plan to dismantle government for the people in favor of government for the rich like themselves. Pathetic. Retire, Nancy.
11
What a person; what a woman !
5
Yes, Nancy does dress nice, as Maureen and the photos can't help but point out. But she is a tigress. a den mother to the Odd Squad and the other juveniles who think they can change things by composing a 280-byte Tweet that gets them attention from the lazy reporters on the evening news, but accomplishes nothing else. A Tweet is not a legislation.
AOC and her gang were raised on Nitwitness News sound bites and music videos.
No wonder Putin smirks at us.
7
Pelosi shouldn't have capitulated to McConnell, legalizing concentration camps, human rights violations against children and refugees.
But, we should keep our eyes on the prize: the restoration of checks and balances, a professional civil service, and strong laws to keep so-called "strong" men and women from tearing us apart.
Never forget that Franco won when the Left pulled itself and the Republic apart, sending worried officers and small property owners into the arms of the Fascist right.
4
Boy, do I admire this woman. She's seventy nine. I cannot repress the wish she were ten years younger. Or five years younger. Or whatever.
BUT--
--"preparing to unman the President by a thousand legal and legislative cuts. . . . ."
OUCH!
Thousands of trembling male hands went diving to their--um--midriff region upon reading THAT, Ms. Dowd. I expect you wanted to make us feel uncomfortable. You succeeded. (This is Norm by the way--not Susan.)
Maybe you made HIM feel uncomfortable. If so--
--good.
Here I could wish for the wisdom of Solomon.
It is imperative--I cannot stress this enough!--that the Democrats do NOT implode this coming year. Or tear each other to pieces in bitter internecine warfare. It could happen. It has happened in the past.
The entire GOP is in lockstep behind its--um--LEADER. Oh Ms. Dowd, these guys MUST be turned out of office. Not only heartless--but (on some level) brainless as they are.
And should the guy be impeached? Should he not? I honestly don't know. I don't have a clue.
My instinct is: I do trust Ms. Pelosi. An impeachment drive could blow up the Dem's. On the other hand--
(1)--the irreconcilable Trump fans will REMAIN irreconcilable. The Dem's could nominate Abraham Lincoln, it'd make no difference.
(2)--maybe the country (as a whole) really IS more liberal than many of us think.
That the man richly DESERVES impeachment--who doubts it, Ms. Dowd?
Not this guy.
Dear me no.
3
I support Nancy Pelosi providing she has a solid plan to land the usurper of presidency/conman-in-command in jail in the shortest possible time.
2
Is there a “draft Nancy for President” group somewhere? I’d like to join it. She’s the FDR of our times!
John
7
The problem with Pelosi is like Clinton she takes the same bribes as the Reeps do so change will be just another shell game with her. She's obsolete.
9
When I look at some of the responses to this good column, I wonder: when did we last have a lefty who skipped the purity police bit, made no bines about cutting deals when they needed to, and didn’t dash about scrubbing their pure little hands all the time? And actually got stuff done?
Edward Kennedy, maybe? Al Franken?
The best I can hope for a pol—and she’s a pol, kids, make no mistake about that—like AOC is that in twenty years, she’s Speaker. She’s clearly got the chops for it.
I assure you, the prissier lefties will be yelling at her, exactly as they’re now yelling at Pelosi.
Politics ain’t beanbag, kids. It’s “the art of the possible,” not standing around with one wing thrust to the skies in rage, spluttering like Daffy Duck.
12
As long as the foreign policy of the democrats is controlled by Israeli and military-industrial interests, they are indistinguishable from the Republicans and have very little moral authority on that issue. As long as the Democrats endorse an American economy whose manufacturing base is increasingly growing dependent upon the sale of weapons of mass destruction for use by people like the Saudis against Yemen and by Israel against the Palestinians, they are indistinguishable from the Republicans. When someone like Ilhan or AOC or Talib speaks out about these atrocities, they are quickly shut down by Pelosi and her crowd as “anti-semites”. A bold move by the speaker would be to unify her party to halve the “defense” budget and truly reign in the forceful American imperialism that has not authority in the digital age. Meanwhile, rather than squandering its money on new aircraft carriers, China is building infrastructure in Africa and slowly imposing its cultural values without dropping a bomb or killing a child.
7
Ms Dowd,
A great pandering piece to Ms Pelosi who I agree has a tough tough job reconciling the loud left
and religiously Muslim fringe democrats.Hopefully the electorate who the democrats must feel
are stupid to fall for electing a party so divided are not stupid and Speaker Pelosi and her divided
Caucus can ride into their retirement sunset and get off Twitter.
2
“If he could be president, this glass of water could be president!” Madam Speaker exclaimed disgustedly.
Pelosi said exactly the same thing, almost word for word, about Ocasio-Cortez.
1
I have newfound respect for the Speaker. Wow...
3
Have a lot in common... But
She's older, wiser, a politician, practices diplomacy, and knows Greatness when she sees it--ahhh the women is Smarter--That's Right!
4
We witness Maureen Dowd's commiserating with Nancy Pelosi.
Can this be part of an Irish–Italian–Catholic ESTABLISHMENT Democrat platform—
That would also include individuals like Joe Biden (and E. J. Dionne of the Washington Post, for instance)?
Ms. Dowd, you of all people—with your long years of observation—should know how profoundly we need major and fundamental change. Now.
6
What spoiled this report for me? This:
"But Bono came,” she said with her bright grin. “And that really was fabulous.”
Ah, the world of celebrity hypocrite tax-dodgers! She surely must know this but went for the fame over the reality.
6
What spoiled this report for me? This:
"But Bono came,” she said with her bright grin. “And that really was fabulous.”
Ah, the world of celebrity hypocrite tax-dodgers! She surely must know this but went for the fame over the reality.
4
Speaker Pelosi knows the art of the compromise whereas Trump’s “art of the deal” is a zero-sum kinky game-show travesty that mocks
diplomacy, statesmanship, and the balance of powers. Pelosi raised 4 secure, well-balanced children, Trump raised 4 adult brats. Hopefully Melania is raising little Baron to shelter him from his bent father’s influence so he doesn’t grow up to be a Trump Tweet. Pelosi is raising
2
Nancy has put history's call to voice mail.
10
Speaker Pelosi knows full well that the Senate - run by a motley crew of old, white, Republican men - would never convict the grifter Trump even if the House impeached him.
I share the angst that we are cursed with this vile traitor and his compromised Senate.
But the only solution is to vote him out on 11/3/2020.
So: No third party votes. No staying home on 11/3/2020 because your favorite candidate wasn't nominated.
We must vote all Republicans out, en masse, on 11/3/2020.
Or the nation is lost.
6
A glowing piece about our favorite La Nancy...Like the shark with the permagrin comment....Reminds us of all the Work she has had done over the decades.
Methinks she sounds more desperate than Maureen lets on. 6 months in and the leftward lurch, debates and all, continue unabated. Another 6 and she may be just another casualty.
4
I'm so pleased about her lovely shoes and her poll numbers. Tens of millions of people who don't have health insurance are too. People like Dowd and Pelosi and most of the people reading her column don't have to worry about any of the issues affecting millions of Americans. It's so tiresome hearing how wonderful she is.
14
Our nation is so fortunate to have Speaker Nancy Pelosi in leadership. Thank you Speaker Pelosi for all you are doing and all you are modeling.
Ms. Down, too bad you can’t hardly ever write something without including in it a of bashing Hillary Clinton. Makes me disrespect you...a lot.
5
Reagan had a shining city on a hill.
Clinton had a place called Hope.
The Squad is looking for a place for Mom.
1
RE: Pelosi and impeachment -- remember the lesson of the Alamo: it is better to be defeated with honor than to slink away as a coward.
5
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” “Man serves the interests of no creature except himself.”
Enough. We didn't put you in charge to scheme how to keep your jobs. Impeach Trump, or get out of the way and let those with the backbone and courage do it.
7
"President Obama had failed to supply enough air cover for the members who had gone out on a limb for him..."
Possibly the greatest understatement of the story. Obama was about...well, sadly, at the end, nothing but Obama. Did you see how fast he grabbed for the golden tickets of hundreds of thousands of dollars for cliche (payback) talks to Wall Street or his $60 million pay day books for him and his wife? Makes once's head spin. One day he might even visit the street named after him in LA. Probably not. It's not in Malibu.
6
The Obamas live in DC, dude, and there are a lot worse way to make dough than lectures and books.
Sorry that life in Laguna Beach is so....downtrodden, though.
6
Great article. I love Speaker Pelosi, but why, of all possible images, did the NYT choose to add a picture of her Manolos? Can't wait for the photo of Mitch's footwear.
5
We shall coin a new phrase in 2020: Trump has been pelosied.
2
The time is not yet ripe for Nancy to release the hounds.
Thump.. it's what's for dinner.
3
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
"The four made themselves irrelevant to the process by voting against our bill." - Nancy Pelosi
WELL SAID !
10
Speaker Pelosi may think this is her parade, but AOC and her friends think *they're* the bandleaders.
Interesting times indeed.
1
With anti-Semitism at an all-time high in the USA and with Ilhan Omar’s tweets that have clearly been anti-Semitic, The Speaker bowed to the “Squad” of four to water down a resolution on anti-Semitism to include every single group imaginable. Rather than standing up to these radical freshmen,Pelosi aids and abets their agenda. Shame on her!
7
Love Her !!!
2
When Trump and his ilk are rotting on the dustbin of history, Speaker Pelosi will be remembered as one of the most skilled, principled, and effective politicians ever.
Her ascendancy, as House Speaker, has disproved the notion that a woman cannot lead. If anything she has been the ‘adult the room’ in the face of Trump’s amoral and despicable presidency.
5
Nice opinion piece by Maureen Dowd today. Speaker Pelosi deserves all the positive comments by the readers.
But, I must say that Speaker Pelosi's bodyguard looks as tough as her, but not as cheerful!
3
One of the first pieces of legislation the Pelosi-led U.S. House of Representatives passed in January was the 571-page "For The People Act" (HR-1) anti-corruption bill. Great legislation and worth reviewing as it contains essential protections for America. Thank you, Madame Speaker!
https://www.npr.org/2019/01/05/682286587/house-democrats-introduce-anti-corruption-bill-as-symbolic-first-act
6
If Donald Trump shot someone on Fifth Avenue, would Nancy Pelosi start impeachment hearings?
8
Best. Speaker. Ever.
6
Nancy is my favorite moderate Republican.
Perhaps yours too.
9
Incredible column thank you!
2
An informative piece trivialized by comments on clothing, shoes, and manicures.
5
My fellow liberals are getting dumber by reading self-soothing puff pieces like this. Don’t confuse Pelosi’s trolling and clap backs for actual resistance. It’s a show that serves the purpose of irritating Trump and getting a bunch “you go girl”s from the left, but it’s totally inconsequential as the moderate policies of Obama prove rather fragile.
11
Wow, she is quite impressive. Plain spoken, smart as a whip, savvy in politics and sophisticated in world affairs and the big questions. If she ever loses her job I would nominate her to be the Speaker of the Comments Section of the New York Times.
3
@Rick Gage, she might even know as much as some of us.
3
Thomas Paine said "the times have found us, and the times have found us now." And we're stuck with Pelosi.
7
@Ken calvey: Without Paine, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" would probably not have made it into the Bill of Rights.
5
Absolutely love Speaker Pelosi. You go girl!
3
Nancy Pelosi does not have to privilege the far left extremists within her own party. She rejects the big-mouthed ideologues at every turn. Her actions speaks for themselves. Moderates across the aisle tend to favor immigration laws. In fact, most Americans do not support unfettered borders. Nancy, like most moderates, probably understands the reality of the situation. America does not have unlimited resources. Unless you live in a fairytale socialist land flowing with milk and honey like AOC, in which your government is also your private Santa Claus who has enough toys for all the world's children, there is a limit to how much taxpaying Americans can do. There are no magical elves in the real world; only hardworking middle class Americans who are being gutted by a bloated federal government, an entitled and abusive class of pseudo-liberals who are only generous with others people's money and the greedy rich who don't carry their own weight. Nancy wants to get things done. She isn't trying to make a name for herself like the fledgling grandstanders that litter the Senate floor. Kamala, Cory, Elizabeth Warren and the hopeful mayors are fighting for election. So, they will do what is natural to any rabid animal. Promise the moon and deliver another tax, another government program and another impediment to getting things done.
5
@Joshua Folds: Trump pulling all US support for international family planning says it all about how dishonestly in denial the US is about burning up the whole planet with overpopulation, possibly as early as the end of this century.
4
When Nancy Pelosi is what passes for the voice of sanity in the Democrat Party, rest assured you’ve lost the nation.
9
Could we have a moratorium on the closeup photos of the tough female politicians heels....such a tired and demeaning trope.
8
Poor Maureen ! It's going to be another miserable Thanksgiving Dinner with brother Kevin after the Trump landslide in 2020. I am so looking forward to her " Blame Game " column and claims that the antics of The Squad caused the rout.
8
In my opinion, Pelosi will be viewed by history as is another feckless CA Dem, Gray Davis.
Remember Gray Davis?...
10
While I align with "the Squad" on many issues, their primary calling card is rampant anti-Semitism, so I applaud Speaker Pelosi for standing up to them. We have an anti-Semite in the White House. That's one too many.
4
@Wayne: Atheism is the biggest fear of all these fakes who claim to know what a person knows all would hypothetically think.
Great column about Nancy Awesome!
3
...have loved your needles and pins over decades, Maureen...but you have just intoned obama (continuation of bush-cheney crimes) "professional left" abomination.
The "anarchists" are obviously bought and $old-anti-"the people's" representative democratic process republicans...
Research 1850's-1900's "anarchist" forbearers and you will find predecessors, Hayek, von Mises, Friedman, rather than those of us extolling FDR regulatory capitalism.
Do you intend repeat 2016 "pragmatics"? I'll be happy to stay home.
Nancy is not only the brilliant Machiavellian War Lord of the Democratic Party, she has hit the nail on the head perfectly with a sledgehammer as to media, print and electronic, complicity in the rise of Trumpo:
“She also accused the press of “constantly enabling” Trump by allowing him to suck up all the oxygen and says journalists are “accomplices to their own denigration.”
As Pelosi says, a major problem that threatens the vitality of our democracy, is the inability of the press to ignore the incoming flak Trumpo and his sycophants put out on a daily basis.
It’s designed solely to draw attention from the disaster du jour he and his band of ill intentioned incompetents within and without the administration have created.
It’s time for the mainstream press and media to end slavish coverage of the banal reality t.v. show that is Trumpo and doggedly focus on soul shattering events like concentration camps for children that members of Congress can’t inspect.
“One way or another, One way or another,
One way or another, this darkness got to give.”
New Speedway Boogie
Grateful Dead
1969
5
Donald Trump is not a cutie-pie “cave man;” he’s a psychopath, a defect in brain development that precludes empathy for others, focusing entirely on himself.
When people describe their sad experience with a psychopath they often use the same word - chaos. Of course those psychopaths lack the Presidential ability to start wars and murder millions.
5
The Irish do not use the word "Gaelic" to describe their mother tongue. They call it "Irish." They also use the Irish name for the language which is "Gaeilge."
3
Remarkable leader. Unfair to call it Obamacare as Obama did very little. All the work and vision was done by Peloci.
3
Maureen, thanks for along needed commendation for a women who deserves it.
3
Please god, let AOC, Tlaib and Omar burn themselves out. Their limelight hogging is wearing thin.
5
AOC hailed as an exemplar of a new wave, was nominated by garnering the votes of about 9 percent of the Democrats in our District - and she was the only Hispanic name on the ballot in a newly half Hispanic populace.
Still, most of us Democrats aren't as science-stupid as the Republicans - except on illegal immigration, where even President Caligula is right twice a day.
1
Great article about my favorite politician - shows that we need Grandma to keep the kids in line - I mean the Ilhan Omars, Rasheedas and, of course, the biggest kid of them all, Trump.
I hope she will help behind the scenes in Democratic primary to put forward a candidate that can actually beat him.
2
So tired of all of this. And if trump wins again Nancy ?
3
Since this is that sort of column, the human angle and all, you should have asked Ms Pelosi if she has a crush on Donald Trump!
3
I am 100% behind my district's savvy congresswoman! Go, Nancy!
4
When it is all said and done, people will look back and say Nancy Pelosi was a rare voice of reason, steadfast human rights, and integrity, in a cesspool of the most depraved president and senate our country has ever experienced. Truly, what has happened to America that we don’t bat an eye about dead and imprisoned children at our border, the resurgence of white supremacy and racism, And the destruction of the world environment, while we eagerly fist pump that our economy is going well because of Trump?
3
“I don’t want to see [President Trump] impeached, I want to see him in prison.” [op cit, (Speaker Pelosi)]
--
According to this article, the Speaker made the recommendation (above) to Chairman Nadler. Please pass on the word from yours truly: "I second the motion."
--
Oh, and as the President makes his way to jail, make sure he's also impeached, tried (by the Senate), found guilty, and thrown out of Office.
***
Footnote: This is a terrible situation.
—
It's shameful and humiliating for all of us, including Trump's most loyal supporters, who refuse open their eyes and see him as he really is--a cheat, a liar, a grifter, an adulterer, a racist, a would-be dictator and shredder of our Constitution, and a malevolent persecutor of innocent children.
***
May Donald J. Trump be made an example for all the world to see. And may the American people [all of us!] be forgiven, for being foolish enough to elect him. And may Trump's soul never rest, until he openly and publicly repents of his manifold transgressions, before the whole world.
2
Progressive Pelosi knows the true meaning of 'progressive'.... The root is PROGRESS, children..... progress...
3
Fascinating how all Republican pols are careful to play to the Republucan base, whereas 'mainstream/moderate' Democrtic pols, (Right-wing, pro-business, anti-poor, welfare-cutting, prison-building, African-American-demonizing) since the Clinton administration, are careful to ALSO play to the Republican base.
Can you say 'Hillary/Kerry/Gore'?
1
Stop it...just stop it. Democrats quit bashing the presidential candidates. You are taking your eye off the prize which is victory in 2020.
As to the 4 Reps you're talking about.....I would say that using Twitter is not fighting for American values. It's what we deplore in Trump. Teaming up with someone who thinks just like you is easy. The real work is coming up with solutions and selling it to the person across the aisle. Do your homework!!
3
Obi wan Pelosi--seems you're our only hope!
2
Unless she begins impeachment inquiry Nancy Pelosi will go down in history as America's Neville Chamberlain.
6
Schumer is the embarrassed Democrat.
He is embarrassed to be associated with what the party has become.
So he did the right thing.
The senile leadership of the Democrats doesn’t care about the country, it’s all about power.
And senile leaders won’t get you there.
5
Right on Nancy Pelosi!
2
I am an out ( 30 years) gay man.I love Nancy. She has the wisdom of Solomon and Sarah combined. Not sure what AOC’s agenda is— she seems a bit out of control and may need a little scolding/intervention from the Speaker of the House.
3
Isn’t it interesting that the real Pelosi is very different from the conniving shrew that the Republicans/Russian trolls painted her for so long.
Get ready for the war on Truth. Let that be a lesson to everybody going into this 2020 election. They will vilify anyone who looks like they may be successful by flooding Social media with lies.
2
"O.K., they impeached Clinton for something so ridiculous — getting impeached for doing a dumb thing as a guy."
This is why Nancy Pelosi is a terrible human being. Let's take this statement out of context. No Bill Clinton. No Newt Gingrich. No White House or impeachment trial.
Nancy Pelosi just said receiving sexual favors from a subordinate employee is just a dumb guy thing to do.
Wow!!! Let that one sink in for a second.
I just finished my annual sexual harassment employee training last week. If a manager said that to me, I was instructed to file a specific complaint form to almost anyone in the supervisor's chain of command. The case would be investigated and disciplinary action probable.
The Speaker of the House just offer this statement publicly.
4
Trump looks intimidated by Nancy in that picture. Worth a million words!
4
Great illustration! Pelosi is the plus..."the squad" is the minus.
3
America needs more Speaker Pelosi's and Katie Porter's!
5
In an otherwise good column, why did you find it necessary to continue to tear down Hillary? It’s pathological. Do you think that has something to do with how we ended up with this buffoon as president.
6
"So far left as abolishing private health insurance."
That reflects the Times bias, supporting a horribly flawed medical insurance system that keeps millions from health care and millions more who go into poverty and bankruptcy because of the costs. The only western, wealthy country who does not have a national health care system. A crime, and Pelosi and Dowd know it but can't say it.
3
Please stop with the clandestine meetings to stop Bernie.
3
Why did you never write as fairly about Hillary. You helped lose the election.
5
Boasting about your power lunches again, Maureen?
You do not realize it, but you too are part of the problem, inasmuch as you give away your desire to be "holed up at [Nancy's] vineyard getaway in Napa." You, too, are part of the establishment.
Fashion conscious as always.
7
I hope the next time someone from the Times interviews Mitch McConnell, there will be a photo of HIS shoes in the story. (Really, folks?)
