11/17/2022

28 Responses to “Nancy Pelosi Stepping Down From House Democratic Leadership”

1. I read that Pelosi had been reluctant to step down after the gruesome attack on her husband because she didn’t want “violence to win.” I can respect that. However, the attack coupled with the stress of her husband’s long recovery and the fact that she is 82 years old (yet far more articulate and in charge of her faculties than President Biden, who is 79), it seems a good time to let a new generation lead Democrats.

   Dana (1225fc) — 11/17/2022 @ 10:13 am

   
   

2. Copying my comment from the McConnell thread: Speaking of Congressional leaders, 82-year old Pelosi is not running for a leadership position, and I was expecting this whether her husband was assaulted or not. Time for some fresher-faced leaders there, and in the White House.

   Paul Montagu (b351b8) — 11/17/2022 @ 10:15 am

   
   

3. I think she really wanted to stay as a demonstration that she could/would not be scared off by an attack on her family. I also get the sense that she really loves holding the position. However, I suspect she was gently pressured by senior House members to make way for a younger leader. But it comes at a dicey time, given that Republicans control the House. There are battles ahead, and she is a pro at politics.

   Dana (1225fc) — 11/17/2022 @ 10:23 am

   
   

4. I have to think that she does not want to be Dianne Feinstein.

   Appalled (03f53c) — 11/17/2022 @ 10:26 am

   
   

5. Schiff has said he’s not interested; he’s angling to replace Feinstein.

   aphrael (4c4719) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:10 am

   
   

6. Time for some fresher-faced leaders there, and in the White House.

   Call me old-fashioned, but I view policy more important than cosmetics. Younger people do not correlate with better policy.

   Kevin M (90f346) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:24 am

   
   

7. I can’t imagine that it’s much fun to lead the minority in a razor-thin environment with such polarization and a weak President heading the party. I suppose some could see opportunities to obstruct and position for 2024, but overall it can’t be that inspiring. The DEMs probably recognize too how shallow their Presidential bench is and that the party is looking older and older. Warren-Bernie-Biden-Bloomberg did not scream out dynamic, fresh, or non-crotchety. For whatever reason, Pelosi has always bothered me less than either Schumer or Reid.

   AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:31 am

   
   

8. For whatever reason, Pelosi has always bothered me less than either Schumer or Reid.

   Pelosi is more a back-office kind of gal, getting things organized and done. She doesn’t have the need to be on camera like Schumer, or to a lesser extend Reid.

   Kevin M (90f346) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:33 am

   
   

9. Where does the Squad stand on this?

   Also, where are all the “First! … ” MSM stories regarding Hakeem Jeffries?

   Kevin M (90f346) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:35 am

   
   

10. For whatever reason, Pelosi has always bothered me less than either Schumer or Reid.

    AJ_Liberty (5f05c3) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:31 am

    She’s smarter than them, for one.

    norcal (a1f318) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:49 am

    
    

11. In honor of this celebrated occasion, recommended reading:

    ‘Flushed With Pride – The Story of Thomas Crapper’

    https://thomas-crapper.com/product/flushed-with-pride-the-story-of-thomas-crapper/

    DCSCA (2849e4) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:52 am

    
    

12. Pelosi and Mitch are two sides of the same coin — skilled practitioners of the inside political game. They both accomplish a lot for their side. They also are gifts to those who construct political attack ads.

    Still, in pursuit of gaining the advantage, they have made partisanship more and more toxic.

    Appalled (f23ed3) — 11/17/2022 @ 12:02 pm

    
    

13. Good riddance! AOC should take her place and the squad fill the other leadership role. Fly away on your broom nanzi.

    asset (38e4f4) — 11/17/2022 @ 12:18 pm

    
    

14. Younger people do not correlate with better policy.

    While I agree with this, the fact remains that she is 82 years old. If Republicans complain that Biden is too old for the job (and they do), then surely the same standard must be applied to Pelosi. While she believes it’s time for younger people to head the chamber, we know that Jeffries and his contemporaries will simply not have the gravitas, knowledge, and experience of Pelosi. Also, there is no love lost between Jeffries and The Squad, given that primarying Jeffries in 2020 was a priority of AOC and he told the NYT ““The extreme left is obsessed with talking trash about mainstream Democrats on Twitter, when the majority of the electorate constitute mainstream Democrats at the polls.” If he becomes the Speaker, like McCarthy he will have his work cut out for him. He simply won’t have the stature and history that Pelosi has, which I think has kept the hard left in check.

    Dana (1225fc) — 11/17/2022 @ 12:22 pm

    
    

15. I can’t prove this, but I am inclined to think Pelosi has more respect for George W. Bush than for Barack Obama. I recall reading a story about Obama calling her, while she was working out a legislative compromise with other Democratic leaders, and she putting him on mute.

