Crossposted at Brendan Calling
I think most of us can agree that Nancy Pelosi has been an execrable disappointment as the first female Speaker of the House. We were all hoping for someone tough, who would stand up to Bush, and who would drive the progressive agenda forward: instead we got a collaborator, an excuse-maker, a weakling who buckles to the slightest pressure.
Here she is allowing Blue Dogs to hold the Democratic Caucus hostage on FISA:
Pelosi says that she “absolutely” opposes retroactive immunity for the telecoms, but that she “didn’t want the fight to be so focused there that we neglect exclusivity.” Pelosi added that the House leadership was “at the mercy of the 17 or 18 Democrats in the Senate who are voting with the Republicans on this” and said that “we are trying to work with the Dems in the Senate to come to an agreement” on exclusivity, immunity, and other issues.
“At the mercy if the 17 or 18 Democrats”? Memo to Speaker Pelosi: it’s called “arm-twisting”. Or as the always-eloquent Karl Rove once said of a political operative who refused to play ball, “We will fuck him. Do you hear me? We will fuck him. We will ruin him. Like no one has ever fucked him!”
So if you want your Democrats to vote your way, Ms. Pelosi, go get Congressman Clyburn and let your Democrats and Blue Dogs know that if they don’t vote down telecom immunity, that they will find themselves so utterly fucked they’ll taste their own scrotums whenever they belch.
It’s not that difficult a concept, especially with freshmen like Chris Carney, Jerry McNerny, and Jason Altmire who are going to need help to win re-election. Threaten to withhold funds when they face their primaries. Threaten to block their legislation. Threaten to defund their projects. There’s a lot you can do.
Of course, this whole tactic would call on you to show integrity and spine, which is something you simply don’t have much of, Ms. Pelosi. Instead, Americans see the unsightly spectacle of the Speaker of the House whining like a little baby, showing that she’s too weak to control her own caucus.
Is that the example you want to set?
Having watched the Republicans keep their own members in line, I wouldn’t even say this takes “integrity and spine”. All it takes is the will to do it. There are so many ways the majority of the Dem caucus can put the screws to minority holdouts that the failure to do so can only be because Speaker Pelosi can’t be bothered.
If this was the GOP side just a couple of years ago, the holdouts would already be singing soprano because Tom DeLay would have crushed their balls. Literally.
How long must we endure this garbage? Pelosi isn’t just weak; she is complicit. Yeah, she says she opposes telecomm immunity. She lies. Constantly. She knows full well what she can do to prevent the immunity bill from ever seeing the light of day. She can let it rot, without ever coming up for debate.
But Nancy Pelosi wants this illegal bill to become illegal law. Never mind that it is a blatant violation of the United States Constitution, which is the highest law of the land. Pelosi is Bush’s loyal dog in the House of Representatives, just like the Senate’s Harry Reid.
The distinguished lady’s role is to pretend to fight just enough to keep the sheep in the fold. Her complicity is matched only by her duplicity. I know the nickname is already used elsewhere but Skeletor leaps to mind..
for those interested, here’s the contact info for the blue dogs:
they could use a bit of encouragement from the people, and while you’re at it contact madame speaker pelosi and give her some assistance in making the right call…tho her web site appears to be suffering from a massive overload at the moment.
web contact info for the house is HERE…speaker pelosi’s e/mail contact HERE
Zack Space?? Isn’t that the best name EVER?