6
Pelosi is right on the mark.. She has more sense of how to get things done than almost anyone in politics..she's been through the ups & downs, and keeps going forward..
.. A lot of progressive Dems are stuck in the mud, & obsessed with impeaching Trump.. but for what.?.. because he 'wanted' to fire Mueller..?? Ha.!
... There are some strong, very-left progressives running for President.. if that is really what the country wants, then one of them will win the election.
.. If Trump wins.. he will get 2 more Supreme Court picks, build a wall, ravage the environment,..& have a good laugh with Putin..
....-- An impeachment party in the House won't stop Trump.. Only a Democratic win in 2020 can stop that.. Pelosi knows what's really important, & is keeping her eyes on that prize..
3
If Nancy Pelosi told MoDo
You would think that
She would know so
She said ‘If the left
Doesn’t ’t think I’m left
Enough, so be it’
Don’t want to rain
On Nancy’s parade but
Many have strayed
We feel betrayed
That’s why many
On the left left
Those like Ms Pelosi
We want something better
To go see
You say ‘So be it’
We say ‘Let us see
Who will make us
More happy’
Could it be
Possibly
AOC?
We shall see
1
Even Dowd had to walk a tightrope on this interview/column—
And she knew it and did it, instead of her famous "cobra" wordsmith attack.
2
A story on a male politician would not include a pair of his shoes--unless there was toilet tissue attached.
8
Pelosi has let the country down.
9
While I agree that the mainstream media deserves condemnation for their obsession with all things Trump and AOC and friends, much of it trivial, it's the world Speaker Pelosi lives in. If she wants more "oxygen" for the good legislation and efforts of majority Democrats, she needs to figure out a way to get it. Don't Democrats have some up-to-date media consultants? Don't they have a communications strategy that all Democrats follow when they step before a microphone? For one thing, they can all refuse to be sucked into the Trump black hole when news reporters ask for reaction to his latest Twitter tweet or public display of ignorance and incompetence. "Most Americans I meet don't use Twitter and working people are too busy to follow his tweet nonsense. I certainly am." Then go straight into what Democrats are doing and why.
4
Hmm, an asymmetry: Pelosi has no problem taking on those in her own party but at the same time she cannot stand up to Trump et al. In contrast, just consider the last time McConnell cast aspersions on Republicans he disagreed with (hint: never).
Rather than the distraction of belittling elected Democrats in Congress, Pelosi might better honor the Constitution by following the compelling case laid out in the redacted Mueller report and start impeachment proceedings.
With all due respect, interviews like this show pettiness not leadership. Pelosi and Trump may have a lot in common but based on her comments in this interview, it's not in a good way.
8
I'll concede that Ms. Pelosi is a master politician. Unfortunately, by refusing the use the one tool the Constitution gave Congress to rein in a rogue executive she undermines her position that we have a 'Constitutional Crisis'. That she's doing this for position in the 2020 elections is astounding.
6
@gregdn. A democratic Senate, if we give her one, will carry out conviction. The republican Senate today won't.
3
In spite of what many commenters here are saying along the lines of "Pelosi is getting the job done", I just don't see it.
Okay, she's generating lots of policy bills that pass out of the House. They then die in the Senate and no one even knows they existed. The utility of this exercise is limited.
She's critical, in a casually contemptuous way, of some of the younger generation of Democrats who are actually out there fighting, and largely succeeding, in taking the narrative away from Trump. This is petty and counterproductive in my view.
She's prohibiting the establishment of even an impeachment inquiry by various House Committees even though doing that would add tremendous legal weight to their subpoenas and document requests, all of which are being successfully defied at this point by the Trump administration. This is just wrong.
From where I sit, Mrs. Pelosi's actions are so collectively counterproductive, I'm starting to wonder if she is working for some powerful, behind-the-scenes DC interest group that likes the status quo. I'd hate to think that, but I'm left with no choice.
10
Pelosi is tough but denigrating the new young democrats and their push for legislation on climate change and social justice is not serving anyone. She needs to use her skills and move toward real change. What legislation did she really get through that was progressive in the last few years?
6
@penney albany. Obamacare
4
After watching the debates and seeing candidate after candidate talking about progressive ideas that will only alienate the swing states, I thought, "Pelosi gets it. The DNC doesn't." I think she's much more in step with Americans as they actually are, not as we liberals want them to be. And how they are is politically moderate and feeling forgotten by both the far right and the far left. That's one reason why she refused to impeach, because most of the country is not in favor of it. I ascribe to progressive policies and wish our country was more to the left, but I'm also a realist. So is she. People forget that she was one of the few people who voted against the Iraq war and has one of the most progressive records in Congress. But she also has to deal with an obstructionist Senate where McConnell refuses to even bring her bills to the floor. I just feel like the people who criticize her are expecting her to wave a magic wand and create miracles. They don't know how government really functions, or dysfunctions, as the case may be.
8
If Speaker Pelosi were any kind of leader at all, she would have led on climate change, an existential threat to humanity.
Instead, she threw humanity under the bus to please donors. The same can be said for the entire Democratic leadership team except for Bernie Sanders.
6
@Derek Flint. Of course the Left Coast wants to spend millions on climate change.
1
@Jackson
That's because we are better informed, more science-oriented and care about people otjer than ourselves.
Here's a newsflash: The west coast is not the part of the country most damaged by climate change.
5
Speaker Pelosi:
In the scheme of things, what’s the worst that could happen by prosecuting President Pecksniffian for impeachment?
The House convicts, the Senate does not (the most likely scenario).
Do you truly believe this will garner more votes for the Northern Knave other than from his zealous supporters?
Nobody is sitting on the fence and impeachment hearings would be remembered not because they failed to convict (a foregone conclusion?), but for the numerous crimes brought to light by the House members in their defense of the rule of law.
Remember, the Republicans were not on board during Watergate either. Nor was the public. It was investigation, hearings and testimony that brought justice.
It appears that the Senate Democrats are more worried about backlash affecting their control of the House, not the presidency.
That means nothing at this stage. If you are not going to fight for the country’s highest principle, then why should we vote at all?
Furthermore, how many voting Democrats will be angered and alienated by your capitulation to gamesmanship while the quisling shreds the Constitution?
Regardless of the pursuit or lack thereof, the only thing that will change the outcome to the election is overcoming voter suppression and foreign influence, two things that the Republicans embrace. Relinquishing your sworn duty will effectively assist in the former and further enable the latter.
6
I've never been a huge Pelosi fan, but I've always respected her. Getting the 4.6 billion dollar border bill through was the best leadership I've seen in quite a while. That took competence and skill, and confidence and courage. There will be less human suffering because of it. And the ground is now laid for more compromise --i.e. for actually executing the work of government in a democracy. We've had way too much partisanship and posturing and twitter-headed clowning around on all sides. Onward, Madame Speaker.
6
I'm a lifelong progressive Democrat who has immense respect for Nancy Pelosi. But, I'm increasingly concerned that she's making a monumental political miscalculation by prohibiting an impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump who is clearly guilty of the following crimes:
1. Obstruction of justice (detailed in the Mueller report);
2. Unindicted co-conspirator ("Individual-1") in a felony with Michael Cohen in election fraud;
3. Violation of the Constitution's emoluments clause (with continued ownership of government leased hotels);
4. Violation of the Constitution's "separation of powers" by obstructing all House attempts at Congressional oversight;
5. "Crimes against humanity" resulting in 12 deaths of immigrants held in inhumane and unsanitary condition in concentration camps on our Southern border;
6. Seeking and accepting aid from a foreign power to win the elections (as detailed in the Mueller report);
7. Supporting his Counselor, Kellyanne Conway, in defying her multiple violations of the Hatch Act, requiring her dismissal according to a Trump-appointed Special Counsel;
8. Having his Justice Department support his Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, to disobey a Congressional request for his tax returns as required unconditionally by a 1924 law;
9. Working with his Attorney General, Willaim Barr, to undermine the CIA and FBI by investigating them for "spying;"
10. Working to circumvent a Supreme Court ruling prohibiting a census "citizenship" question.
16
@Paul Wortman, she's aware, I'm sure. Those of us who do know of some of the complexities of governing, as you surely do, have valid questions in mind. Investigations will provide the hard evidence for charges, too. So why wait? The impeachment question is very complex, with offshoots of effects difficult to predict. The Trump cult ("the most mistreated man in America") would batten on it, while the Senate would quash it. Politically, it would change few minds, and legally fail until a New Democratic Senate is elected. That's a reason to wait, eh? So it might succeed. But Pelosi, unlike us, apparently, is having to deal with the fact of Trump's increasing dementia. People abroad are anxious, the leadership here and elsewhere knows. Pence is staying close. And sometimes we actually don't know everything that's going on. We seem to be utterly blind to an increasingly disabled president even though it's slapping us upside the head.
4
Pelosi has been great at doing three things for decades:
1. Getting corporate funds for her own election.
2. Fighting for illegal immigrants and migrants.
3. Making concessions and compromises that give the Republicans everything THEY want while getting nothing or table scraps for her constituents and the Democratic Party.
She is —and has been— part of the problem in Washington for years. She never fails to disappoint. She always fails to deliver. Like many of her generation, she is all art, craft and talk.
36
@Misplaced Modifier
Do you understand how politics actually work?
6
I admire Nancy Pelosi. She is a realist. But what struck me about this article? The reference to Manolo shoes matching her jacket. When writing about Mitch McConnell or any other male politician who wears expensive labelled suits, etc., does Dowd mention his fashion and the labels he wears. A minor point? Not really. It sets a stage for judging women for what they wear and for men, only politics.
5
People are concerned that Pelosi isn't pure and are willing to gamble that Trump won't be reelected by backing a candidate that appeals to a much smaller constituency. All I can say to those on the far left is take your chances with someone else's children and grandchildren. We can't afford to not get into the climate change games as soon as the next election. Another Trump term will have devastating ramifications for the entire world. It's because those on the far left don't really believe that Trump will win or climate change is an immediate problem that they are willing to risk another Trump victory.
6
Entitled self-identified "progressives" have surfaced in numbers here to attack Pelosi just because she won't do their bidding. They imagine that if she did, it would fire up the base, and presumably lead to victory in 2020.
Pelosi understands how the American system works. She knows we are "A Nation of Sheep" (William J. Lederer, 1961) and that progressive policies, to have a chance to be implemented, must be finessed, not shouted from the pulpit, or shoved down the throats of voters whose sophistication barely rises to the pablum dished out on The Fox Network and The 700 Club. She also understands that together with the True Believers on the political right, these voters constitute a majority. For that, these self-identified "progressives" vilify her.
Albeit with great distress, one can't help but admire the regressives. They know that their only hope of victory is to hang together, so they fall in line behind their candidate and march to the polls in step.
But self-identified "progressives" won't hear of it! In their political infancy, narcissism and self-delusion they indulge in fits of pique, effectively making common cause with regressives. They are busy rearranging the drapes while the house is burning down. And when they don't get their way, they will do what they have always done: either go AWOL on election day, or cast protest ballots for fringe candidates with no prayer of winning a single electoral vote, They would rather make a point than save the RBG seat.
9
Scottie, as the lead engineer on the Enterprise, had the technical skills to deliver the engine power that Capt Kirk needed to lead the Enterprise. Pelosi is the lead engineer in the House, with the technical skill to deliver the maximum the House is capable of producing. But unlike the Enterprise, Pelosi’s ship of state has no party leader. It’s unfair to criticize Pelosi for not being Scottie and Kirk rolled into one. She is a superb Speaker who knows where the votes are to power the House, but she is not the leader whose job it is to inspire her party or the public to achieve great things. That inspiration, if it comes at all, will come from those in Pelosi’s party who have the innate ability to inspire and the ambition to lead, perhaps from the younger members of her party as the older ones are clearly spent or they would have been inspiring leaders by now. The Democratic Party and the Nation need an inspiring Captain, but they also need Pelosi or the Captain, if there be one, ,will get no where.
5
I feel proud every time I vote for her!
5
Nancy Pelosi has joined Donald Trump as the hugist problem this wannabe "democracy" has endured in recent history. Pelosi took an outrageously cheap shot at those four Congresswomen who voted against Pelosi's border sell-out to McConnell, when she stated, “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” she said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got," Pelosi has lost her compass and any sense of justice in inexplicably and stubbornly refusing to initiate an impeachment inquiry called for by numerous legal scholars, as well as democrats, along with a Republican Congressman turned Independent. Consequently, Pelosi may very well be largely instrumental in the reelection of Donald Trump. So much for the "second most powerful" person in America!
9
The younger progressives seem to think they're the only ones who've ever been progressives. Or are now. Some facts may be in order. A large number of older people are, and many working for decades on the left.
Many of the "invisible generations" between 25 and 65 are, too. You're joining in battles that have spanned many generations, and will be raging when you're old, too. There's a lot to learn about it, politics and culture and economics. One quick lesson is not to throw away your friends and allies. Even if they don't look like you, you'd be surprised how much value they may have. Two, don't think that power yields to slogans or certainty; we have powerful adversaries, and we will need votes, tactics, strategies, as well. This may not be as exciting as believing that if only everybody older or otherwise different were gone, an Age of Aquarius would dawn. We tried that when we were new and pure and pretty, too. But it's a war, against greed, lust for power, violence, cruelty. Not only "out there" but within us as well, lest we also truly fail.
8
While AOC and the more progressive left Democrats have some good ideas, if Trump doesn't get beaten and the Senate won, they will have no more effect than a dorm-room bull session. A 2016 Trump voter, who may have voted for Obama in 2012, isn't going to be seduced back into the fold by decriminalizing illegal entry, reparations, or college loan forgiveness. A public option to buy into Medicare, a comprehensive border solution and a plan to make prescription drugs and post-high school training (college or otherwise) more affordable will gain traction with those voters. If people stay home from the polls because the candidate isn't "progressive" enough or because their favorite candidate didn't get the nod, we can look forward to another, progressively worsening, four years of Trump.
9
@Mark, I fear some of the seeming progressives are working more for personal power than for pulling a party together to defeat Trump. When you hear them sowing divisions--even hate--in the party, aiming us against each other instead of the dreadfully dangerous right, this is the case. They mean to advance by means of popularity, and this may be Trump's best (or only) chance at winning. Expect false flags of ageism and angry response to it. It's the adversary's best bet. Worked last time, with Clinton/Sanders as the means to divide us.
4
Thank heavens for someone with both a sense compassion _and_ a sense of history--what's possible, when to hold, when to fold. The "fab four" want it all _now_ were born after Reagan. I have a horse in this race 'cause I'm old and would like to see the wheel turn in my lifetime. If I have to wait for AOC et al. to get mature enough to be strategic, I can kiss that hope good-bye.
5
Nancy Pelosi is singlehandedly protecting the Democrats from themselves. She is so focused on winning 2020 and she sees the world as it is. A critical skill.
We should be thankful she is in the Chair.
16
It is a disgusting and terrifying fact that the Republican congress is fully enslaved to the big money interests each of its members serve. They serve the interests of people's and interests often not even within our own nation and certainly not within the interest of the vast majority of Americans.
This makes what is happening in Washington D.C. and our republic a war between fascism and democracy, a war between enslavement and freedom, a battle for the preservation of our commonwealth and those who feel entitled to take nearly "all of the world's resources."
Trump, Mconnell, Leonard Leo, William Barr, the Five Federalist Society members on the Supreme Court (all men) are the servants of old, extremely rich, almost entirely Caucasian men. These are men who hate that women are gaining power, who hate the the truth of their evil is coming to light and that the power of truth and its justice is more powerful than their centuries old tactics of fear and destruction are accruing and beginning to manifest the kind of payback they never believed could occur.
We need a warrior for truth, for justice, and for the good of the people. In combat, sometimes the path to victory is not always straight ahead. Sometimes it is from above, from the side, from below.
Sometimes you need to employ Tai Chi, some times boxing, sometimes Ju Jitsu, sometimes street fighting, or whatever it takes to win.
The GOP will do whatever takes to win. Speaker Pelosi, we need a new ACORN.
2
Nancy Pelosi is the worst example of power. She's spent decades working to break the glass ceiling in Washington DC, and when gets there, she puts her foot on the neck of the women who follow her, behaving just like the men that tried to keep HER down for years.
At the same time, she demeans the desires and beliefs millions of Democratic Americans who feel PRECISELY as AOC and the freshmen Reps do.
Instead, she works purely to preserve her own power, leading what I term the Lip-Service Democrats who slow-walk any talk of impeachment and holding our erstwhile CIC to account for numerous high crimes and misdemeanors.
She has done great damage, through her inability and lack of character, to rise above politics and act on the behalf of her electorate and the her duty to the Constitution.
12
Way past time for Pelosi, Biden, and the rest of the DINOs to fade into obscurity. The world needs a hard left in order to save itself. No more compromising with the right who is literally driving all life on this planet to extinction as we speak.
10
@Sparky, do you have the votes?
3
Bears repeating:
“…we have a responsibility to get something done, which is different from advocacy. We have to have a solution, not just a Twitter fight.”
9
After the 2018 elections, the Times profiled three new Democratic House committee chairs - Nadler (Judiciary), Schiff (Intelligence), and Cummings (Oversight and Reform) - as new sheriffs in town, ready, willing and able to hold Trump accountable,
According to the Times, it was to be a New Day.
What happened? Nothing. Crickets. Under Pelosi’s “leadership” we see no oversight, no hearings, no accountability, and Trump on his way to re-election.
Pelosi has failed in the biggest test of her political career, to the detriment of our country.
10
Ms. Dowd's article is the same old "respect your elders and do what they tell you" we've been hearing from the Democrats for 40 years now. Yawn.
Wake me up when the Boomers lose their death grip on the reins and we can get some real work done in the country. I sure hope it's sooner rather than later. Tick tock.
9
Why isn’t she running for President?
2
No mention of Pelosi's recent rhetoric of mother lion/lioness—
Is that because of her stinging rebuke at the hands of Schumer?
It seems that Ms. Dowd is uncharacteristically commiserating, even closing ranks. Where is the old Maureen?
It also seems that Speaker Pelosi's failure to do her Constitutional duty to impeach Trump—
Is calculated to help fellow establishment big-money-backed Democrat, the out-of-touch Joe Biden, by sowing fear of Trump and fear of backlash.
Trump is finished. He even knows that. Let's move forward, Ms. Pelosi (and Maureen, you can help).
2
Viva Nancy! She's the smartest voice in the room.
5
Even if Speaker Pelosi does not pursue impeachment I would like her to throw all her weight behind exposing Trump as a fraud and reveal his true values.
If Trump is a racist and an unethical entrepreneur than it is the speakers job to inform the public about his true character.
This is the last hurrah for Pelosi as Speaker so she should act like it!
4
Love Nancy Pelosi's true grit. Let's hope that her intelligence and savvy get us through the nightmare of Trump.
6
You know that old saying about people who think they are the smartest person in the room? Well, I think Nancy actually IS that person, but she's not full of herself or a crazy nutso braggart like SOMEBODY else we know. I'm just glad she is there, humming along...being smart and caring about the right stuff. Respect is what I feel for Nancy Pelosi.
3
When you run across a Rattler out in the back 40 you don't leave it there to bite you later.
1
Ms. Dowd quoted Pelosi as saying,
“You would think that within a couple of days, 48 hours or so, of seeing that little child with her father, there would have been some challenge of conscience,’’ she said of Republicans. “But understand this: They don’t care.”
The man and his daughter, who drowned in the river, were crossing illegally, of their own accord. They were never in the custody of Border Patrol personnel. To blame this on the BP agents, or our President, is irresponsible and ludicrous. Shame on you, Nancy & Maureen.
4
This article shows that Pelosi's heart is not in the right place. She should just admit she is a Reagan Democrat and retire.
8
Tell Nancy: "Don't you ever step aside. The children cannot possibly govern without you".
5
I am a Nancy Pelosi Democrat. I have no use for so-called progressives who are always looking for the next hill to die on. She has guts, experience and excellent judgement. And real heart. There is no one else I would rather have confronting, and thwarting, Donald Trump.
5
Pelosi is part of the really old guard, from the times when you were seen as a liberal if you had a gay friend. She wants to maintain the owners' class status quo, but the working class says otherwise. Time to push the moneyed elite 'liberals' out.
7
Pelosi’s breezy dismissiveness towards the more l ft in her party is pretty darn ugly.
She might have been left once, but she isn’t seeing the big picture here. She should be helping the bold young left wing demos, for they are our moral future.
6
The most important thing for this country is to get rid of Trump! He is a clear and present danger, a menace to our democracy! The left is morally right in criticizing Trump, McConnell and all their crowd, but the strategy to be sure the Democratic Party take control of the White House and Senate is the absolute priority for our nation!!
3
I think it is very foolish of people to argue if Nancy Pelosi is 'left' enough for the Democratic party.
It's a media fueled argument. An argument of how much should be compromised to get laws passed is what it is, and any not insane person wants that debate at all times.