    (She may have agreed with Bush’s assessment when he turned the presidential office over to Obama: “this cat hasn’t got a clue”, or something like that. (Sadly, the next 8 years showed how right Bush was.)

    Note, please, I said respect, not agreement.

    Jim Miller (85fd03) — 11/17/2022 @ 12:36 pm

    
    

16. “With great confidence in our caucus, I will not seek re-election to Democratic leadership in the next Congress,” said Pelosi. “

    This is actually close to what she promised in 2018 when she promised to serve no more than two more terms as Speaker.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/17/2022 @ 1:06 pm

    
    

17. Having studied Edwin O’Connor’s “The Last Hurrah” and Mike Royko’s Boss, I think I have been able to predict what Pelosi will do, at least 80 percent of the time.

    (Her father ran a poltical machine in Baltimore, and San Francisco has had more “machine-style” politics than msot American cities.)

    Jim Miller (85fd03) — 11/17/2022 @ 1:24 pm

    
    

18. It looks very much like it will indeed be Hakeem Jeffries:

    https://www.newser.com/story/328118/top-democrats-step-down-leaving-path-for-jeffries.html

    Other top Democrats announced Thursday that they’ll follow Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of top House leadership while remaining members of Congress. Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn of South Carolina said immediately after Pelosi’s announcement that they too will step aside, the Hill reports. Their decisions clear the way for New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who now chairs the House Democratic Caucus, to run for minority leader for the next Congress, which will be the top party job once Republicans take control of the House. Hoyer has been in Congress for more than 40 years and has held the No. 2 House position in his party since 2003.

    “Now is the time for a new generation of leaders,” Hoyer, 83, said in endorsing Jeffries, whom he called “a skilled and capable leader,” per the Washington Post. Hoyer said he’ll return to the Appropriations Committee, where he served early in his career, to concentrate on education, health care, and increasing US manufacturing. Though he won’t stay on in a top post, Clyburn said he’d remain as assistant minority leader, the fourth-highest position. Like Hoyer, he backed Jeffries, 52, while adding endorsements of the two members planning to seek the two spots immediately below speaker: Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark and California Rep. Pete Aguilar. House Democrats plan to vote on the positions on Nov. 30, per the Wall Street Journal.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/17/2022 @ 4:30 pm

    
    

19. Might as well put this here.

    The attacker moved to the U.S. about twenty years ago to pursue a relationship with a woman he met in Hawaii. He registered to vote in San Francisco County (possibly caught by a registration drive) as a member of the Green Party in 2002, and voted once (that year) but remained on the books through 2009. He last entered the United States from Mexico using his Canadian passport.

    One source:

    https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/01/us/pelosi-attack-depape-arraignment.html

    In the days since the attack, those who know Mr. DePape have described a shy man who once seemed to live the lifestyle of a Bay Area hippie, making hemp jewelry and attending protests against a ban on public nudity, but who in recent years fell into homelessness, isolation and darkness, spending his time immersed in an online world of conspiracy theories and bigotry.

    About six years ago, according to his most recent employer, Mr. DePape was down on his luck, living under a tree in a park and hanging around outside a lumber store in Berkeley, Calif., looking for work.

    “You know how people sit outside and wait for someone to come and offer them work?” recalled Frank Ciccarelli, a carpenter who builds houses and makes furniture. “He was sitting there. So I picked him up. So he started working for me. And he really worked out well.”

    For the next several years, Mr. Ciccarelli became close to Mr. DePape, even as he worked less and seemed to spend more time online, immersed in right-wing conspiracy theories — right up until a week ago, when he paid Mr. DePape his most recent wages…..

    …..Mr. Ciccarelli, 76, described Mr. DePape as a quiet person and diligent worker — an easygoing guy, at least until the topic of politics came up. He said he spent several hours a day with Mr. DePape, four or five days a week. “I think I know him better than anyone does.”

    Over the six years he has known Mr. DePape, Mr. Ciccarelli said, he witnessed a transformation from a shy and hardworking, but troubled, man into someone who was increasingly isolated and captive to his darkest thoughts.

    “If you got him talking about politics, it was all over,” Mr. Ciccarelli recalled in an interview this week. “Because he really believed in the whole MAGA, ‘Pizzagate,’ stolen election — you know, all of it, all the way down the line.”

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/17/2022 @ 4:43 pm

    
    

20. Sammy,

    Local news saw the bodycam, it was Pelosi who opened the door greeted the police. Apparently the “attacker” most likely was a guest that went off the rails.