Republican Tea Party members promoted the 'compromise is a bad word' idiocy, do you want to sound like that if you are a Democrat? Do you want to sound that decoupled from reality? No compromise people do not win elections, including AOC or Sanders, or whomever you want to put forward.
The value of ideals is to drive things, and that's why I support all the progressives. What people should be using Nancy Pelosi for is how to get the ideals made into law, to use her for her expertise. NOT to demonize an ally.
Progressives aren't doing well because they are engaging intolerance to their fellow party members. Progressives are doing well because the ideals are decent, and if you want a majority, you're going to have to convince people there are majority ethics at stake, not hate your fellow politician...or citizen for that matter.
Or, if you like for intolerance, vote for Trump. That ignorance already has a seat in power, if hate is your thing.
5
Dowd is right about one thing. Pelosi and Trump have a lot in common...giant egos, a lack of empathy for the poor, a focus on money and celebrity, a primary concern on self-preservation. Pelosi herself has said that she should be speaker because she raises a lot of money...that is, corporate money that paves the way for the corporate agenda through Congress.
Dowd unintentionally showed how clueless Pelosi is with this quote: “You would think that within a couple of days, 48 hours or so, of seeing that little child with her father, there would have been some challenge of conscience,’’ she said of Republicans. “But understand this: They don’t care.”
Really? Republicans don't care about poor immigrants? Wow, we had no idea. You know who else doesn't care? Democratic leaders. The only Democrats who have been raising the issue of conditions at the border are the ones that Pelosi constantly belittles with snide remarks.
7
@Dario Bernardini
This comment should be a times pick. Why isn’t it?
6
I am with HER.
the squad needs to chill
5
Ms. Dowd, thanks for a wonderful column.
4
Corporatist sell outs like Pelosi are the biggest problem of the Democratic party.
8
So if Nancy is great why isn't she running for President? This is what the column should have been about: Why Pelosi went MIA for 2020.
Pelosi appears to be the voice of reason of the Democratic Party. She's keeping it real as they say.
What I'd like to see for the next president, is someone that is consistent with message about giving the power back to the people............. giving their voice back!! Democracy has been hijacked and it's time to to take back the reigns. This government doesn't belong to a few rich people; it belongs to everyone!!!
1
The Dems should unite behind the truth: the GOP doesn't care about you, your children, or health.
Like Bush 2, if Trump wins in 2020, he'll assault Social Security.
Naivety kills.
2
Please, She is now aiding the enemy Trump. She is tied so tightly to her donors she must fight tooth and pretty nails to destroy single payer lest the insurance companies come looking for her to give back the bribes. She never stands up to the Republicans for all her bright talk. Her one accomplishment was Romney care. She is like Trump in that she hypes anything she does into some kind of victory. I am sure she is nicer than Trump off stage, but as she leads or tries to lead the democratic party more right and once again ignore the workers and again never have their back, is why we got Trump in the first place. She is all hot air. We need a speaker of the house who will fight for the voters and not cave in to the Republicans. We do not need a self congratulating blow hard trickster. Now if she ran Vogue or a movie studio, though even that is kinda far tetched since she is a paper tiger, but if she ran something not so vitally important to the people of the USA, then I would say "Great, so interesting, great bravado, terrific panache, larger than life, do a film about her..." Dear God they probably will do a film, poor Meryl.
Nancy did not stand up for the dreamers when she had the leverage, and she did not stand up for the cage people either . And whether the Senate would impeach trump or not, it is the right and moral thing to do and she botched it. Saying Nancy is doing a great job, is saying to regular people that they do not matter.
12
"Now Pelosi is in her element, ready for the fight of her life with Trump."
Oh really?
9
A classic mismatch. Trump believes he is... Pelosi knows he isn’t...an untrained amateur against a seasoned, smarter professional. If Trump is smart, he’ll steer clear of...never mind!
3
Thank you for a fair balanced piece on Speaker Pelosi. Proud she is my representative and proud of all she has accomplished.
However, Ms. Dowd, please stop perpetuating that tiresome misogynistic trope, a male-driven mantra full of bad energy and bad intent, lacking any legitimacy or intelligence:
“While Democrats have been wringing their hands over whether a woman can beat Trump, blah blah blah...”
What follows is mostly true - “Pelosi has offered a master class, with flair and fire, on how a woman can spar with Trump” - but gender isn’t really the point. Doesn’t Pelosi offer a master class on how ANYONE can spar with Trump?
I know many of your readers think gender matters. But just try to write about Pelosi as a powerful smart leader. Period. Ms. Dowd, I am sure you prefer being called “an outstanding NYT reporter”, not “an outstanding female NYT reporter”.
Of course a powerful smart person of whatever gender can beat Trump.
Side note: Go see Maiden, about the 1989 all female crew who sailed around the world. I was unaware of just how misogynistic folks are in sailing, or all that this crew faced. Maiden is incredibly inspiring, and clearly shows how vigorously men perpetuate stories about “what women can’t do.” A pox on anyone who perpetuates such nonsense.
3
I Love Pelosi!
OMG I can’t believe how lucky I am to have been her constituent and supporter for so long ....
And now, when she’s really showing how it’s done.... I wish I could be her!
Thank you, Maureen Dowd, for a wonderful article!
5
@Slow Took
Love this!
2
As politically savvy as she might be, let's hope Ms Pelosi hasn't abandoned the Constitution in the same reckless, ignorant vain as her Repug counterparts. For all the supposed strategic prowess, here in the twilight of her service she's risking a great deal where her legacy is concerned by putting the country at risk if Article 1 is, in fact, ignored.
She's in familiar territory as she ceasesly frustrates the 'D'constituency banging the drum of impeachment. I'm one of them. I'm also a holdout, however, as I've watched her for decades operate with the patience of a cobra, waiting for just the right time to strike. Last year's "Blue Wave" is relegated to ripple status when compared to the dismal showing of the last decade. Call me naive, but I think she may be waiting for just the right time to strike, a master coup d'etats, that saves her, and the country...
...one can only hope...
3
Regardless of the timing, political wisdom, or risk of enhancing Trump's chances at re-election, impeachment is the right path, because the Constitution demands Congress hold a lawless corrupt President accountable
6
Ms. Dodd, I love your writings, but was it really necessary to slip a fashion report in an otherwise brilliant piece?
" The trim speaker, wearing white pants and a purple cardigan to match her purple Manolo heels..."
2
Maureen, thanks for great article. Maybe next time you interview Trump you can let us know what brand of shoes he’s wearing, maybe a photo too.
7
Pelosi may wear purple Manolo heels and have a well-manicured thumb, but her plan to "unman the president" is a flop, going nowhere. And the moment is almost passed.
10
Just curious: What does the fact that her shoes match her jacket have to do with anything?
6
"But we have a responsibility to get something done, which is different from advocacy."
This is the problem. It's not different. You need advocacy to get anything done because legislators are pushed by the public. The so-called far left keeps hope and the vision alive of where we should be after Republicans and Democrats have moved us so far towards the right "to get things done". So what has been done these last two plus years? Or better look at what is undone more everyday. What needs to get done is the removal of Trump one way or another and ASAP. This is the argument: how best. In the meantime slow-walking the House's duty to inform the public at least by checking and investigating/hearing, does not seem to be budging pubic opinion. It looks like a Pelosi-Trump War to many. The sides are drawn while the clock is ticking and heels are dug in.
Where is the enthusiasm to vote going to be in 2020?
5
That's right the women are smarter, the women are smarted that's right. Little boy sitting in the corner and cry, big man come and ask him why, He said "I can't do what the big boys do", the man sat down and he cried too. It ain't me it's the people that say, men are leading women astray, I say, it's the women today, smarter than the men in every way.
1
A very informative well written piece Ms. Doud.
2
Can we please stop the endless fascination with what our women leaders are wearing? Come on, Maureen, if we are ever going to be truly equal, that kind of nonsense needs to go the way of hatpins and buggywhips.
2
You know why America still doubts if a woman can be president? It is because respected journalists like Dowd who are NOT writing puff pieces still feel the compulsion to talk about the color of Nancy Pelosi's heels, and whether that goes along with her attire. Granted there is talk about Trump's hair and ties, but usually those are in satire pieces in Comedy Central, not serious journalism.
Women need to be shrewd but not shrill, trim (yes, Dowd says that too of Pelosi) yet not too sexy, accommodating and empathetic yet holding their own, etc etc. If men had to tie themselves into so many knots to lead, we would definitely not have had half the male leaders we have now.
1
O, this is so sweet, in the end, and deserved. Several points:
1 | I want Editorial comment on Pelosi’s point that the press is “constantly enabling” Trump. Of course, the serious press is commonly made to be a public relations agency. The press covers the presidency, which happens to be occupied by a “cave man”—which, by the way, means to me that things are improving, because I thought he is a swamp thing.
2 | I don’t worry that “the Democrats lurched so far left in the first debates,” because the final candidate will move to the middle, with trust by the left, whereas appealing early to the middle makes credibility a problem later with young voters, people of color, etc.
3 | The obviousness of Trump’s disregard for American values, law, etc. sets him up to be framed during the 2020 campaign as truly unAmerican, which his base might tend to hear: This is a bait-and-switch phony who’s really doing nothing for his base except giving them teflon celebrity (as if) entertainment.
He’s so ready to be made into entertainment in 2020: self-possessed, vapid, bully, incompetent—a joke—maybe even pathetic.
But great is that he unwittingly proves that America can thrive without a president. Yes, there's a real estate salesman in the Oval Office, but the presidency is unoccupied.
4 | Dowd scores another rubric for the ages: “a shark with a permagrin.”
5 | Lastly, your recalling an SNL skit from 13 years ago—with URL—is kinda creepy, Maureen. Yet it’s SO FUNNY!
1
Pelosi has made countless Democrats leave the party because of her feckless, inexcusable inaction.
It wouldn't surprise me if Mitch and his DOT bride have promised her big infrastructure funds for keeping a lid on actions against the corrupt Executive Branch....or a beachfront villa in Crimea!
I don't live in Calif, but I'll sure be supporting her opponent.
9
its hard to be "left enough" when you are a multimillionaire ...
7
@sally B.
Well said
AOC et al., need to watch and learn. Pelosi is quietly, strategically, an deliberately taking the fight to Trump. Age, wisdom, and experience are her guide. It's a process and moderation is the key. In the meantime...watch and learn. In the end the pestilential scourge in the White house will be eliminated like a cancerous mole.
3
The presidential candidates have veered so far left they make Pelosi look like a right winger - Open borders, eliminating private health insurance, free health insurance for illegal aliens, forgiving $1.6 trillion of student debt and free college for all are some of the democratic positions - Meanwhile Pelosi wants to keep the house by winning the moderate purple suburban districts while the voters are hearing these far left democrat positions - Good luck Nancy
1
Stand your ground Mrs Pelosi.
The Democratic party needs an adult in the room, and you are it. The last bastion of sanity in your party.
Without you, the fringe Left led by AOC will turn us into Venezuela.
3
Nancy will be remembered in History for a very long time, while trump will be known to be a footnote, a President who was a pathological entity .
4
Neoliberalism has destroyed the New Deal Working Democrat Party, and N.P. owns that.
4
corrected-
All this bla bla bla with Pelosi is interesting but will not change the fact that Trump will be re-elected in a land slide given the social leftist democratic agenda. I don’t want to live in a socialistic America akin to benign communism or worse. God help Trump to save us from the social democratic left.
God bless Nancy Pelosi, hero of the republic.
4
Pelosi is a politician's, politician. She is no longer young enough to know everything, yet she hasn't forgotten what it is to be young.
Chairwoman Pelosi is the unrestrained teacher from "The Prime Of Ms. Jean Brodie", endeavoring to put "old heads on young shoulders" so that all of her wards in the new Congress become "the creme de la creme."
3
I am in Nancy Pelosi’s district, and I have voted for her consistently, but as of the last couple of elections, I only did that because here in San Francisco we didn’t get the choice to vote for someone like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Pelosi is dominant in the party, but many Democrats are frustrated with the status quo and hungry for the next generation to step in. Rather than dismiss AOC and her closest allies, Pelosi should be taking notes on their growing popularity and influence.
9
"Pelosi has offered a master class, with flair and fire, on how a woman can spar with Trump".
Well that's a very low bar. AOC is clearly better at sparing with Dumold Trump and that's without the rank of Speaker of the House. I'd place a large wager on a debate between Pelosi and AOC that AOC would wipe the floor with her.
Pelosi's ability to pull in large donors demonstrates her affinity with the wealthy, not the people she is supposed to represent. The Democrats are done for if they do not move well to the democratic side of the Democratic Party.
6
Yeah?
Tell me what AOC actually got out of Trump. Other than Tweets, of course.
4
When 2 years from now families are still being abused at the border, officials are still mocking congress and not obeying subpoenas, when the White House is still saying global warming is a Chinese hoax, and when Trump is beginning his second term in office will the Washington press corps and beltway pundits still be lauding Speaker Pelosi? Pelosi is losing to Trump everyday of the week. All this adoration for her? Give me a break.
9
Pelosi only controls the house. Republicans control the senate. What exactly do you expect her to do?
4
Although I did not initially support Pelosi for House speaker in 2016, Pelosi has proven that she is in the right place at the right time. She has tempered the anger of Democrats to behave rationally and with purpose. Her resistance to impeachment will ultimately prove to be her most clever move. The pressure is still building for impeachment and when the proceedings do finally begin, they will be fresh in the voters' minds. Voters will be reminded that all of the Republicans in Congress need to be forever removed.
5
Excellent state of play summary. Pelosi easily is the smartest Democratic politician of this era. She is the best Democratic Congressional power broker since LBJ. Unlike McConnell she actually cares about the country not just power. We are very fortunate to have her. If we win in 2020 we will have her to thank.
One minor quibble. I can not agree with the statement "Hillary Clinton, the only other woman who rose to these heights in American politics." There was a third who was more powerful and impactful than Clinton. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was a politician to her toes throughout her elective and judicial life.
7
I have said for a long time that Republicans (and especially Trump and McConnell) don't care, but it was still striking to see that Nancy Pelosi said that, as she actually knows them. More importantly, Ms. Pelosi has Mr. Trump's number and is not cowed by him. Rather, he seems cowed by her.
11
Nancy Pelosi, whom I also admire, is the daughter of a mayor of Baltimore, product of a political family, and wife of a rich real-estate developer. In other words, she is a member of an elite of wealth and power. When we're ranting against her class (I do it too) let's not forget that our side relies on that class too. Its members have the savvy and connections to grasp the levers of power. Those born poor and powerless, like Bill Clinton and Corey Booker, have to learn how to work with, and eventually join, the class that Nancy Pelosi was born into.
4
Like Pelosi I appreciate the progressives and the energy they have brought to the party. But the Speaker is correct that moderation is still the key. Their time will come, and if the Democrats are successful in 2020 their progressive initiatives will pass in some form. At this point a more moderate approach is needed.
9
Pelosi has years of experience, and while many would like to see more and much faster action to undo the wounds Trump is inflicting on the nation, she's playing the longer game to lead the nation to a Democratic administration and Congress.
12
The so-called “progressives” quite ironically fail to see that they are no better than any other extremist faction, and that the “Squad” in particular come off as childish and contemptible. Thankful for Speaker Pelosi’s experience, wisdom and courage.
14
The left wing of the Democratic party is just as bad as Mitch McConnell. Just heard Rashida Tlaib on 'This Week' and she sounded like a screaming Stephen Miller or KellyAnne Conway. She did not listen and like Kamala Harris' grandstanding during Senate hearing, she grandstanded, instead of actually saying something. It is impossible to decide whether her points were valid (about Clint), when she just yelled and refused to actually answer questions. Pelosi just smiles and brushes the squad off. I'm glad they are bringing their voices, but their time is limited by their severe inability to hear the other side.
11
It's confounding to me how the far Left interpret distaste for Donald Trump as a green light for pie-in-the-sky policy initiatives. There is no connection.
11
Nancy Pelosi must go. We don't have time for her non-sense anymore. Her lack of vision and leadership proves why term limits are essential at all levels of government.
10
So I guess we can assume, then, that her incumbent protection racket, the DCCC (which has decided to blacklist forever any vendor who does business with primary challengers), is not going to protect incumbents like AOC and Rashida Tlaib, but WILL protect right-wing Democrats like Josh Gottheimer, who votes with Trump 40% of the time?
No wonder Democrats don't show up to vote.
7
Gottheimer’s voting record is just fine when looked at in the context of his district, which he won after being reliably R forever. You shouldn’t look at these things in such a binary way.
3
In giving her speech before the Irish Parliament after having her right hand crushed by a car door, Speaker Pelosi extended the tradition of President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt was shot in his chest but continued with his planned speech for 45 minutes.
A leader who perseveres despite personal injury will easily outdistance a fellow who claims bone spurs to avoid service to his country. DPD
14
The problem is that Pelosi is a republican in Democrat clothing. AOC and her ilk are the future for real democracy in the USA. Pelosi is is just the same old, same old Democracy Lite. She and her wealthy friends will do fine but the majority of lower income Americans will continue to see their earning decline.
8
Only if u believe that AOC and her ilk represent a major voting bloc, strong enough to carry the day in swing states. They don’t and they aren’t. Pelosi understands that.
4
Nancy Pelosi makes President Trump look good. Keep her as speaker and President Trump is guaranteed a second term. What has she done anyway that makes her so special? Nothing.
5
I’d give you the list, but trumpists don’t read.
3
“With all due respect, the press likes to make a story that is more about Democrats divided than the fact that Mitch McConnell doesn’t care about the children[.]" In a word, no. What the Liberal freshmen--freshwomen--are incensed with is the fact that Pelosi abandoned those children in order to make a deal, which ultimately she did for the same reason she refuses to endorse an impeachment proceeding: she cares more about her own power than doing the right thing. She and all the old power brokers need to go. Period.
4
foil (noun): a person or thing that contrasts and so emphasizes and enhances the qualities of another.
Pelosi parades Trump as her foil in order to emphasize and enhance her "qualities."
Her charade works "masterfully" because, courtesy of The New York Times and other so-called liberal mainstream media, the deeply indoctrinated educated classes understand her charade to be the definition of both a "Democrat" and a show of actual democracy.
Corporate-owned America, meanwhile, continues to work as it does behind the curtain of her grand show—and is ever supportive ($) for the mass distraction she theatrically provides to further legitimate the corporate-owned definition of democracy.
Pelosi personifies this corporate-owned definition of democracy—and through her grandly theatrical performances, the indoctrination continues.
6
Pelosi might have used a few days to propose amendments to the Trump bill. That would have publicized and underlined the humanitarian issues. Instead, she chose tp fold, clearly to try to isolate the left. She and Biden are Hillary 2.0. Arrogant insiders, irrelevant and alienating the vigorous new minds joining the Democrats. They can walk out, launch a third party. Trump ran against the RHINOs and won, what makes these Democratic versions of Jeb Bush think they're invulnerable?
6
Occasionally, Pelosi recites strong words.
But her time has passed. She is suffocating in convention.
Time to go.
6
The animosity by armchair experts on the far left to Pelosi and Democratic leadership is ridiculous.
Does every conservative love everything Mitch McConnell does? No, but they understand he has a job to do and they still turn out to vote reliably. Politics is compromise and short term loss for long term gain.
If you want to punish Pelosi by sitting out 2020, have a great time wallowing in your purity while our most vulnerable continue to suffer.
9
Pelosi should invite Rapinoe and her teammates to tea in San Francisco after they win the World Cup today. She would also invite AOC and the Squad. Girl Power on the Rise. Keep it coming!
1
Well, if it’s not the bourbon or vino that’s causing her mush mouth, then she really does have some medical problems. And as Speaker of the House, being third in line for the Presidency, we have every right to full disclosure of her health and all medical records.
Democrats want Trumps tax returns...but they’re not nearly as important to the public as Pelosi’s medical/health records!
So, what about it Madame Speaker?
1
What about it is that slavishly buying into doctored videos and far-right drivel is now understood to be an early sign of cerebellar atrophy.
You should have that looked at.
3
A few nits to pick right off. First; Why is it that even a female columnist can't get through an interview with the Speaker of the House without a commentary on her wardrobe? Granted the girls got style but there are bigger issues here.
Second: Every time I hear someone banging on about Ms.s Pelosi or Feinstein being "San Francisco Liberals" I just cringe. Neither of them fit that bill, they are San Francisco moderates and Dianne actually leans toward the conservative. A true S.F. liberal would've painted the White house in a rainbow roll and then set it on fire by now.
She has been my representative for most of my adult life. I have not always agreed with her positions but I never once doubted her intentions or that she was able to play the long game. I can plainly see that the next generation has arrived and they are eager to lead. There is clearly intelligence and talent there and quite the fire in the belly.
However like it or not in DC that is not enough. You need to pay your dues and learn the game. You need a network and sorry but no, 4 votes doesn't cut it. Instead of tearing down the speaker the members of the Squad would do well to watch and learn and count their blessings that they have Nancy Pelosi to mentor them. They are in a master class on governance right now and they could learn something if they got off twitter for two seconds and paid attention.
5
I like her, always have, but she is just coasting along. Yes Speaker Pelosi got nearly 5 billion for the border. But where's the guarantee that some of the money won't go to Trump's Wall. And why is she not looking into and still allowing the for profit, 750 dollars a day, per person migrant detention industry to flourish.... If she has Single Payer Health Care Sign in her basement than she should be fighting for it hard, articulating so people understand. Not helping to keep the corrupt Insurance Industry in charge. I am afraid many of the commenters are right. It's either Ultra Right or Republican lite over & over... She did caution against striking Iran & her comment here about McConnell is brave, since she has to work with that scoundrel and traitor. But it's not enough.... AOC is more right than not ... and Nancy Pelosi is smart enough to know that.
4
Keep your eye on the ball, Democrats. If you (we) don't remove Trump, none of your more progressive ideas will ever be heard or considered, never mind implemented. And, permanently take the lightning rod issues, pie in the sky ideas, OFF the table: reparations (I can't believe you are actually discussing this issue in 2019, really?), free illegal immigrant health coverage, wiping everyone's student debt. Many of these far, far, FAR left ideas are DOA even in a democratic landslide; stop giving Trump endless, free fodder for his base. And PLEASE stop allowing the GOP to control the narrative on immigration, and giving the perception that you support open borders (a free for all) - and if you do support open borders, most Americans DO NOT; stop speaking Spanish just to pander to legal Latino voters (voters you already mostly have on your side, by the way)! Triage - we must get rid of Trump before anything else can be discussed. It's like the Progressives want to discuss rebuilding Europe a year and a half before D-day. And, no, I don't agree with Nancy on not opening an impeachment inquiry. I don't care if it's a political calculation, no one is above the law. Her oath to uphold the law supersedes her political insight.
5
Strutting around a San Francisco Pride Parade in purple Manolo Stilettos will not endear the voters she needs to maintain control of the House. Neither will being forced to allow, albeit kicking and screaming, into allowing a vote on a border funding bill to mitigate what she derided as a "made up" crisis the previous 6 months. Blaming Mitch McConnell for the crisis she not only ignored but denied after he engineered a bipartisan bill to address it belies her claim to be a grandmother who cares about children. Claiming that it "could have been better" also demonstrates her extremist tendencies and a feckless inability to deliver on them.
3
"stabbed her fork into one of my home fries." People who do that are disgusting. And she has a working relationship with Mitch McConnell who has been far more detrimental to democracy than all the segregationists combined. Will she receive the same rebuke as Joe Biden? I don't doubt her leadership but her haltering manner in her speech along with her hand gestures make her difficult to watch and a target for the right.
The ultra-left continues to think that the majority of the Democratic party shares their view of idealistic policies that would not pass even in a completely Democratic House and Senate. They, like Trump, can see a scenario in which they win everything, which is unrealistic. Thank God for people like Speaker Pelosi who have a pragmatism that is a result of experience gained in the political trenches. Democrats must realize that Republicans are just as passionate, if not more so, about the policies they beleive in. I would say more so because they looked past Trump's character and abilities, and voted for the Supreme Court, Appellate courts, and the deregulations and immigration policies they wanted. All that time Liberals were looking for the second coming of Karl Marx and obsessing about Clinton's $250,000 speaking fee. Among ordinary Democrats, the views of AOC and her supporters are not universally shared. Criticize Biden as we want for his poor choice of examples of opponents you have to work with, but unless all the Republican seats are going to miraculously flip in the coming election, we are going to have to find some common ground or living in the United States is going to continue feeling like living in East and West Berlin. I would guess that even that divided country found things they could agree on.
5
I'm not convinced by Pelosi. Getting down to brass tacks her biggest achievent, the ACA, a marginal piece of legislation, is being eviserated by executive action. She backed a loser in Clinton. Dodd-Frank was not nearly enough and is being watered down. Talk about pointless, every single bill she sends to McConnell' Senate is DOA. The fact that she is the most prolific fundraiser in Democratic politics exposes her as an essentialist to our corrupt system of political financing.
Her dismissal of AOC, who is screaming from the rooftops, because we face a national and global existential crisis in climate change, is both arrogant and classist. The bottom line is that all the "leaders" of the last 50 years have failed. A few clever jabs of shade towards the dotard don't win any points against the challenges of the day.
Take local action, if you have the energy, or enjoy the last few years of livable planet, or maybe both!
344
@Jonathan
My teenage daughter wonders if voting will ever be worth it and people like Pelosi are a large part of why that is. And it's not as if her efforts at upping the federal response to AIDS was integral to that response.
25
@Jonathan
Politics is most often the art of getting what can be gotten, or losing as little as possible. Pelosi has manage to do both exceptionally well.
Politics, like most choice systems, always comes down to whose ox is being gored.
133
@Jonathan: Sanders would have lost by a landslide. And Buttigieg's remarkable fundraising indicates he's the Republican's choice to run on the Democratic ticket in 2020.
54
Brave and savvy is Nancy Pelosi. With her deft leadership touch the Dems will win the presidency in 2020 and work toward implementing their progressive legislation. Thanks for all she is doing to keep us moving towards that important goal.
7
Pelosi is, despite her best efforts, fading away. Her advanced age, the passing of time and old school thinking make it inevitable that Pelosi will not be the Democratic Party shot caller for long.
I'm nearly 70, but I can clearly see that those who are 30 and 40 years younger will shape the future.
Pelosi has not yet resigned herself to this inevitability.
4
A minority of Democrats really feel that infinite new taxes combined with an infinite amount of new government programs is in any way an imperative. What they do feel an imperative around is the fact that the next election must be won at almost any cost. They know that social and economic progress of average people that began with FDR must be firmly placed back on track before it’s too late. Most Democrats want most of all for the financial and power trajectory of the super rich versus the middle class brought back into balance. Restoring that balance is about enforcing and expanding labor rights across more job categories, rebuilding new types of more responsive and responsible labor unions and rebalancing the cost of higher education, while providing some form of reasonable relief. While we all appreciate our most progressive voices for all their passion and innovative ideas, they must also be made to realize that the laws of mathematics and economics cannot be repealed via tweet. Nancy Pelosi understands all of this, the economics, the politics and the psychology. A more perfect person for the critical job at hand could not be found.
11
All true, but beyond healthcare and free college a new blizzard of multi-hundred billion dollar programs is being rolled out daily. Scaring the center of the country (and the party) with trillions in new spending that go far beyond basic healthcare and college will only result in another devastating electoral college victory for the right. Then you will end up with nothing but a continuously expanding risk of pure oligarchy. The farthest voices on the left can’t fund socialism by completely devastating capitalism. If just half the programs proposed over the last few weeks manage to get fully implemented the stock market would crash. This would then cause the economy to crash, which would destroy the funding for all of those bureaucratic distractions almost instantaneously. The country would then blame the far left for the resulting economic crisis. Democrats would lose power for another two election cycles. Economics simply won’t allow everyone of these programs to be funded. They’re aren’t enough taxes and they’re aren’t enough defense cuts to come anywhere close to the total tab that all these promises add up to. Saying that you are going to throw the borders wide open is yet another sure path to losing. Sure, we all hope for a unified and free planet with open borders, maybe in 100 years or so (if humanity is lucky). The reality of today is most Americans in both parties do not want wide open borders. What they do want is compassion, reasonableness and progress.
4
But as you surely know, Medicare for All would be LESS expensive than for profit health care, the most expensive health care in the world—and one that leaves millions uninsured and millions more bankrupt after a serious illness.
Sanders has explained (please listen) that free community college education and vocational training (which would help most American families now harnessed to onerous high interest debt) would be funded with a small tax on Wall Street transactions. After all, taxpayers bailed out Wall Street—and everyone thought this was fine.
An increase in minimum wage would also save taxpayers who would not have to subsidize billionaire employers with safety net programs.
Sure a tax on income over 10 million a year could help finance a variety of programs, including infrastructure.
Also ignoring the effects of climate change will be far far more expensive than taking action now. You will see.
15
WE need to stop this Left -right talk. The idea is to:
#1- Defeat Trump
#2- Dem Senate and congress
#3- Some reasonable health care system to answer our problems
#4- Reasonable eduction costs and reevaluate the loans
#5- Return to our agreement with Iran
#6- Come up with a fair and logical immigration plan.
#6- Reverse our income inequality problems
#7- A good, strong long term infrastructure plan
These are the goals and lets agree on them and stop the food fights.
20
@RichardHead
Also, near the top of the list, Address climate change
4
We always it thought it would be a woman who ultimately brings potus 45 down, whether Stormy, or his other accusers, his ratings of them not withstanding . Nancy Pelosi is the best bet , a beautiful brilliant older woman and a 10 in more ways than one that Trump could never understand. Too bad she’s not running for President, Then I’d be confident we have the best candidate.
12
I've always supported Pelosi, but now sorry to see her using Trumpian rhetoric. Our nation's current issues have nothing to do with being "left" - we have human rights abuses and thousands of children being harmed for life due to Trump's racist policies, along with other travesties. History has demonstrated the benefit in informing American's of a corrupt President's policies through impeachment hearings; we need them now to prevent further harms, to our nation and to untold numbers of families.
4
"left enough" -- It is so frustrating to keep hearing these Democratic Party dinosaurs regarding issues/policies this way, and thereby horribly reinforcing Republican Party (so-called now) radicals' accusations. Well-regarded surveys show that the majority of citizens are in favor of policies that are labeled "leftist" (raising the minimum wage, universal health care, taxing the wealthy to give their fair share, slowing/halting climate change, etc., etc.). If these issues sound like Sanders' policies, it's no coincidence. Base on those data, he makes the legitimate point that if a majority are in favor, those policies should not still be regarded as leftist. I must comment when this issue comes up, at least for the sake of mature reasoning. It can also help with venting frustration over the apparent inertia alone regarding change within the so-called leadership of the Democratic Party. "Change" was regarded by political scholars as a prime factor in 2016, as it showed that the value of "centrism" (as well as "moderate," as in center-right) was gone in these times of Republican ruthlessness. This emerging importance of change was intriguingly eight years after "change you can believe in" and about 1000 Democratic Party candidate losses in the meantime. I assert that people keep exposing that misnomer of "leftist."
11
@akhenaten2
When you appropriate all mainstream Democratic beliefs to Bernie and the left, then yes, the left's positions are popular. But the issues you mention have all been mainstays of the Democratic party, in some cases for nearly a century already. Just for one example, the last federal minimum wage increase occurred in 2009, when those notorious moderates Obama and Pelosi were in power. There hasn't been a minimum wage increase since the Democrats lost control of both houses of congress.
6
The only item of significance in this piece is the overall view of the ugliness of what we call Democracy.
Plato did not think it could work unless we had "Philosopher Kings" at the top. He saw the greed and weaknesses of humans and had little hope for Democracy. For example the idea of Medicare for All could improve the quality of life for millions of Americans and transform America in general; the workplace, the home and leisure time and give untold happiness and security to vast numbers of people. But this article points out the horridness of rigid ideologies, the greed and corruption that ruins it all.
4
Sorry, but based on the comments here the far left needs to take a chill pill. The Democrats are not relevant because AOC flipped Joe Crowley's seat. It's relevant because moderate-liberal members flipped districts that voted for Trump. The moderate to liberal wing is the majority of the party, not the far left.
Based on the last debate, if the nominee's platform next year is we'll: take away your health insurance; put your kids on a bus for an hour to go to school; and open up the borders, I'll vote for a third party candidate.
11
@Paul H ~
"...I'll vote for a third party candidate."
Here we go again. Have you ever heard a Republican threaten to vote for a third party candidate if the nominee isn't conservative enough or smart enough or....?
3
You would be surprised by how many Americans do not like their employer initiated health insurance. You would be surprised by how many Americans struggle to pay high monthly premiums, high copays, high deductibles and extraordinary cost of prescriptions. You would be surprised by how many Americans worry about how to pay for college and how to make those monthly high interest payments on student loans.
Middle America is struggling. Free health care and free community college would go a long way toward putting a few extra dollars in the pockets of the not-so-rich.
4
Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, despite their dislike for Trump, are essentially defenders of the status quo, which is to say that they wish to preserve the prerogatives of the corporate state. Thus, Pelosi despises the left wing of her own party as much as she does Trump, for they are the actual threat to corporatism and neoliberalism. And where have corporatism and neoliberalism gotten us? One need only look to the extreme levels of inequality and environmental degradation all around us to find the answer. Under the leadership of Pelosi and her partners in the Democratic establishment, the party has assumed the role of the “inauthentic opposition,” to use Sheldon Wolin’s phrase. It is past time for them to step aside and let the authentic opposition take hold of the reins.
10
So far, what’s the evidence—the tangible evidence, not the promises—that self-named progressives would do any better?
By the way, you’re not outside capitalism and what it does, you know.
4
After her hearing her calling out the "progressive" twitterphiles I wish she would run for president. She is absolutely right its about getting things done not about acting out on twitter. AOC and her ilk might as well tweet about how great Socialism is and she will be a great foil for press which devours with a ravenous appetite anything that moves the needle. It has no value for actual change. Power in congress takes patience like a true champion of progressive ideas like Rayburn who passed so many laws with savage political skill. Pelosi is no Rayburn but at least she understands the rules and acknowledges there are other people with their own ideas and other members of congress with their own ideas who have an equal vote. AOC, and Omar are better housed in the echo chambers of the liberal parlors where she will get a free glass of pinot noir but not in congress where no one cares.
5
AOC represents me. My family needs Medicare for All and free community college education. We need $15 minimum wage—and action on climate change.
5
As a moderate Republican, I never thought I'd say this - but I am extremely proud and thankful Nancy Pelosi is speaker of the house. Over the years, even when I disagreed with her (i.e., pushing through the ACA), I always respected her. She represents the best in leadership - male or female. Her tenacity and commitment, along with her political savvy, are unsurpassed. I am grateful, as a woman, that we have such a strong woman in such a high position who is a positive role model for all of us. Including our sons.
The younger congressional reps should be taking notes. Speaker Pelosi's appeal has only broadened due to her pragmatism and commons sense stances. I am a fan.
17
@hopeforchange The ACA has helped us tremendously, and many other people also. We would have been left with no options in a GOP fueled society when our household situation changed beyond our control. If anything, the Republicans refused to fix its problems on purpose. Ruthless and cruel like any other GOP health care "plan" I have witnessed. Please don't knock the ACA if you have not had an unfortunate opportunity to benefit from it. It's not perfect, but blame it on the GOP Congress that truly sabotaged it. The GOP has never helped us one iota.
6
Let's hope Speaker Pelosi succeeds in keeping party center left.
If the Democratic candidates continue their "bilingual pandering and talk about busing and decriminalizing illegal border crossings and abolishing private health insurance," Trump may win and Speaker Pelosi may no longer be speaker. That's a double whammy that the nation can ill-afford.
10
Everyone I know hates their private health insurance which their employers purchased for them. If they lose their job, they have no insurance.
3
Nancy Pelosi is a hero. I don’t doubt her for a minute and critical readers should be reminded that
She isn’t anywhere near finished with her work.
6
i am wavering between the opinions that ms. pelosi is the problem or the solution.
the democratic party, always a bellwether of the future, is decidedly split, and it seems to me the old moderate/extremist contrast is a poor understanding of the current moment, where the bald undeniability of future facts clashes with the inveterate human preference to hit the snooze alarm.
the congress has a constitutional obligation in many directions with regard to the current executive, and it seems to me we get better guidance by following what the constitution provides rather than temporizing with the crystal ball of politics.
impeach is one priority; another is hearings in several committees on climate change -- a multifront broadside of hearings that parade all the captains of industry, commerce, finance, energy, health care and defense before public view, all proclaiming that the leaders in their fields not only "believe in climate change" (as if one believed in gravity) but are actively planning around its inevitability.
i have beliefs too. i believe politicians are made timid by the arts of their trade, made shortsighted by donors and polls, and made illiterate in their need to communicate at the level of "having a beer with."
i'm a man of the 60's, and i like my democracy with a dram of revolution. progressive or procrastinator i don't care -- it's time democrats tuned in, turned on and dropped out of denial. wake up people -- the century of heat is upon us.
7
Nancy Pelosi is the most impressive of all the nationally prominent Democrats. Unlike publicity seekers and impatient, immature adolescents like the gang of four (Pressley, Omar, Tlaib, Ocasio), she actually gets things done and has the unenviable job of trying to herd cats.
The rigidly doctrinaire adolescents who find Ocasio and her ilk alluring forget that the only reason the Democrats control the House is that they won moderate districts. The "my way or the highway" Democrats are courting disaster and are too immature to realize it. Continuing to hammer on impeachment -- however well warranted it may be -- is a losing proposition and a useless expenditure of energy.
Pelosi has the steadiness, sense and temperament to lead, which is what she is doing. The loudmouths who never saw a microphone they didn't like have no idea what it means to do anything other than mouth off.
10
Political discipline is imposed on both parties by controlled trickle-down from top fundraisers like Pelosi and McConnell.
3
When will the NYT, Fox, CNBC, actually ANY media form or outlet, report on the 30 OTHER women newly elected to the house. All one EVER hears about is AOC, Tlaib, Omar and Pressley. There are 67 new democrats in the house but if you follow all the reporting it's as if its those 4 versus Pelosi and the rest of the world and thats it. How does Rep. Slotkin of Michigan feel about single payer? How does Rep. Sherrill from N.J. feel about open borders? I sure won't be able to tell from the news reporting. Its just those 4, especially AOC, and "Socialism" that gets any coverage. I think thats what Pelosi means by saying "they have 4 votes". I sure would love to be a fly on the wall listening to a policy discussion among all 34 democratic women. I think one would get a much different feel for the democrats then the constant left wing drumbeat endlessly thrown at us by all media, left right and center.
7
The progressive candidates in the Dem party are way too far left to wing a GE (Sanders and Warren). If Pelosi can steer this ship to a younger left of center star (Buttigieg, maybe Harris), she has the chance to put forth a candidate who can actually win.
If not, we’ll have a repeat of Nixon v. McGovern. Keep the loonies down on the farm Nancy.
4
Hooray for Nancy Pelosi! I thank God we have her.
11
@lochr: I detest all the projection of "God" into US politics by people who will never ever get a grip on reality.
2
I support Nancy. She may be, at this perilous time, the last hope of Democrats and of any progressive thinking. The sand box fight by Democratic presidential candidates, in the face of a school yard nasty bully and his band of thugs, is at best ridiculous, and at at worse perilous. Listen to her, she is trying to guide the nation through a time that is as dire as civil war.
6
My thought is that Nancy is one of the biggest obstructionists in Washington that I've known in my lifetime. She is a pure politician for politics sake, and seeing her constantly venerated in the Times opinion section just proves that I subscribe to the left's equivalent of Fox News. I look forward to more diverse opinions in the opinion section.
5
"Nancy Pelosi and Donald Trump have a lot in common."
I guess Dowd is making this horrendous and horrendously untrue assertion merely to get our attention? Could she possibly have done that with something a bit less untrue?
"And the most powerful woman and most powerful man in the country ..."
The most powerful man in the country at the moment is not Trump but McConnell. McConnell is protecting the textbook demagogue with the textbook fascist ideals.
"Now Pelosi is in her element, ready for the fight of her life with Trump."
We are in the fight of our lives for the heart and soul of our democracy and our nation. The Democrats are the only party that is putting our democracy and nation first.
8
Madam Speaker: It's not about being left wing enough. It's about being pro democracy enough. It is the heart of your job.
7
Thanks very much to Maureen for another excellent Op-Ed.
I’m a big fan of Pelosi for a long time. She is a true LEADER as opposed to the bloviating and buffoonish provocateur in the White House masquerading as our President.
My mother taught me that Leadership is gender neutral - my wife and our daughter unequivocally concur. Pelosi indubitably personifies Leadership. She is also a “Brand Ambassador” for probity and comity in today’s turbulent times. Pelosi is also quick witted and can effortlessly inject “Levity with Brevity”. She is truly a “Classy Lady”. What can I tell ya!
We need a firm and principled leader like Pelosi to navigate our way out of the dysfunctional dystopia created by Trump’s divisive, discursive and diatribe-ridden demagoguery. Hate to say this but we also need Pelosi to contain youthful grandstanding by AOC, Omar and Tlaib et al.
Finally - as they say in Italian: VIVA PELOSI!
6
Totally admire Pelosi. AOC is an empty barrel making a lot of noise. The Speaker knows exactly what she is doing. I had previously admired Ms. Pressley from MA as I had heard her speak on local TV. She is a very smart woman and was impressive. Surprisingly, she seems to be joining forces with the screamers, AOC and Ms. Talib. Calmness is not a virtue for these woman. Too bad because while they may be right, folks like me automatically turn them off. Nancy knows what the score is, and they could learn a thing or two from her without all the ranting and raving! Empty barrels do make the most noise!!
7
Wow!!! I have always admired Nancy. Thank you for the excellent piece, Maureen. It's nice to see you coming home to the Dems rather than constantly bashing them (us).
4
Nancy is “preparing to unman the president with a thousand legal and legislative cuts.”
He’s going to be out of office soon, in 2 or 6 years... when are the preparations done?
3
Over the last several months I have felt more and more as though Speaker Pelosi is the de facto President of the United States, despite being third in line behind a giant toddler and a Christian fundamentalist blowhard though she may be, she has been an exemplar of competent leadership and a voice of moderation and cool-headed strategy. I admire her greatly.
5
Remember it was Pelosi, along with Schumer AND Obama, in 2016 who refused to warn the American people about Russian interference in our election because she did not have Mitch McConnell's permission to do so.
3
Herculean? Maybe Boudicean.
Pelosi is a warrior, and a worthy opponent.
The republicans, who, like the Roman Empire, are disintegrating under the weight of their corruption, are terrified of Pelosi and every other democrat who holds fast against their carefully scripted lies.
Pelosi want's to see Trump in prison.
What do the moderates in her party want?
Rehabilitation for the liar in the White House?
Safe passage to Moscow?
Let bygones be bygones?
Bury the hatchet?
If any of the above we should all be prepared to repeat the madness of the Trump presidency and the republican assault on democracy and the rule of law.
6
Maureen says both Pelosi and Trump crave the spotlight, but it seems to me that the writer craves it more than the Speaker does.
4
Box of chocolates, eh? Puff piece with snooty references to the "west coast" elite. Read Ryan Grim's piece in the Washington Post that argues that Dems have been chickens for the past 40 years who have been running scared of the GOP since Reagan. Master strategist, or not, Pelosi runs just like the rest of the Dems. We are almost past democracy and moderates and old, old liberals are doing nothing. Thank god for AOC and her group of brave progressives. They probably won't save us but they are up for the fight. Can't say the same about Pelosi.
3
Nancy Pelosi for President. we all assume she won't do it. Yet?
3
"...a 300-pound armored car door was accidentally closed on her right hand, crushing it in the locking mechanism... She shook hundreds of hands without flinching."
Question for other readers: How many think Our Great President would have handled the situation this way?
8
Walk on, Madam Speaker. If only the Democratic presidential contenders would listen to your advice!
6
Why is it that any time the 63 freshman members of the house are referenced it is always "The Squad"?
The black
The Latina
The 2 Muslims
All 4 of whom are women?
Aren't there any white freshman equally passionate about progressive causes as these 4 whom the MSM seems to have fixated on in an almost fetish like manner? It reeks of pro Trump bias in the MSM to make the democrats seem like a party of "Others."
Also, those 30 year old single payer signs Pelosi referenced? What she and BFF Dowd forget is Hillary failed because she tried to run health care reform out of the WH, ignoring Congress.
Obama was not going to make that mistake so he let Congress take the lead in passing HC reform while sketching the broad strokes. NO Democrat defended the ACA in 2010 when the Tea Party came for it screaming "Death Panels," and "Government Take Over of Health Care."
NO ONE. Including Pelosi.
Pelosi claims impeachment would cause loss of swing districts. But the reason the swing districts flipped was those voters wanted a check on Trump.
It is Pelosi, slow walking the investigations, who risks losing the swing districts by NOT doing what those voters elected Democrats to do: act as a check on Trump.
Funny, too, that Dowd left out Pelosi's famous "Impeachment is off the table" from 2006. Trump is bad, but torture, rendition, Geneva Convention violations, false war of choice is a bridge not even HE has crossed. Yet not even THAT was sufficient to even investigate.
7
The confusion arises where one equates flattering this oppressed group or the other as progressive or left. For all the votes Ms. Pelosi accumulated by advocating early for the gay community and people with AIDS and relating wistfully the account of her little granddaughter wanting to be black she never bothered with things like labor unionization, curbing big banks, socialized medicine or entertaining a trial of George W. Bush. Just a top rank political operator and corporate fundraiser.
1
If the point of this was to contrast "Left" representatives inspecting Clint with eating bon bons in Napa while on vacation, you've quite succeeded.
4
Notice in the Doug Mills photo with Pelosi, Pence, and Trump in the White when Trump sits he always puts his hands in the shape of what he likes to grab and what the Access Hollywood tapes were all about.
3
Speaker Pelosi is an unprincipled coward whose only purpose in life is to raise money for Democrats and run interference for Republicans. She protected George W Bush and Dick Cheney from impeachment for torture and for lying the country into war. Now she is protecting Donald Trump.
What she doesn't want anyone to remember is that Americans opposed the impeachment of Richard Nixon when impeachment hearings began. But when the House Judiciary Committee brought the facts to light, public opinion changed.
As for being "left enough," Speaker Pelosi is to the right of both Nixon and Reagan. It's ridiculous to say anyone like that is on the left at all.
7
no country for old men ..... and old women. She is well meaning but has lost the plot like all of the other septuagenarians making policy. Poor Nancy, she does not see that the revolution has started and that she is just a rudderless dinghy floating on the sea of change without adequate revolutionary passion to stop the decline and fall of the American Empire.
4
Nancy Pelosi is the voice of reason in the party is being pulled into a black hole of far-left extremist positions. Democrats, once the party of liberalism, has become the party of regressive policy positions clad in doublespeak. The DNC needs to do some housecleaning and purge the radicals before the Democratic party becomes a total loss.
3
Please stop describing the details of what female leaders wear in such fawning detail. It's irrelevant, and the press rarely does the same for male subjects. It both cliche and sexist.
5
She's kryptonite for Trump. He's defenseless against her because she is everything he is not. She is well informed, well-organized, and compassionate.
6
Thanks so much for the special photo of her shoes. Made the article. Tell me, what kind of shoes does Mitch wear anyway?
8
While many of the comments to this article seem to praise Nancy Pelosi to the skies for her long career, the troubling issue of her career *right now* isn't about whether she is 'left' enough or not, it's that her inaction in the face of high crimes and misdemeaners by the president becomes more and more egregious as The People wonder more and more who is there, exactly, who will stop this seeming relentless march toward fascism as those who support it grow more and more confident and reckless daily.
Scarily, it is Pelosi's lack of acting on her Constitutional duty that might become her, and our country's, lasting, not so grand, legacy.
8
"...As she got into her Suburban in the motorcade, a 300-pound armored car door was accidentally closed on her right hand, crushing it in the locking mechanism. The attending physician could offer her only ordinary Band-Aids to stop the bleeding from the wounds on her hand and Advil for a tear so bad that doctors who stitched her up afterward said that she could have lost her fingers."
That tell it all.
Nancy Pelosi is the voice of reason, one badly needed nowadays.
8
Great piece about the main barrier between democracy and a totally unhinged Trump and Republican Party.
6
Why the fluff? no one covers Trump's shoes and we are ignoring Mrs Trump's wardrobe malfunction, dress color choices for the 4th.
Pelosi dressed no different than normal for her, so why mention?
Do better.
4
Nancy Pelosi is playing chess with a man who doesn't even understand checkers. Don't get me wrong, I am as frustrated as anyone that we don't impeach this evil, narcissist who cares not a whit about America or his base, but only himself. But I do understand this. America is better than Trump. And whoever is the democratic candidate will get my vote. I am only hoping, and praying, that this nightmare on our country will end soon. Because we, and this fragile democracy we love, can't wait. VOTE!!!
7
Nancy Pelosi...what have you done for us lately? Exactly. Nothing. You talk the talk...and then back down. Are you worried about ruining your legacy if you fail an attempt at justice? I have been a lifelong Dem...but may switch for the next election. Repubs are at least passionate about what they do or say. I may not like or agree with them. But they do it with strong determination. You threaten with subpoenas. They laugh at you and reject them. No backbone.
2
Pelosi isn't interested in impeachment not because it will die in the senate, giving Trump another chunk of phony bravado for the campaign. But because, over the next 17 months, he will continue to prove what a clueless, gutless slab he is.
It's ugly politics; nothing anyone would admit to, but it could work.
Provided, of course, he doesn't start a war with Iran to insure re election. So far, every wartime incumbent has won re election. Perhaps he will be the first exception.
Make no mistake, his need for re election isn't for any sort of 'vision' or 4 more years for his family to fleece the country.
It is simply, to avoid the fed, state, and local charges awaiting him as a private citizen in January 2021.
Those charges are real, and serious, and will consume his life. Forever.
5
There is no doubt in my mind Speaker Pelosi will go down in American history covered in glory, while Donald Trump will be covered in ignominious shame.
She has ALREADY defeated him.
I will never forget what her daughter said: “She’ll cut your head off and you won’t even know you’re bleeding.”
And she will do it wearing purple Manolo pumps.
What a classic American!
5
Except for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Nancy Pelosi is the smartest person in the room.
5
Trump and Pelosi have a lot in common? Trump is a troll who never got the love or respect he wanted from his father, a sort of child abuse that obviously left deep scars; he continues to take it out on everyone around him, no target being too small. He did not grow up in a political family at all and it shows - he has little to no grasp of public policy, either its implications or how it's made. He was a NYC playboy who chased women for decades and never did anything substantial unless one considers going bankrupt an achievement. Please. The idea that these two people have "a lot in common" is ridiculous. And from the first sentence? Ice cream bowls and teetotaling make them separated at birth? This is some of the worst drivel I've read in a while. They have very little in common and a five-year-old could figure that out.
6
I agree with the comment before mine Marine, I'm not buying any of this nonsense either. Pelosi is so far past or expiration date she is so far out of touch and she needs to roll over and make room for people who will actually stand up to Donald Trump and she refuses to do
5
Unless the Democrats call out Rep. Tlaib and Omar for their anti-Semitic comments, Speaker Pelosi will underscore the phoniness of political correctness. Americans demand honesty and not political expediency.
3
Nancy Pelosi has performed a dexterous high wire act navigating between the 'madness of king Trump' and the crazies on the far left within her democratic congressional caucus. We are fortunate that she is serving as the adult in a room of colic toddlers.
5
"They don't care" Ms. Pelosi? That's correct. The Republicans don't care. They don't care what you do, since you do nothing. And apparently, you don't care either, about the constitution's mandate to impeach a corrupt and criminal president.
Morality and the judgment of history are not determined by polling numbers, Ms. Pelosi. You and Mitch McConnell are bookends; each one profoundly denying the will of the people and the rule of law.
9
The hypocrisy of Nancy Pelosi attacking AOC for her twitter following is delicious. People like Nancy Pelosi because of her snarky quips. Her actual legislative record is poor. With Nancy in charge of the house, we’ve lost more elections than we’ve won. Her greatest legislative achievement is bob dole’s health care plan. You don’t get to claim credit for “jawboning” three house members into voting for the ACA without also taking blame for having such a slim majority in a wave election where Obama won solid red states like North Carolina. And as for checking Trump, how’s that going? Nancy has presided over the annihilation of congressional oversight. Barr literally mocked her when they bumped into each other on the tarmac, asking if she brought her handcuffs with her. She is good a consolidating power within the party, and terrible at wielding it against our enemies.
8
Nancy Pelosi is the wrong person for the times we are living through! She needs to be removed! And, BTW, "self-impeaches" is not a thing. It's the job of the House of Representatives to open an impeachment inquiry into the most corrupt, illegitimate "President" and Attorney General the USA has ever had! And, this description of impeachment, "Pelosi knows that giving in to that primal pleasure could backfire." is as creepy as it is wrong. Also, Pelosi continues to come off as petty and past her time when discussing the new generation of congress women that we are all very excited to have representing us now and in the future. I wish she would retire or be removed. Congress is failing to due their job at her request. Jerry Nadler and Adam Schiff had better get backbones and start a televised impeachment inquiry. It's their job!
5
@Janine oops. Congress is failing to do (not due) their job at her request.
Nancy is the only leader in our current government I trust. Chuck’s a close second.
6
I disagree.
Her spine is made of steel. Trump feels powerless in her presence. Bravo Ms. Pelosi.
8
She’s a skillful politician, a lousy legislator and an abysmal statesman. But then that describes most of D.C.
5
Ms. Pelosi is a sad reminder of a day when being polite, inoffensive and attending to polling numbers was all you needed to win re-election. Like T. S. Eliot's "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" she has time "for a hundred indecisions" and does not "dare disturb the universe". Her sad epitaph is Prufrock's soliloquy:
"No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous—
Almost, at times, the Fool."
4
@David Hartman.
And Trump is not just feigning madness.
Biden reminds me of Polonius.
America is Ophelia.
Good column – she is brilliant, lots of charisma, etc., etc.,: “While the president was squandering millions to prove his manliness by rolling out tanks and jets on the Fourth, Pelosi was holed up at her vineyard getaway in Napa with her family, eating Mexican food, rereading the Mueller report and preparing to unman the president with a thousand legal and legislative cuts.”
I have read many hundreds of columns and editorials, seen countless hours of CNN with commentators and political pundits describing to the finest details of the horrors of Donald Trump. And…?
He is still POTUS and still doing what he wants – whatever he wants that is. Nothing REALLY happens. Oh – they are all spectacularly artful in describing what the Democrats are TRYING – but at the end – until this moment, Donald is still playing golf, getting richer by the minute, destroying one small piece at a time the democratic institutions and I – and so many others wondering why – why don’t they apply the slogan “don’t get mad, get even”.
IMHO- impeachment is the only solution – what would it take for Pelosi to admit that if she keeps playing his game – she will lose. I used to think like her – but I changed my mind. There is nothing wrong with changing ideas – “the terrible thing is having no ideas to change” (my Mom’s words) Am I getting impatient? Maybe – I can do nothing– I can’t vote.
C’mon – without fear – If he wins in 2020 bad, “many, many bad things will happen”.
4
The real target should be Mitch McConnell. Trump is the small fry. Real leadership would be taking impeachment to the senate with a plan to punish them in the court of public opinion for their treachery.
2
When capitulation can be sold as leadership, it's no wonder that Donald Trump runs roughshod over not only the crumbling Constitution and rule of law, but whatever semblance of morality remains in our governance. The mad king is riding high in the saddle as countless human beings suffer in the squalor of cages.
4
@Dotconnector: US politics is a complete void of ethics.
Overall, a good and interesting column. Thanks.
3
How many questions there were about impeachment and Mueller at the Presidential candidates debates? And these were hosted by the party’s lap dogs- MSNBC. The word is out. Nobody wants Trump impeached- not the American people, not the Democrats, not the Republicans.
3
Pelosi for president, but, probably better as speaker.
1
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does a fine job of representing the folks that elected her, as she should. However, winning one congressional district does not equal winning statewide or national elections. I value the the Congresswoman's the way she is challenging her party and the general public as a whole with her strong and strident voice. Let's not confuse this with a national consensus or even a majority opinion of voting Democrats.
6
For me, it's not Pelosi vs this 'squad', it's Pelosi vs Matt Taibbi. Matt has seniority, with his years of repeating that the Democratic party has suffered because it listens only to its donors, not its voters. Matt has put in a lot of time and interviews feeling the pulse, too - he was very afraid that Trump was going to win after seeing only Trump signs once the bus got out of cities, was talked out of that fear by guys showing him stats and the "path to victory is closed", etc. etc, and now no longer trusts these polls that say progressive messages drive people away.
Lost in the Pelosi/squad debate is Matt's contention that this isn't about fear of right-wing voters: it's submission to right-wing donors.
Part of that arises because the DNC won't back programs that poll very well indeed, an odd gap that Warren is now exploiting. Did Pelosi put the single-payer signs down in the basement after reading polls, or after examining cheques?
If black voters had turned out in Obama numbers for Clinton, she`d be president. Did they lose interest because Hilary was too white, or too right?
2
As this gaslighting piece makes abundantly clear, Pelosi shares no core values with her base. Beyond continuing to exclusively serve her fellow elites and forestalling the popular momentum of the progressive caucus, we can continue to expect nothing positive from this Speaker. Indeed, she has done far more to “resist” the preferred policy choices of the vast majority of Democratic voters
than do anything to substantively resist Donald Trump. The refusal to impeach should be the final proof that Pelosi isn’t interested in fighting against this administration beyond craven performative gestures. Any hope for a supposed political benefit with Republican voters for not impeaching is a disingenuous chimera and in the face the overt criminality of the president, a total abdication of her constitutional responsibility. She needs to go.
3
@Stuart Moscowitz
Couldn’t agree more. Labeling Pelosi a “Democrat” is generous. “Republican-lite” is far more apropos.
1
Speaker Pelosi continues to show why she is the leader. The younger troops are capable and eager to fight every battle; however, they lack a strategy for winning the war against the ruthless, lawless, fighters in the White House and the Senate.
Often winning a war means picking when to engage the enemy and when to be patient. Hopefully, Speaker Pelosi, Nadler and the other House Committee Chairs will time their public hearings and engagements with the courts so as to gain maximin advantage in the 2020 election. That said, Trump is unlikely to be jailed because in this country people with money and power are rarely jailed. And if by chance they are, a pardon can always be purchased. That needs fixing.
With regard to healthcare, to have the broadest appeal to voters Medicare for all is needed. If an individual or family can't afford what seniors pay for Medicare and supplemental insurance, the gvt. picks up the tab. Those who can afford to pay for Medicare and supplemental insurance do so. To pay for such a program, simply remove the cap from the SSI tax. Doing so will fix healthcare an social security. To work all the SSI tax needs to be applied to all forms when paid — bonuses, stock options, deferred income, etc. Tax all income at the same rate, no exceptions — including hedge fund managers.
Keep the faith, let Speaker Pelosi and her team prove they have a winning strategy. If they don't I will join the fight to overthrow them without pause or regret.
374
@old soldier
Under the grand leadership of Obama and Pelosi the Democrats lost the Senate to McConnell and the White House to Trump (and, temporarily, the House to Paul Ryan). The strategy of "compromising" with a party that does not want to compromise is clearly not working. It's time for a new strategy and new leadership. With our terrible healthcare system, terrible educational system, crumbling infrastructure and the looming threat of climate catastrophe there's no time for centrist Dems like Pelosi to dither and waste time.
33
@old soldier
You are correct on "Medicare for All." But you miss the point. The value of a large pool of people for any insurance depends on the critical size of the pool. In a national health care system, the pool would be everyone. 325 million people. So we would not need "supplemental insurance" because we would already have the largest pool possible. No private insurance needed. In fact, even if you allow people to have private insurance, you decrease the pool; it would be a detriment to the entire system to allow private insurance. There would be NO REASON WHATSOEVER to have private insurance. Just to say some would be happy to keep their private insurance is meaningless. They go to their same doctors and hospitals; there simply is a single player without a profit motive. It would revolutionize the system making it cheaper in the long run, more efficient and everyone would be covered. EVERYONE! The quality of life would increase and people would have far more security, happiness and quality of life.
39
@old soldier
Sorry, pal, but when left-leaners hear words about how supporters of moderate 'leaders' will join us if these moderates don't do the right thing, we think of how Obamas's feet was never ever held to any fire and how that's the story of modern American life.
8
I had stopped reading Dowd, but this column's focus on Speaker Pelosi drew me back in. I have gained a lot of respect for Madam Speaker in the past two years. I don't agree with her on everything, and I am all for starting the impeachment inquiry, but she knows the game much better than I do, so I'm willing to wait a little longer and see what the current investigations reveal.
5
Great column. Pelosi should let a hundred investigations flourish for the next twelve months. So much corruption and lawlessness to investigate! Who cares what any investigation is named? Judiciary Committee should then vote out articles of impeachment right after August 2020 recess.
And Pelosi should then send them NOT to the House floor for a vote, BUT TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE FOR THEIR VOTE! That would be a Pelosi masterstroke: deny Trump his Senate exoneration and make him lose where he should.
4
"We have to get things done". Yes, we need to pass as much of Trump's radical right agenda, and fast track as many of his judicial appointments, as possible. We need to keep all of his racists in the DHS fully funded. Whatever happened to the Hippocratic oath: "First, do no harm"? Ensuring that Trump accomplished nothing is to actually do something.
The reference to signs in the basement is hilarious: How about bringing those signs out to see the light of day again?
Pelosi demonstrates once again that the MO of the conservatives who control her party is: "Attack the Left, Appease the Right". Pelosi's interview, coming at the same time as Newt Gringrich's WSJ Op-Ed, shows where she really stands:
With Newt Gringrich, the guy who invented the do-nothing but harm Congress in the 1990's.
Think I'll poke around with the local DSA here in the SF Bay Area to see what's cooking. Pelosi's increasing exposed on her left flank in her home court. It shows through the personal charm. People here don't want Trump and the Republicans - an effectively dead party here in California - to "do" anything.
1
“The Squad” can’t see beyond their cloistered local victories. No one wins the Senate or the White House without the political center and those moderates have to be brought around gradually when it comes too real social change. The Squaders should concentrate on climate, where everyone but the GOP sees the need for fast action, where they can do some real good. Pelosi knows exactly what the moment calls for when it comes to tRump (not a typo).
3
Pelosi feels that the four made themselves irrelevant to the process by voting against “our bill,” as she put it, which she felt was the strongest one she could get. “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” she said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
It's just Nancy Pelosi raging against a future that she's not able to control.
2
"They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”
I thought Nancy could count votes.
91 Democrats voted against caving into Republican demands.
“Oh, he’d (Trump) rather not be impeached,’’
Oh, and Speaker Pelosi would rather not impeach him.
"You can’t impeach everybody." And now comes Trump, who she says, “has given real cause for impeachment.”
....“But that means nothing to me.”
"If the left doesn’t think I’m left enough, so be it. As I say to these people, come to my basement. I have these signs about single-payer from 30 years ago."
The left does not think she is aggressive enough against Trump, McConnell, and other right wing Republicans.
What are the signs doing in her basement? What other signs does she have down there?
ERA Now?
3
I wonder why in a post about a tough, savvy and very powerful woman we need to see a photograph of her shoes? She is not an actress or a model, she is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, get a clue.
5
"preparing to unman the president with a thousand legal and legislative cuts." Really? As if Trump cares? Pelosi is clearly failing to do her constitutional duty. She needs to step down or IMPEACH NOW!
5
Speaker Pelosi needs to step away from leadership. Her crowning achievement- the Affordable Care Act was a half step zombie compromise with fictional republican moderates. Under her leadership, her party suffered huge losses across the country because she didn't push for a liberal leftest agenda. Now she is doing what she considers strategic brilliance, doing nothing about impeaching a criminal, anti-constitutional, lawless president and declaring victory. For god's sake, Speaker Pelosi, do you job and put an impeachment necktie around Trump because it is the right thing too.
1
Great piece! At any turn in this thing called American politics, I can't help but sum up the situation like this. Ms. Pelosi is logical, usually a good thing. But Mr. Trump is pathological, seldom a good thing.
Anyone who's ever dealt with someone displaying personality disorder like we see in our president knows how wearying it is to never be able to rely on an expected outcome. Mental illness trumps (how ironic) all logic-based systems.
So we remain in extremis despite Ms Pelosi's monumental talent for navigating tricky political currents.
To all Democrats I say, "General Quarters-General Quarters, man your Battle Stations".
2
She spent a quiet day at her vineyard. That says a lot. Most people don’t own their own vineyard
3
@Michael Livingston’s ~
So what if she owns a vineyard? BTW a vineyard can be as small as 6 acres, maybe smaller.
Contrast that with trump who owns 19 golf courses that must span thousands of acres.
My point. The old double standard on display.
2
She knows the ropes, she’s been there before, no one has her experience. With the current political climate that is the difference between the Congress and the Senate she is managing to get things done. Impeachment will not work because of the Senate. Do we not know our constitution? I like the idea that prison is a better solution for Trump then impeachment, let’s get real. In the meantime, she’s passing legislation which is what will get Democrats votes. Voters will see that democrats changed things for the better. Most people care about what affects their wallet and Trump could remain popular as long as he could point to the economy which really belongs to another president. (If you need a lesson, google presidents and the economy) and see who’s economy it is. It’s not Trump’s. Are you going to be happy if Trump is impeached and you still don’t have healthcare insurance & you still can’t afford health care or to send your kids to college? Impeachment will fail, focus on what can be accomplished in the meantime. Let the speaker do her job
5
If any Democrat has a chance it’s Pelosi. The rest of the candidates look like a page from a high school year book. They are definable only by a lack of perspective and balance. Nancy has hard earned moxie combined with principals. She knows that spouting anarchy is self indulgent and counter productive.
5
We do not think Pelosi is leftist enough and will continue to work toward her retirement.
1
Nancy has certainly been a considerate speaker. However, we have a criminal in the WH and another one as senate majority leader. The House has oversight powers and should begin investigations of these corruptions as well as the corruption of William Barr. If the House does this and loses in the reactionary SCOTUS we have no democracy anyway.
It is better to try and fail than not try and certainly fail.
Get on with your job Nancy.
4
there ain't anyone in either party who can hold a candle to Pelosi. Go Nancy!
6
Whether Trump is impeached and removed from office is not the only point. The other point is that all of his crimes must be brought into the daylight for all to see. It will also reveal his cabal of sycophants in the GOP. Their votes will go on record as supporting the most egregious criminal ever to sit in the oval office.
4
If the Democrats let Trump win on everything out of fear they might fail to stop him - what good are they really?
1
Pelosi is twice the man the president will ever be. One can only imagine the histrionics if he’d stubbed his toe rather than smashing his hand in a car door. Any resemblance to a statesman is purely accidental: Pelosi has class. The president is crass. Pelosi has poise. The president is poison.
It’s likely for the best that she didn’t rush headlong into impeachment, given how every slam-dunk accusation and revelation about the man seems to backfire. If the litany of disgusting behaviors, crimes, lies and inept displays haven’t stuck, neither would impeachment have the desired effect. He’d probably rise in the polls and come up with new rhyming nicknames for the losers.
He gives cover for Republicans, without whose malevolent and disingenuous acts he could not exist. He threatens, backtracks, blurts and recants. But Senate Republicans act. They use him for plausible deniability, enacting laws, appointing judges and changing tax policy to favor themselves and their billionaire friends.
Pelosi remains calm in the face of this. She’s playing the long game, knowing that there will be a time and a place to lower the boom. Few people could have the poise and grace and patience to wait for the right moment and the right support before throwing the right hook.
If she knocks him down, she wants to be sure he won’t be getting up.
11
@gemli ~
Great comment as usual. Too bad they're so hard to find lately!
Your opening paragraph and last sentence are perfection.
BTW, I clicked 'Recommended' before I noticed your name.
4
Ms Pelosi is a weak Speaker of the House and the reasons for this are that she has too much connection to big money and lacks the fire in the belly to act like a leader of the opposition. She is not the opposition and acts more like a moderate Republican of old/ Wearing fancy shoes, living in luxury are not my idea of a good Democrat politician. We need Democrats who are in touch with the average working person and are mad (in a measured way) as heck. Ms Pelosi is hardly there. I believe that impeachment should've begun as soon as the absurd foul mouthed tweets by don trump began to appear. The man showed he is unfit for office and mentally unstable. Nary a word from the 'leader' of the Democratic Corporate Wing who seem to shy away from real statesmanship and confrontation in the face of the number two security risk to our country-Don Trump. Number one is Climate Change which don trump ignores, in fact he withdrew from the world wide agreement in Paris and went ahead and lowered standards for emissions for cars made in America. Where is Pelosi on this? As a leader she needs to make issues such as this clear to the American people and has failed. Too connected with Big Money and unwilling to change Citizens United it seems.
1
The New York Times and Maureen Dowd, along with other establishments are doing their utmost to squash any progressive initiatives... and promote "do nothing" types like Pelosi and Biden.
the Democratic Party is in dire need of revitalizing itself, re-establishing its committment to progressive causes.
Sadly, Pelosi, Shumer, and Biden are exactly what the Republicans and corporations want: a bought and paid for stooge who will oppose the most basic improvements in labor, environment and educational proposals.
1
After the midterms, many said Pelosi was a genius for outsmarting Trump. I say, outsmarting Donald Trump is akin to outsmarting a five year old - anyone should be able to do it.
The complaints I have about Pelosi is that neither she nor Schumer are fighters. We can say of them what Michael Corleone says to his half-brother Tom Hagen in the Godfather II; "sorry, Tom, you are not a wartime consigliere." This current batch of Republicans are nasty, hypocritical, and ruthless power-hungry foes. This coming election is going to be a dogfight - yet the Democratic leadership (which under Hillary Clinton ran the worst campaign in modern history) seem to think we can make do with stern words of disapproval.
We need a wartime consigliere. We need to poke and prod our touchy insecure President every day and watch him squirm and self-destruct. Subpoena bank records, tax returns, and all necessary emails to root out the corruption of this administration. Call the people to the hill for testimony - if they don't respond then seize the records and have the witnesses arrested. Every time Trump has a rally, you schedule a counter-rally; "A Celebration of Democracy" on a local college campus. Bring in celebrities and hot bands and entertainers. This stuff is so easy I can't believe that the Democrats instead just sit on their hands hoping that their good intentions prevail. You want to energize your base and win the election? Try a call to arms while punching the Republicans in the mouth!
2
I don't care if it sounds ageist.
Nancy Pelosi is TOO OLD to run the Democratic House caucus.
1
Something I learned from my grandfather and grandmother who was both born in the 1890s was to never let them see you cry.
You might go into a corner in private and bawl your heads off, but doing so in front of others might be likened as shedding blood in the midst of sharks.
Pelosi is old enough to know human nature and understand the meaning behind the words: You can't always get what you want, but you might get what you need.
I understand greatly the desire of the newer members of Congress, as I desire some of the same things.
What AOC and others like her want is instant gratification.
If you want what you desire to mean more than just bragging rights, you need to also have patience...like he patience one has to have when fishing.
4
Pelosi knows what she's doing. Now is not time for impeachment. The candidate's don't need to bring up far left agendas or blasts from the past. This election,the country needs to know what Trump has destroyed and how they are going to repair it. Most people have no idea. I wish them all luck but save the gotchas for the Republicans!!!
5
Great article.
Would’ve liked to have heard Nancy’s thoughts regarding the usage of doctored video and what (if anything) will be done to combat it in the future- esp. 2020.
2
The "Squad" attracts attention much the same way as its nemesis, Il Duce. Neither is well served by this tactic. AOC may decide to work with her leader, Pelosi, and defeat Il Duce, or not and contribute to his reelection. The Squad risks a very short Congressional tenure because they cannot discipline themselves enough TO WIN for America. Ditto Il Duce.
3
There are two terrible thoughts that come to mind in considering whether Nancy Pelosi should publicly favor impeachment: 1. The entire world would go nuts accusing her of staging a coup in order to succeed Trump and Pence. 2. Mike Pence would not be impeached with Trump and would become President.
3
Times have changed. We have a lawless President who has committed impeachable offenses, a divider-in-chief that continues to divide the country, a climate denier that imperils the world, an embracer of the world’s most authoritarian leaders, a dismisser of former allies, a destroyer of civil and human rights, etc., etc. Nancy Pelosi must defend our Constitution and begin an impeachment inquiry now. Stop enabling Trump. Lead or get out of the way. The future of our democracy hangs in the balance. The future of our existence on the planet depends on what we do now. Pelosi is standing in the way of the change that needs to happen if we are to have a future worth living.
The beautiful Illustration of Nancy Pelosi by Jimmy Turrell captures her strength and dignity. This op-ed by Maureen Dowd portrays a woman with the grit, intelligence and fortitude that would have made her a fine and effective President.
Oh that it could have been so!
3
Pelosi cares about one thing: her own power. She would take money from anyone behind closed doors if it helped her retain that power. That's how she thinks a capitalistic democracy is supposed to function.
1
Nancy Pelosi is guilty of alienating the Democratic base and choking off the groundswell of grass roots fundraising if impeachment proceedings were underway. She is rightfully perceived as cynically 'pimping' hatred of Trump - but she is also guilty of overplaying that hand by hanging him over our heads instead of fulfilling her constitutional obligation to use the power of impeachment.
The cynical calculation behind Pelosi's shrewdness is that in the end Trump will self destruct. But, the flip side is that she is risking the fate of our nation on polls. Always a mistake to put power over principal.
Liz Warren got it right. Pelosi is blowing it.
3
What was the point of this? There is nothing in this puff piece about Pelosi that speaks to accomplishments other than rising to the top of the political food chain as a a woman. She says she's doing things. What things? The border money example is not an accomplishment, IMO, it is a capitulation.
My problem with the current Speaker and the Blue Dog Democrats is that they are operating as if we have a functional government. We don't. We have a GOP-controlled Senate, Supreme Court and Executive branch that is bound and determined to win at any cost, regardless of the law, regardless of the Constitution, and regardless of the truth.
What are the Democrats doing to win first and put the country back together second? The current state of increasingly fascist affairs is not going to end if (a) we don't unseat McConnell, (b) we don't unseat the POTUS, and (c) we don't pretend everything is normal when it isn't. If Speaker Pelosi doesn't see that her centrism will hurt the Dems at the polls in 2020, I think that alone is cause for her ouster.
She has not taken impeachment off the table. She is shrewd enough to know that she can (YES SHE CAN) make McConnell and the senate irrelevant. All she has to do is let the dogs off the leash when the time is right. House proceedings must not be allowed to conclude before the election. By then, the vile occupant of the Oval Office will have been ground up in a media feeding frenzy and any boasts about ""acquittal" or "exoneration" from the senate will be meaningless.
5
Well said Speaker Pelosi. Tough captain of our moderate ship sailing in radical seas of left and right. I will sleep better tonight having read this.
4
I keep thinking about Nancy and Paul Pelosi’s wealth — somewhere in the hundreds of millions — a wealth so vast, that current-living members of Pelosi’s immediate family (and many generations to come) never have to work... for centuries... and would have a comfortable upper middle-class lifestyle. Maybe they would have to move to a less expensive place... the Midwest?
Then, I consider those 30-year old single-payor signs in Pelosi’s basement, no doubt collecting dust... as even a public option is far from single-payor healthcare.
And, I consider what it means to not demand strong protections for migrant children... and adults... their trauma... that even some current and former workers in “detention” facilities now suffer.
Plus, we can wonder why the article’s quote, about impeachment, was missing any mention of Bush-Cheney — that dynamic duo on whom Obama refused to look back... so Obama could move the country forward... barely... because there was zero cooperation from Republicans... and no one held accountable... not then, not now.
Yes. We can blame Mitch McConnell. However, those “moderate” Democrats started extinguishing the fires of progressivism decades ago.
1
There is much to admire about Speaker Pelosi's career and political savvy. But here is one thing conspicuously omitted in Maureen Dowd's fawning portrait: Nancy Pelosi's political career was built on--and remains built on--her ability to raise obscene amounts of $$$, especially from large donors. She thus embodies the single most corrupt aspect of American politics. I cheer when Pelosi stands up to President Trump, but we will never have good government in Washington until we rid ourselves of the legalized bribery that we euphemistically call "campaign finance laws."
1
Ms. Dowd quoting Pelosi,
“You would think that within a couple of days, 48 hours or so, of seeing that little child with her father, there would have been some challenge of conscience,’’ she said of Republicans. “But understand this: They don’t care.”
The child and her father did not drown when they were in custody of border patrol. They were crossing the river into this country of their own free will, and illegally. To blame this on anyone but the father, is unjustified. Outrage against the president, over this incident, is just a fabrication, or perhaps, delusion.
1
It's too late for impeachment, didn't happen in a timely manner - now the incumbent is dangerous and unpredictable - too late to bridle the mongoose and pet the cobra- who would lash out with military power as displayed on the 4th.
1
Theres was a time not long ago that I was not what anyone could call a fan of Pelosi. But that was then and this is now. She knows a lot more about Washington politics than any of us and I think she is right to refrain from knee jerk reaction to get rid of the great pretender in the White House.
Sure I would like to see Trump thrown onto the dungheap of history for all his crimes and misdemeanors, but we have to have a replacement other than Pence. I say store up your evidence and let it all hang out about 6-8 months before the election. I want to see the American people VOTE him out of office.
5
Imagine an American government with Speaker Pelosi + President Warren + VP Harris.
3
Love Pelosi - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley should realize they just got to Congress and have a lot to learn - Pelosi would be a fine one to learn from.
AOC will probably win her district, perhaps the others as well - but she would have a tough time in the entire state. Her Green New Deal has good things (very few actual new ideas) but it won’t happen in the short run and will be a mill-stone for the Democratic Presidential candidate.
5
Pelosi needs to stop fretting and strategizing about 2020: the national emergency is NOW.
Trump must be impeached as fast as possible. Let any GOP Senator who votes to acquit answer for that next year.
Nancy Pelosi is the best. I loathe 45, but trust her judgement in getting to his consequences. AOC, Pressley, and gang need to learn the bigger picture before hogging the limelight. Beating 45 is priority #1.
6
We complain endlessly that Republicans won't stand up to Trump because they fear the political consequences but when the decision to not impeach the most corrupt president in our lifetimes for similar reasons we praise Pelosi for her wisdom and political accuman. IMPEACH NOW!
I gave money in 2018 to a number of Democratic candidates for Congress who have no connection to my congressional district for one reason: to hold the criminal resident of the White House accountable. Trump once bragged he could shoot someone on Madison Ave. and no one would do anything because he was rich and a star. I wanted a Democratic majority to prove him wrong; Pelosi, by refusing to allow impeachment, is proving him right. I hope she is removed.
Pelosi is right: impeacment would only fail and trump would then use that failure to hurt the Democrats and their goal of removing him from the Presidency in 2020.
5
I have long appreciated Nancy Pelosi's wisdom and capacity for encouraging collaboration and compromise towards a moderate direction. The middle ground is the most optimal place for conservatives and liberals to be able to meet.
I agree with not wasting time trying to impeach Trump.
Abate the negative side of liberal leadership, and accentuate the positive.
Negatives: Left Coast cities are turning into sewers because leftist city leaders in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles are too spineless to do anything about the spread of filthy homeless camps. Too many liberals want, in essence, totally open borders, abolishing ICE, and no enforcement of immigration law, and fail to see a broken asylum system. Yet moderates and conservatives are very concerned about illegal immigration, and if Democrats dont' come to a more reasonable position on this, Trump is very likely to win a 2nd term, due to the sheer numbers upset about this issue. And finally, liberals are expanding rent control in many urban centers, which is often devastating for smaller property owners. This needs to be stopped -- dont' let Trump be the only one to see this problem. And finally, stop engaging in identity politics.
Positives: getting more affordable health care for all. Applying anti-trust legislation to Facebook, Amazon, Google. Protecting the environment. Reduce government's role in obstructing new housing development by upzoning and reducing cost of government permits and fees to build.
2
Nancy Pelosi denigrates impeachment by trivializing it, casting it as a mere political gambit, an ace up the sleeve of the twitchy "far left" that's just a chance to unseat a detestable president; as opposed to its being our one and only constitutional remedy, the people's only way to seek justice for a president likely to be proven guilty of obstruction of justice to cover up his own crimes, past and present.
By blocking impeachment, Pelosi signs on to the Republican position that it doesn't matter if Republican presidents are above the law.
By denigrating "the far left" (i.e., mainstream liberal Democrats) she also is sure to discourage huge swaths of Democrats from remaining engaged and from voting, since even our own party leadership is part of Donald Trump's defense phalanx.
Republicans in Washington give their base a daily supply of “red meat,” while our Democratic leaders give us insults. Red-staters who despise them will be handled with tender loving care, but we whom they take for granted get no respect. That ‘s been the Democrats’ losing strategy for ages. Democrats expect us voters to care, even though we get inhuman Republican policy either way? Why bother. Good luck winning an election by flipping a few magas while the rest of us stay home.
Bravo to Bernie, Warren, AOC, and every Democrat from the Democratic wing of the party. Without them we'd have no hope.
283
No. What she said is that because he has control of the Senate, he will argue he was exonerated.
56
@Wanda. Exactly. Tilting at windmills and guaranteeing his reelection.
39
It’s unfathomable to me that some puritanical progressives think there is such a policy gap between them and Pelosi that they need to punish the country by not voting at all. Impeachment is not the only constitutional route to get rid of a corrupt president. We also have an election next year. The hard fact is Democrats don’t have the numbers to remove Trump now, and Pelosi knows this.
No one in either party gets everything they want, compromise is necessary to build a governing majority. If you want to wait for a Democratic Party that ticks every box on your list of demands, the country’s most vulnerable will suffer four more years of Trump while you enjoy the moral high ground.
101
I am tired of hearing about the supposed genius of Nancy Pelosi. What is the point of maintaining the majority in the House if nothing is going to be done with it? It doesn't look to me like Trump is being kept in check any better than when Republicans were in charge of everything.
3
What's not to respect about Nancy Pelosi? Smart, tough, experienced, fearless, and pragmatic. Ultimately history may make her the first well-remembered Speaker of the House.
The far-left Dems, who are pulling things harder than the fabric of the electorate will tolerate, may well be smart, tough, and fearless. What they need to absorb is that pragmatism is probably the most important attribute for a politician in a democracy. Experience will come in time.
Pragmatism must be born of a real, and reasonable, perspective on life in America and our world. In short, the new Dem left should be more like Nancy, and less like Che Guevara. And while Che might have been right about many things IMHO, the place and time for his goals are not the here and now.
Get done the good to give the great the best chance. Lean to the left, but sway to the center when need be (And needs be! Trump must go.). We'll get there. Fight on, Nancy! Misneach (Courage in Gaelic.)
6
Thank you for the enlightening interview. On one hand, I am very grateful that Nancy Pelosi is the de facto president of everyone in America who Trump walked away from. On another hand, I wonder if Trump and perhaps Pence could not be removed from office and then Rep. Pelosi could be the real president, being the third in the line of succession. Unless we dream big, nothing big will happen.
But returning from dreamland and being very serious, isn't it time for our younger voices to be heard, respected and included? They are the generation who will not be able to breathe unless this generation addresses climate change and so many other pressing issues that are being ignored. This goes well beyond the election horse race or even playing political chess with various positions and issues. I think representative Pelosi's job right now is to take the disparate threads of our country and weave them together into a strong rope, one strong enough to withstand the pulls and tears of the Republican juggernaut. "The kids" know what they see and they see a bleak situation. We must take them seriously if our country is to have a healthy as well as a moderate-to-liberal and optimistic future instead of a fascist and oligarchic one.
2
Contrary to what some seem to believe, I'd say Speaker Pelosi IS focused on the long view. As much as anyone, I'd enjoy seeing Trump impeached. But, the narcissist that he is, thrives on such drama. It's oxygen and what it would do for him is hard to predict. Let the investigations continue. Steady drip, drip, drip of findings, subpoenas, hearings. It's the kind of thing that rocks Trump, that he doesn't know how to deal with. Meanwhile the Democratic campaign gets sorted out. Trump can be counted on to continue making mistakes, unforced errors. There may come a decision point further down the road to begin impeachment proceedings, but it's not now. For now, I'll keep my anger in check.
8
It is without a doubt that if Nancy Pelosi were to run for president she would topple Trump in a nano second. Whoever the candidate may be should seek her wise counsel in his or her campaign.
8
Pelosi is a force that is keeping America together. Remarkable how she shapes the Democrat's nattering edges, keeps the hearings moving forward and offers a significant way forward that includes the majority moderate center. Thank you, Madame Speaker.
5
The instincts of Nancy Pelosi are to govern along a line that develops continuity of.. service in the greater public interest. In other words, the hard work to keep moving forward.
The Affordable Care Act brought insurance to millions. People with pre-existing conditions literally had their lives saved. That's moving forward. The annual deficit was in steady decline. That's moving forward.
11
It has nothing to do with Pelosi being ‘left’ enough, that is how she hopes to frame the debate and put all blame on the so-called what she called leftist. They should instead be called progressives, as they are called.
Her problem has nothing to do with that false argument, she is instead (has turned into) a very conservative politician hanging on to the old establishment with a furor and doing that she was unable to stop Trump’s turn to fascism and dictatorship. With the help of an army of lawyers, who should all be ashamed to call themselves lawyers as well as a non existent Republican leadership, they are dismantling the department of justice, the cornerstone of American policy and leadership.
Her inability as a politician to see this high speed breakdown of our rules of law to stand up to him has therefor helped and strengthen Trump to destroy democracy.
That in-action of the old leadership’s policy has from the very beginning, their lame centrism, is not much different than what happened in countries like Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan in the mid thirties.
It is also what kept the USA as has been revealed in many books and documentaries, away from stepping in much earlier in the beginning of world war II, which would have saved many millions of lives.
4
Pelosi is superb. She is what we need in the House leadership at this point in our history. She knows what she is doing. I support her.
8
Democratic leadership seems to believe that the only way Democrats can win elections is by becoming Republicans. If that's the case, why exactly do we need a Democratic party?
3
We know the media thrives on conflict and the bizarre, but why this endless pitting of Democrats against each other-- AOC vs. Pelosi, who's up, who's down?
These days, politics about the narrative and the drama. The (dull, old, backward-looking) Republican Party is the lockstep, loyalist, authoritarian, repressive party. The contrast is the Democratic Party, which is the big tent party, and so must welcome and showcase it.
The Democrats need to send a clearer message by emphasizing they welcome differences but share the same goals (health care, middle-class, climate, friendly foreign relations), and they enjoy having a constructive dialog about how to get there.
Trump is one kind of ringleader of a miserable, cruel circus. Pelosi is a different kind of ringleader of a much more upbeat forward-looking work in progress, but she needs to showcase the extensive talent in her party far more often.
Ask: Which "party" do Americans want to go to?
3
@PB, yep. Division killed us last time. And there are those setting young vs. old to do the same. Our commonalities and shared goals splinter in "hurt feelings", and slurs abound. many older people are experienced, knowledgeable progressives. And virtue is not in the least a function of age. But mere age will be used by all our enemies to divide us. Last time, Russians put mean comments out posing as each "side." And we stupidly slapped each other silly instead of fighting Trump. This tactic will be based on ageism now. The young and old in power need to address it--and we all, who oppose Trump, need to be civil with each other.
2
Ms. Pelosi is the only adult in the Democratic Party. And those Manolo heels. What can I say? More power to her! I hope I can still wear heels at 79.
7
@Maria M.
How many hours would it take the average worker to afford those?
1
@Maria M.,
Her Manolo shoes show the hypocrisy of most liberals. I imagine her $1,000 pair of shoes would probably support a family in Guatemala for a year.
However, Ms. Pelosi and her SF rich friends favor illegal immigration because they need the cheap labor of these immigrants who clean their houses. That way they can buy more Manolo shoes.
1
The irony of it all: Pelosi struggling to hold together the fractious Democrats -- who can simultaneously see the goodness of an opponent's ideas while espousing ideas of their own that have no chance of becoming law ("Everything is free!") -- and a conman who is happily a standard bearer of hatred and fear for a party that has proven more than willing to have their century-old principles dismantled ("Everything can be borrowed for free!").
And we expect as a nation to come clear of all of this without harm that persists for decades, if it doesn't destroy our form of government entirely?
Best of luck, Ms. Pelosi.
2
AOC and her friends fail to understand the one foundational principle of legislative bodies.
The only vote that legislators cast that matters is the one they cast to organize the chamber. If you are not in the majority on that vote you have nothing, nothing, nothing.
You don't get to argue about what is or isn't in a bill because your side of the chamber can't pass one -- period
AOC and her allies did not win back the House.
She defeated a Democrat in a primary, changing absolutely nothing the balance of the House, in control of the House.
Nancy Pelosi and her team of veteran legislators, including the one AOC defeated, organized and supported in every way the new center Democrats from Republican and marginal districts, like three in my state, who ran and won in districts long held by Republicans.
Every time AOC and the others shoot their mouths off, take shots at their own side and stand at the center of the political ring shouting, like selfish, entitled children -- me, me, me, me, me, me -- they endanger the new but fragile Democratic majority.
It is time they shut up and helped the Speaker keep the House in Democratic control in 2020 or, on organization day in 2021, they will taste the bitter, bitter fruit of being in a legislative minority.
The only thing a legislator does that really makes a difference is to vote for control of the chamber.
Everything that happens and can be done after that depends on who has control because of that vote.
15
@Carl Zeitz
Bravo and thank you!
5
Nobody's better at passing legislation and keeping her caucus together than Nancy Pelosi.
She is a Speaker who excels at the positive aspects of leadership.
13
For this 70 year old American-Mexican man Pelosi like the late John McCain is an old school Democracy driven politician. I dont always agree with her but her dignity, drive and compassion is surely respected. In these current deep, dark political times we need to reflect upon the rational and steadiness of hand that she brings to the table.
25
Pelosi is the consummate Boomer in the way of progress and development. They sooner she's forced into retirement along with more than a dozen other Democrat and Republican neoliberals the better.
5
@Mike
Let's drop the anti-boomer ageism. Boomers were the most recent demographic to muck things up because they were the most recent generation of adults, and the people in power are always adults. Soon enough, millennials will be the ones in power and they will muck things up in their own way, and so on with the generations that come after them. It has always been thus.
4
@Mike, stereotypes and unfairness won't help us win. Your one-issue test for virtue is self- and other-defeating. I'm on your side politically, but stop kicking people you don't know, or want to, in your lack of understanding of politics and reality. Trump and the right have power that's real; no one can wave a magic wand to fix it, however fresh and full of virtue. We need to refuse bigotry, including yours, to have the votes we need. Reality. It's coming at you like a train.
2
Give the young’uns their due. They’re upstart liberals that challenged the existing order. But give them 10 years of negotiating, haggling, bargaining, and yes, compromising to get things passed in Congress. Then I’ll start listening to them. In the meantime, it’s time to beat Trump and his cronies back into whatever corner they crept out from.
13
Bottom line, Pelosi's approach is working. It's working slowly and painfully, but it is working. The best poling data comes from FiveThirtyEight and that data shows 52.7 % disapproval rate for Trump vs. a 42.3% approval rate. The opposition to Trump is highly motivated and will vote in record numbers unless the Democratic Party self destructs. That Democratic implosion is a possibility. But with this powerful antiTrump sentiment, it is unlikely that progressive voters will stay home.
Personally, I am desperate for change. But, I have to trust Pelosi's long view. I want immediate relief. Pelosi is telling us to be patient. We have to trust her.
25
@Big Mike
You make a fair point but Machiavelli- a great political analyst- says the young often defeat the bold and that the bold usually defeat the cautious. Trump has taken that to an extreme- but he does demonstrate that this can be effective in the short term- not that he is young but he is bold and not cautious. I like Nancy and Joe but in their late 70's they do have an older mindset; that is not all bad. Joe is not a racist but he is playing the "I have a black friend" card. It is a bit tin-eared and one that is a card that a younger liberal would not play. The world has moved on and the electorate is younger. The shoulder massages at least are not assault, but they display the tin-eared tendencies he has; and his proneness to foot in mouth gaffes are not easily glossed over in 2019. Nancy is more hip and self-aware but I wonder if she exemplifies the older person's over-cautiousness that Machiavelli cites. Nevertheless compared to the Groper in Chief, President Donald Swamp, a bit of over cautiousness might not be such a bad thing. A good impeachment is in order and not as risky as Nancy thinks.
2
@Bob Guthrie
I meant: Machiavelli says the young often overcome the old not the "bold".
Someone, perhaps Nancy Pelosi, needs to read the riot act to toddler pool of Democrat presidential candidates and inform them a sustained a powerful message needs to reach all American voters immediately about the consequences of a second Trump term. For as the overlarge group bickers and backbites, Trump continues, unchecked, and increasing in popularity. We can't have this enormous stage of participants and at the same time have a focused assault on immortality, or, perhaps more to the point, a compelling argument describing a more hopeful world. It is already late.
16
The emergence of the 'Squad' like dynamics was predicted long ago in the early 70's, and this emergence would make way for a Trump like figure. These progressives, as do their conservative partners, need to own Trump; more of them will not lead to diminishing a Trump like figure, but make his kind more likely. Neither progressives or conservatives are in a position to govern, at present. Listen to progressive discourse around including all 'communities,' and you can see they are in conflict with Trump not only in the way they differ, but in the way both share the same false belief, to wit: "The purpose of the world is to make me what I am and want to be." Progressives chafe at this insistence, because they do not see that this is the central belief of Trump, and one they share with him. Progressives seem to be different because they believe that they are just being more inclusive; but a false narrative is not made true because it includes more persons. "It is all about me," rings loud and clear through both Trump, his base, and these progressives. Conservatives, in name only, have bought this story too. There was a time when conservatives taught that duty to something greater than just your little world and self, is what gave us our identity. They need to own that they did not make the sale of conservative principles, but were really only appealing to the base through self aggrandizement. But that time has passed, and our country is suffering at it's hand. Elect a moderate.
3
Nobody is left enough. If we are left enough, there will be no war, hunger, poverty, misjustice, and ill-treatment of vulnerable/not privileged folks by the elite predator oligarchs.
7
Intrepid columnist Maureen Dowd fails to inform Pelosi - or indeed her readers - that "self impeachment" is not a thing, and indeed an absurd concept on its face.
Also, very telling that Dowd frames impeachment as a 'primal pleasure' rather than a responsibility made explicitly clear by the Constitution. In the world of the media establishment this is all just spectacle, even if our system of laws hangs in the balance.
9
We are lucky to have Nancy Pelosi’s leadership right now. Forget the presidency in 2020. If we can take back the senate and keep Pelosi as speaker of the house, THEN we can get some good stuff done. And that includes getting rid of Trump because with Democrats in control of Congress, the Trump Crime Family wont have the protection of the Republicans.
16
Trump may win a second term but it won't be Nancy Pelosi's fault. After viewing 2 nights of Democratic hopefuls debate last week one conclusion was obvious to me, the Democrats need a an adult close by for guidance. And yes, I'm rooting for a young hopeful to take the nomination but I want Speaker Pelosi nearby.
17
Impeachment remains the central question. There's no doubt that Trump has earned it -- more than any president of my lifetime. Pelosi's refusal to endorse opening an impeachment inquiry rests on a political calculation -- fear that impeachment will "fire up the base" and turn off voters who do not now support impeachment, in turn endangering all those Democrats who won in districts Trump carried in 2016.
But on this she is wrong. An impeachment inquiry would shine a harsh light on Trump's multiple crimes for all to see. The "centrist" suburban women credited with turning pro-Trump districts Democratic acted because they were disgusted with Trump and wanted a check on him. An impeachment inquiry will not turn them off; rather, it will fuel their anger and disgust. If everyone read Part II of the Mueller Report, which is horrifying, maybe we would not need an inquiry; but people won't, and so we need the House to perform its public duty to make clear just how wretchedly unfit Trump is for anything but prison stripes.
Forget his base; they are unrecoverable. Forget the Senate Republicans -- McConnell will find a way to avoid the trial because his troops will be terrified of having to explain to voters why they voted to acquit in the face of Trump's overwhelming guilt. The point of an impeachment inquiry is to educate the public so that there will be a massive Democratic victory in 2020 -- and so no one can say, "Gee, I didn't know.
9
While I am in agreement that an impeachment inquiry is important for all the reasons you state, I do wonder how illuminating it would be in light of the fact that Fox and the other conservative media outlets skew all credible information into misinformation. They most likely will not air the proceedings in their entirety, allowing for propaganda in the editing of their pieces. They can spin anything into a web of lies. This will just be another opportunity to do so and, in turn, creating a narrative of “look how desperate the Democrats are. They’re trying to railroad our President out of office”. Embarking on an impeachment inquiry is important to protect our democracy as laid out in the Constitution. Not doing so and just beating him at the polls allows for less questioning and finger-pointing if Trump loses, but then there’s Russian interference in the election to consider. It all worries me.
2
I do not worship Speaker Pelosi -worshiping people is foolish and dangerous - but in today's environment she is a true American hero and we owe her a ton of gratitude and RESPECT!
I am more her age and a guy - and probably more than a bit more eager for things further to the "left" than she seems to be. I say this to give context to the below.
When I read the many comments herein and elsewhere that lament Speaker Pelosi's - let's say - speed governor she has placed on the House and the Party I cringe. People don't get it - thankfully Speaker Pelosi does! And thankfully she can take the heat generated within her own sphere.
She knows elections are not won in this very cautious, leery, and conservative propagandized Nation by being "over the top" - and "over the top" is relative to the bar the PUBLIC sets in a time and place.
To be clear - I don't expect one vote for Ds out of the 42% that WILL vote GOP. But the above paragraph references the 58% that must be willing to pull the D lever to save this Nation.
The war to be won is existential NOT individual issues now. She knows that and knows the 58% contains more "moderates" than radicals (again judged in time and place). Way more voters that may sit it out if some technical issue really turns them off.
I am profoundly scared for my Nation and my progeny's essential future. I am NOT deathly scared because the Nation is lagging on universal education/healthcare coverage, nor wall or no wall! She knows this FACT!
8
Speaker Polosi is an inspiration! Rock on!!
7
She took investigating the Bush Administration lies and deceit about going to war with Iraq off the table, which left thousands dead and our country embedded in a "forever war" in the Mideast..courtesy of the Oil barrons and funding of political candidates. Millions of public dollars wasted and lives on both sides lost to political and enriching corporate bank accounts with Cheney and Bush and others knowing their lies were safe in the bank. Leading to the same corruption now, only worse with our democratic institutions and federal agencies being depleted of employees, our justice system falling to corruption and the soul of our nation forgetting that it was built on the backs of the less fortunate who protested inequality, poverty, discrimination, economic injustice. It makes all these efforts seem forgotten.
If she makes the same mistake again and blocks impeachment hearings and delays every committee move to bring it to the light...we all lose and many people will suffer the consequences of economic servitude to the wealthy barons...our new plantation owners.
Moderate Democrats and Republicans need the progressives to charge the way out of this. That's why they were elected. If they do not, and she blocks impeachments inquiries, then it will show in the polls..
8
@nightfall, all the people with certainties here. Pelosi needs our instructions. We don't even see that Trump's increasingly severe dementia is now a major factor in what's coming. In our very faces, and we go on blindly insisting we have the answers. Pelosi knows it's coming. World leaders and the G20 know. People overseas are anxious about it. And we don't see. Well, I'm glad Pelosi, and not us, is having to make decisions now.
3
Nancy Pelosi has a spine. And that's more than can be said for McConnell and the rest of the Republicans. Leading a party, that votes lock-step is not a sign of leadership by McConnell. That's the easy path. It's weakness to the nth degree.
Pelosi governs. Some people and some of our representatives such as AOC doesn't like the results. Big deal. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose. It's a lesson that seemingly the entire country has forgotten.
Pelosi understands that sometimes,within your own party, compromise is necessary to win the war.
Want lock-step voting? Move to some country run by dictatorship. That's how it's done in those places (and by Republicans).
This is a long term process. Losing a few intra-party battles to have long term victory is more important than taking down Pelosi from within our party.
Don't take the bait and hand Republicans the victory by taking down Pelosi. That's exactly what Trump and the lock-step phony Republicans want Democrats to do to themselves.
12
In their zeal for seismic reform, too many self--styled progressives overlook the big elephant in the room, which is, of course, a Republican Party that, despite the talk of its imminent demise, still controls the presidency, the Senate, the Supreme Court and a large majority of statehouses and state legislatures. They are backed, tribally backed, by the many millions of Americans who put self-interest above the common good and who simply can't stand the way liberals and progressives are constantly telling them that they should be better people. They feel morally scolded and trust the Republicans to put their pocket books first. In my view, they are a negative force. But a force they are and Pelosi knows it. She'll play hardball when she's sure of winning, but not before.
5
@Diana ... Wait and bring criminal charges against Trump the moment he is out of office.
And what if he gets reelected in 2020 and DOESN'T leave in 2024?
3
At a time when I have little faith that any elected person knows what his or her job actually entails, I am deeply comforted to have a leader in the House who uses her talents, both intellectual and emotional, to redirect us to the biggest picture of all -- the attacks on democracy being orchestrated by a faux president whose narcissism creates a very tricky adversary, especially when his minions and groupies refuse to acknowledge it.
I appreciate Speaker Pelosi's tone of voice, her appropriate smiles and frowns, her level gaze, her intelligent, coherent speech, and her confidence. I mean this: I sleep better at night knowing that she's on duty 24/7 on behalf of frightened Americans.
7
It must be great for Republicans to see so many Democrats besotted with the woman who, along with Obama, presided over the demise of the Democratic party, from 2010-1018.
Some of us have also apparently forgotten that Ms. Pelosi was ready to go along with Obama, in cutting SS and Medicare -- and doesn't even regard reducing COLA payments as cuts.
Of course, it's been wonderful for them personally.... And this is some great economy for the already rich (Pelosi) and the exceedingly well connected (the Obamas). So who's complaining?
7
I thought Ms Pelosi was a political liability when the republicans effectively made her the punching bag of the federal government. My mistaken belief was that no matter her record, her negative reflection on the democratic party was not worth her high profile. Shame on me for intellectual cowardice.
Ms Pelosi is the right person at the right time. She understands that holding the House is the last line of defense in this country to prevent republican sedition of our national governance. She also understands that capturing either or both of the senate and the oval office would truly enable a transformation of our national governance.
Much as I personally want Mr Trump to end up in a cell block for his crimes, I believe Ms Pelosi is wise to let the process play out.
As for "The Squad" members, who really cares what they think or espouse?
Personally, I think AOC appears to be thoughtful and articulate in her criticisms. She is intelligent and has a long runway ahead of her in politics if she is ever able to author or support legislation that matters.
That said, none of "The Squad" has accomplished anything in politics except to mirror republican character assassination tactics to get elected to office in the safest democratic districts in the country. What courage.
Ms Pelosi is right. The Squad is wrong.
8
She's 'left' enough for me.
I am in awe of Nancy Pelosi's street smarts and political will. If we were all so blessed.
6
She (as someone who got rich in public office) is basically a conservative. As such she is no threat to conservative presidents like Dubya and Trump. It was a huge mistake and wasted opportunity to put her in charge of the Democrat majority.
6
What exactly is Pelosi protecting? She claims to want to pursue an agenda, anyone who has been conscious the last 10 years would know that the trump Senate will never pass anything that the Democrats propose. Ever. So what's the agenda that she's protecting?
There's no reason to believe that Pelosi has a long-term strategy that is about protecting the rule of law in the U.S. She proved her worth when she ignored the mountain of lies on which Cheney, et al, built the war against Iraq. Arguably, that's why we're here: allow criminals a pass, and they'll go bigger and bolder the next time.
Pelosi is the second worst "leader" currently in the U.S. She's good at playing nemesis to trump on television, but when it comes to action, she's just another bad actor in his reality show.
7
I admire Speaker Peolsi an she has been a true public servant. I read Maureen Dowd's every column and almost always enjoy them.
This morning reading this piece has really made me disheartened because both the Speaker and the Columnist are way too 'inside' both the beltway and the power curve.
We need angry advocates that see clearly that the plutocrats, big business/finance and their collaborators in the GOP will stop at nothing to accumulate wealth and power at the expense of all else.
It is about a lot more than 'Manolos'.
1
No mention of her most memorable line. “We have to pass this bill to see what’s in it”.
5
Pelosi thinks her job is to save the House, not to save the country. She is wrong. Hundreds of thousands of voters surged to the polls last November on the Democrats' promise of holding Trump accountable. And Pelosi isn't doing it. She's squandering the faith that Americans put into Democrats to stand up and fix this. She looks small and weak, and she's making Democrats look weak. And she's assuming, based on this, that she'll re-elect the House and hold voters' interest enough that they'll vote out Trump? Please. Big strategist.
5
Nancy Pelosi is the Ruth Bader Ginsberg of the legislative branch.
Now if only we can find someone with similar intelligence, moral fiber, and leadership ability to sweep into the executive branch, clean it up, and make the US respectable at home and abroad again.
5
There wouldn't be an issue at the border, if the economy wasn't doing so well.
People calling for impeachment are very shortsighted, given that the majority in the senate is republican. I am with Pelosi here. People like AOC are the very reason why Trump might be reelected.
6
I like Pelosi but I’d feel a lot better about her and the Democrats if they’d pass and send to the senate a bill requiring the federal government to bargain with the drug companies on the price Medicaid and Medicare pay for prescription drugs. Then we’d have a clear tangible pocketbook and quality of life and health issue for the election, reduced to the form of a written down and worked out proposed law passed by one party. Or the Republicans could surprise me and do their part to make the house bill a law.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/06/opinion/drug-pricing-trump.html
I’m actually more interested in the politics behind whether that sort of legislation can be passed than I am about the politics of impeachment.
What would be better for those who oppose trump? Four more years of president trump with a Democratic House and a Democratic Senate or a Democratic president with a Democratic House and a Republican Senate? I find it hard to believe but if 2020 America wants trump for four more years, then, shame on the nation. But trump without the House - and the Senate - would be his worst nightmare. It's a tall order but one can only hope the DNC is working hard with president Obama and others to make that possible.
2
Our family's nickname for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is "the intern," because she has the same know-it-all arrogance one sometimes encounters in the corporate world when dealing with certain young people who simply "don't know what they don't know." This is not to say AOC is always wrong, because she's not. It's just that Speaker Pelosi deserves respect for how she does her own job.
6
@JM
What you don't know that you don't know is that sexism, racism, ageism, and anti-progressivism are the foundations of your derisive, dismissive comments about AOC.
I've watched AOC, a non-lawyer, absolutely demolish hostile corporate criminals and Trump administration liars during hearings.
I've seen her risk her personal safety going to the CBP's torture camps, where she was personally threatened and was hideously slagged online by Trumpists.
She speaks truth to power, and isn't afraid to speak in language regular people understand, rather than the faux civility and smirking backroom deal language of Pelosi, Hoyer, Schumer et al.
The Democratic Party went wrong a long time ago, when it purged Henry Wallace because he was too progressive, intelligent and populist.
Your comments about AOC remind me of that.
Very sad!
1
@Steve Davies You demonstrate my point, in that you are making assumptions about my gender, race, age and politics. In other words, you have written with much passion, and insufficient information. And for what it's worth, I loathe Trump.
1
Good interview with a truly historic legislator. Excellent work by the Times and Maureen Dowd. This give one a little faith that this country has a least a chance of pulling out of the Trump nosedive.
1
I read this article as a scathing indictment of Nancy
Pelosi. I'm a lifelong Democrat who is represented by Ms. Pelosi, and I have never had a problem with her politics until now. But now I see a person who is so mired in the party politics aspects of dealing with Donald Trump that she has completely abandoned her responsibility to the country.
It is the height of folly to compare Donald Trump to any other president who has faced impeachment. There has never, ever been a president who openly admits to assaulting women, works against the UN and NATO, cozies up to the world's worst strongmen, attacks everyone who does not kneel in subservience, encourages violence, revels in the suffering of non-white people, supports white supremacists, condones murder by government, and is in bed with a foreign power.
Trump is a menace. He has done more to damage American democracy than any other person in history, with the possible exception of Mitch McConnell. Our norms and standards are dissipating as we speak. The damage to the EPA, Interior, State Department, intelligence community, and the Judicial branch have all suffered upsets and overturns that have set the United States back 30 years or more. Many of the civil liberties that my parents worked to make a reality (like the Voting Rights Act) have been swept aside for partisan gains.
If Donald Trump isn't impeached, maybe Pelosi should be.
7
Pelosi is much smarter than the president and she is certainly endowed with much more wit. We need her now more than ever, and the minority in her party who do not agree with her may be well advised to set aside their feelings and work together for the good of our country. We need that more than ever.
4
Imagine if Democrats had a leader in the Senate as smart as Pelosi? One never reads or hears about Chuck Schumer... because he is ineffective and no match for McConnell. Why were there no Democratic challengers to his position in November 2018? Why does the Democratic Party accept mediocrity in such a key position? I'd be interested in getting a pulse on what other leaders in the party think of Schumer.
2
It’s time for Ms Pelosi to realize that the moral high ground is an empty plateau. Republicans are a danger to this democracy and have been doing whatever, legal and illegal, to maintain control of Presidency and Senate. We need a Speaker who is smarter and can get in the ditches and fight for country and what is right.
4
'She has had a working relationship with him for years but now, she says, the Senate majority leader has “really crossed a threshold with me.”'
In other words, with Pelosi there "working" with Mitch our country's politics have lurched to the FAR RIGHT.
She has 'single payer' trinkets from 30 years ago. in other words, for 30 years she has NOT been able to make it a reality.
How can anyone compare Clinton's impeachment over sex to Trump who is destroying our democracy?
It is time to take a Democratic stand and mean it.
Get out of the way Nancy!
6
I lost a lot of respect for Nancy Pelosi after her comment about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley being somehow irrelevant because they were only four votes. Sometimes it is the lone voice crying out in the wilderness that ultimately changes the world. No vote, no voice, is ever irrelevant.
8
Ironic that Mrs Pelosi , Vice President Biden and President Oboma would be considered moderate by todays radically progressive Democratic Party. When all ten hands went up when questioned about free healthcare for illegals I knew then that the party has adopted a strictly "my way or the highway" stance as far as governing. Hammering the President about responsibility for "cages" and separation of families is downright dishonest. The cages were built and used during the previous administration and the separations because of a ruling in the courts of the ninth circuit. Congress deserves most of the blame for the current mess on the border because of the inaction by both parties for decades. Nobody is forcing these "immigrants" to violate our laws and sovereignty and the tragic picture of the drownings justifies putting the responsibility for it on "immigrant" , not our government.
2
Since 2000, from the beginning time of the worst President this country has ever lived through George W. Bush, we've had 2 major tax cuts for the rich, a war in Afghanistan that has gone on forever, the Iraq fiasco - disaster, the Great Recession, and Republican majorities in Congress for approximately 16 out of 20 years.
Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer are out of touch. They couldn't give away water to people dying of thirst. They have sunk the Democratic Party because they can't "SELL". They can't sell the benefits of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid (although that what seniors with dementia are living on), etc.
6
I am tired of the pro-Pelosi articles. Everyone talks about her legislative genius getting obamacare passed. Well, she may be good at keeping her caucus in line, but in terms of politics, which is THE REASON she is citing to not impeach Trump, I think she has not done well. She is the opposite of inspiring. How could she have gotten Obamacare passed and then had a historic loss in the House? She used the same logic she is using now to not impeach Trump. Take the middle road, don't defend your values, don't extoll the benefits of what you did. I mean, the 2010 election was pathetic, with Democrats in the house literally cowering from the Tea party people. After passing probably the most important bill since the New Deal.
And now, doing the same thing with Impeachment. You think that is inspiring for folks? There isn't a person I know who wouldn't say that Trump has done something wrong in some way, even my Republican dad. But they don't think it matters, or they want to overlook it, not think about it. You get that stuff on TV for 6 months, and people will pay attention. You make the news cycle about Trump alright, but about how bad he is. You document it, not in the news, but in front of congress under oath. You slowly and methodically go through the Mueller report verbally, since nobody read it. And then you see how the public feels about impeachment.
7
Every time the leadership of the Democratic Party compromises with Republicans instead of the the left:
1. Republicans win. They get what they want, because they never compromise. They just wait for centrist Democrats to cave again.
2. We get bad policy. Attacking plain Constitutional principles like taxing and regulating trade (Article 1), using their religion to create government policy, 50 years of supply side economics, which has never, ever worked, and the Preamble says defense so they attack the world with wars for global corporations based on lies.
I started in the center and spent 50 years examining the evidence, and that is why I moved to the Left. The Right is Wrong. They create recessions and wars and criminal injustice all of the time. Trump is a symptom not the disease. They are literally royalists trying to install a racist king. The evidence is undeniable.
3. It divides the Democratic Party from its own base. Republicans have an extreme right base that literally supports or commits violence against U.S. Citizens with the encouragement of Trump and other Republican politicians. Some of them including Rep. Steve King are calling for Civil War.
Republicans mobilize their base. The Democrats attack their base. Republicans win.
4. Republicans blame Democrats for the results of their policies. They blame you for their debts, wars, and recessions because you voted for them.
5. Democrats lose elections, losing Congress for about 3/4 of the last 20 years.
8
I don't think "not left enough" quite describes one's distaste of Pelosi. I believe she is helping Trump get re-elected by delaying justice in this manner. Specifically, she is adding fuel to the narrative that there is not much to pin on The Donald other than obstruction. Obstruction of an investigation dismissed by Republicans as a politically-motivated "witch hunt". Why delay, unless what is at stake in this investigation indeed does not live up to the hype?
4
Nancy Pelosi hits the nail on the head when she says AOC and the squad are irrelevant in terms of Democratic politics. They represent a small and very vocal segment of the party.
In a primary AOC beat a long standing Democratic Congressman who had a a strong Liberal record. So as they are want to do the Democrats once again shot themselves in the foot. AOC congressional seat is solidly Democrat, its not like she ran against and beat a Republican incumbent .
In my district a Democrat who also happens to be a woman 'Madeline Dean' won a seat that was held by a 'Republican'. The same thing happened in the two surrounding districts . Democratic women beat out Republicans .
What separates these women and 'The Squad' is that they are doing the job they were elected to do . Serving on Committees that will get us to the same end that AOC wants which is Trump to see justice .
What they are not doing is attention grabbing, or putting the Speaker on the spot where she is having to defend their actions or remarks that go the gauntlet from being Anti Semitic, to using profanities while talking about Trump.
Nancy Pelosi is correct the 'Squad' are doing little but making noise and Democrats look divided.
I wonder in the eyes of the electorate , who will benefit from that .
Come November 3rd 2020,
If Trump wins a second term Democrats will have only themselves to blame, and the biggest losers will be the Squad and the people who support them .
5
Nancy Pelosi, the top dog of the Democratic Party, the status quo protector that her corporate supporters and the wealthiest coastal liberal elites are all depending on to stop the progressive march to equality and fairness in America.
The Pelosi Schumer democrats, and their latest annointed partner, Joe Biden the useless, are desperately hoping to cobble together a plan that will bamboozle the electorate just enough to give the Trump creature the heave-ho.
As I've said repeatedly, there are two candidates worthy of consideration by the electorate to become our 46th President and Vice President, one is Bernie Sanders and the other is Elizabeth Warren; makes no difference which is President or Vice President; they represent our last opportunity to wrest control of our government and its branches from the hands of the Republican Party and their corporate masters and wealthiest donors.
I predict that their plans will amount to another win for Trump and the Republicans, because in the end the Pelosi Schumer democrats have zero consideration for the poor and the middle-class, and will benefit every bit as well during Trumps second term.
The Ogre In-Chief is salivating.
6
A "moderate" Democrat is no longer moderate, it is acquiescence to an insane extreme right wing party.
4
There are millions of women in the workforce who face frightened, impulsive, angry men with no coping skills. Nancy Pelosi has shown us how to respond to them. I'm forever grateful.
5
Nancy is absolutely right. The AOC crowd is the Democratic Tea Party. They demand absolutism and would rather be "right" than win. Their votes against the Border Aid bill are unconscionable. They would have ignored the suffering of these migrants and their children just to prove their point.
Americans by overwhelming majorities reject Open Borders and decriminalization. They don't want to see all private health insurance disappear immediately. They don't support reparations. They also despise Donald Trump and want to see a new POTUS. Hope the Tea Party Dems don't blow it.
5
She defied party elders in the 80s but she cannot be defied now that she is the party elder. Got it.
7
“She said, ‘I didn’t exactly say that,’ and noted: ‘You can’t impeach everybody. People wanted Reagan impeached but that didn’t happen.’”
If Reagan had been impeached, W might not have been emboldened to lie to get us in the Iraq war.
If W had been impeached, Trump might not have been emboldened to cause 10 counts of obstruction. Trump might not have encouraged Russia to help him win.
There are no longer consequences for Presidents who commit high crimes and misdemeanors. The result is we now have the most corrupt Presidency since the Tea Pot Dome period.
Because of political motivations, Pelosi will not begin impeachment. Her decision weakens Congress and ignores the rule of law. Pelosi has ruined her legacy.
4
To this outsider . . ., sorry Dems, but Pelosi doesn't project strength or any of the qualities of a leader. She seems more an old style politician from yesteryear, one whose time has passed. (And Joe Biden, come on down!) Time to step aside for new, younger, and more dynamic leadership.
If there's a female mirror image of Mitch McConnell, it could be Nancy P.
5
The Speaker. and perhaps Maureen Dowd, seem to be living in their own bubble, only hearing their own thoughts in a big echo chamber of their own making.
Pelosi comes to town and presses the flesh at events like the Pride Parade, but she does not spend much time or effort to talk with "the other side" of San Francisco.
That other side of San Francisco is the son's and daughters of the Liberal Labor Working Class that made San Francisco what it is. There is a solid core in this town that is slightly progressive, but fed up with the nanny state and the focus on every "tribe" that comes along.
These are the very people that the Democratic Party will need across the USA in the coming years. They are however alienated by her and by writers like Dowd.
That said, she is correct to push back on the petulant children like AOC and her ilk. They need to sit back, keep their mouths shut, and watch, listen and learn.
FDR and LBJ got things done. One reason is they learned how to govern. It is not something that is learned by the time you are 30 or even 40. It takes time and experience.
The hubris of those who think they can so something with experience has no equal with newly elected politicians. That is one reason I will not vote for Senator Harris. She needs to take the great gift given to her my the taxpayers and do the job she was given. Again , hubris.
Pelosi should make an effort to talk with larger tribes, not just the loudest tribes both here in SF and elsewhere.
4
Look in my basement, I have signs for single payer laying around.
Coming from the two time leader of the Democratic held house ?
The first time with a veto proof majority but you couldn't get it done ?
She is smart??
No she is bought.
5
i love the energy and the fight the new liberal progressive faction of the Dems is bringing to the party. However, you have to know how the game is played and how to soldier to win a war. Pelosi is tough as nails, whip smart, understands the count and is classy. If she were 10 years younger i would definitely endorse her run at the Presidency but in the meantime there is a lot for the new guard to learn from her and they better take her mentoring to head and heart. She is a head above Bidden and does not pander. in addition: could any of us look that good at 80 after being in the attack dog pressure cooker of this republican die-nasty for this long and still have that confident smile while chewing on a stick of Mcconnell beef jerky?
2
Take away 80% of Pelosi's wealth (about 20 million or so) and you will get a completely different story. Illegal immigration is against the law; no other country let's one walk in, gives them benefits paid for by the U.S. taxpayer and lets them stay for decades. Detention centers are not hotels and very few of these people seek asylum in their poverty ridden third world countries.
3
Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Hubris, pride, arrogance and wealth also corrupt a person.
Unfortunately, this corruption controls Nancy Pelosi and many other people at the top of our governmental systems.
Multi-millionaire Nancy and her husband are part of the 1% elite ruling class, and her policies reflect that.
Her refusal to start an impeachment inquiry against Trump, and constant thwarting of progressive FDR politicians and legislation, show her to be a neoliberal corporate Democrat.
Nancy's not alone in her neoliberal, archaic, corporatist, anti-progressive ways. Schumer, Hoyer and many other senior Dems are a cabal who collude with the GOP to fund wars, tax cuts for the rich, and other destructive things.
AOC is a far more sincere, populist, progressive, courageous, and honest politician than Pelosi will ever be.
It's sad that Pelosi refuses to change for the good of America.
4
The reason Donald Trump so famously said he loves the low income, poorly educated is because he knows the reason they're low income is because they're poorly educated.
Which makes them so much easier for someone like him to con because he knows they won't bother to properly inform themselves.
That's what the GOP messiah actually thinks of his base.
Believe him when he tells you.
2
I never figured you for a sycophant. But you really nailed it this time. All the praise in the world will not change the final results in 2020. Granted, none of the candidates can shine her high heels but that doesn't matter. She isn't running and she never will. She hasn't passed a significant bill since she took over. Nor will she pass one unless the President wants it. End of story.
3
Nancy Pelosi is the antidote to Mitch McConnell. She has passed 100 bills through the house since taking over. McConnell has passed a handful. If only Nancy could rattle Mitch a little more.
I genuinely enjoyed this column but do wish that Ms. Dowd had not relied so heavily on descriptions of Ms. Pelosi's clothing and manicures.
3
My number one commandment is to seek balance. Number two is don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. This congress is in the throws (no pun intended) of finding that balance and i think it’s working just fine because of the differences. I appreciate,respect, both groups of Democrats and i like Pelosi as it’s leader right now. Yes it galls me that we aren’t impeaching the Blob in charge but there is time still for that and if it happens closer to summer next year it might help with a fresh momentum of challenges for the that Orange Blob. Press On Regardless and Mind The Gap.
2
Ms Pelosi is not only a historic figure but will prove to have been one of the most effective Speakers in modern times. Anyone who underestimates her is foolish at best.
I look forward to reading the books about her career yet to be written.
4
Pelosi is now Speaker again because of the left, not the other way around. One has to wonder why she’s protecting Trump. Obama failed to act on Russian hacking and the Garland seat theft because he thought Hillary would win. I don’t think Pelosi’s calculus is any better.
3
Pelosi, McConnell, Trump. Power is seductive. Thanks for the reminder.
1
Impeachment means Pence in the office. Who could possibly want that?
2
I cannot imagine a women or man in this country whose life has so perfectly prepared her to deal effectively with all people from every persuasion. If you value our democracy, you will value Nancy Pelosi and hope that the dark forces swirling within our government do not extinguish her fire.
1
I love this woman. A person who knows how to politic. And you House Dems better pay attention to her and learn something.
3
Keef. You are so wrong. Do you really think new (D) leadership will beat out the institutional power that Trump has built? If two years have shown anything, (R) will excuse any excess and fumble for a greater goal of lower tax burden for the rich, reduced social safety net programs and woman's rights, criminalizing the 'other' and of course, self enrichment. Realize the (R's) are all about the ME and (D's) are all about the WE. As The Speaker and number three most powerful person in the country was quoted as saying, “All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” she said. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.” Get your head of the rose your drinking. Biden and Harris will win the election, with The Speaker's help.
1
My opinion: Nancy Pelosi is the best the democrats can field against Trump—She better get in the race on the fifth vote at the Democratic Convention a year from now.
Trump is starting to lose it—no doubt due to the pressure Pelosi is exerting on him.
A sure sign Trump is losing it: The President—that stable genius, possessed of profound historical knowledge—did not invite Mr. Frederick Douglas to Trump’s Fourth of July Self-Glorification. Trump missed a golden opportunity to expand his base. Having Mr. Douglas standing at his side as Trump extolled the heroism of Revolutionary War pilots would have been a great photo-op and re-branding opportunity.
The gesture would have squelched all those claims that Trump is a racist. Scads of minority voters would have joined his cause.
1
Nancy Pelosi is the sort of democrat who I would vote for were she running for president. Those who ARE running are not even pale shadows of this lioness.
2
Thank goodness Pelosi agreed to term limits. Four years can't come soon enough. I'm almost as sick of her as I am of Trump. I don't trust her not to get Trump re-elected either. Her second parting gift as twice Speaker? My guess is another catastrophe for Democrats. Pelosi is bad news.
2
I felt so positive about Speaker Pelosi in January, when she truly seemed ready, willing and able to take on Trump. I am dismayed that she has not pursued impeachment against this lawless, tyrannical president, which by omission, gives cover to his impeachable offenses against the USA.
4