    Getting weirder every minute

    EPWJ (650a62) — 11/17/2022 @ 5:09 pm

    
    

21. The quote of the day from the other jerk who is bailing out of ‘leadership’ after decades of leadership mess making:

    “In case you haven’t heard. I’m 83.” – Steny Hoyer.

    DCSCA (5c413d) — 11/17/2022 @ 5:14 pm

    
    

22. Cooke reminds us that at the end of the day, Pelosi did a major flip-flop:

    Pelosi’s last act of note was to throw her own branch of government under the bus. Having insisted in no uncertain terms that the president could not unilaterally cancel student-loan debt — “people think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,” she said last year, “he does not, the president can’t do it, so that’s not even a discussion” — Pelosi took to pretending that, actually, he could.

    Dana (1225fc) — 11/17/2022 @ 5:48 pm

    
    

23. Biden celebrates Pelosi as ‘the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in our history’ after she announces leadership exit

    President Joe Biden heralded Nancy Pelosi as “the most consequential” House speaker in US history after she announced her decision to not seek re-election to her Democratic leadership post but to stay on to represent her San Francisco district.

    “When I think of Nancy Pelosi, I think of dignity.

    History will note her as the most consequential Speaker of the House of Representatives in history – she is first, last, and always for the people. America owes her a debt of gratitude for her service, patriotism, and dignity.” – Joe Biden

    – businessinsider.com

    =sigh= Think of your meeting w/Camilla and the Pope instead, Joey.

    ‘One of the most influential speakers in history was Democrat Sam Rayburn. Rayburn had the most cumulative time as speaker in history, holding office from 1940 to 1947, 1949 to 1953, and 1955 to 1961. He helped shape many bills, working quietly in the background with House committees.’ – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives

    DCSCA (22e0ad) — 11/17/2022 @ 11:04 pm

    
    

24. The oily ‘principles’ of swamp creature Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr.:

    Biden administration says Saudi prince has immunity in Khashoggi killing lawsuit

    WASHINGTON, Nov 17 (Reuters) – The Biden administration ruled on Thursday that Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has immunity from a lawsuit over the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, drawing immediate condemnation from the slain journalist’s former fiancee.

    Khashoggi was killed and dismembered in October 2018 by Saudi agents in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, an operation which U.S. intelligence believed was ordered by Prince Mohammed, who has been the kingdom’s de facto ruler for several years. – https://www.reuters.com/legal/biden-admin-says-saudi-prince-has-immunity-khashoggi-killing-lawsuit-court-2022-11-18/

    Biden Scoffs at Reporter’s ‘Silly Question’ About Khashoggi Killing

    ‘… During a Democratic party debate in November 2019, Biden said that he would “make them [the Saudis] in fact the pariah that they are” as he vowed to take an opposing stance against Saudi Arabia over allegations of human rights violations…’

    https://www.newsweek.com/joe-biden-dismisses-reporter-question-jamal-khashoggi-death-1725171

    Biden disputes Saudi account of Khashoggi murder discussion

    July 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday differed with Saudi Arabia in their account of discussions at a bilateral summit about the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a major point of contention between the two countries.

    U.S. intelligence agencies believe Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing in 2018 of Khashoggi, a Saudi insider-turned-critic who had been living in self-imposed exile in Virginia. The de facto Saudi ruler denies it.

    https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/biden-disputes-saudi-account-khashoggi-murder-discussion-2022-07-17/

    …and Putin smiled.

    DCSCA (07a6ad) — 11/18/2022 @ 12:58 am

    
    

25. I’ve got a gay friend who tells me that, for some reason not immediately apparent to me, that gays “hated” Margaret Thatcher. His view on her death “Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead”.

    I sort of have a similar feeling re La Pelosi. Yeah–she was a player alright. Bu she did and said some spectacularly done deaf (and even vile) things. So I won’t mourn her stepping down–and heading off into retirement. After all somebody has to eat that freezer full of high priced ice cream.

    Comanche Voter (a15ae2) — 11/19/2022 @ 11:24 am

    
    

26. EPWJ (650a62) — 11/17/2022 @ 5:09 pm

    Sammy,

    Local news saw the bodycam, it was Pelosi who opened the door greeted the police. Apparently the “attacker” most likely was a guest that went off the rails.

    Getting weirder every minut

    No, Paul Pelosi pretended on the 911 call that he was a guest. DePape was mentally disabled, probably from drugs, and rather slow – his plan had been to attack Nancy, and now he didn’t know what to do.

    The problem is how do we get three scenes, or were they all described correctly.:

    1) Paul Pelosi, disregarding DePape’s commands, opens the dor to police

    2) Both DePape and Pelosi are holding ahammmer (police later confirmed this hammer did not belong to the Pelosi’s) DePape on the bottom, Pelosi on the top

    3) DePape alone is holding the hammer, and proceeds to strike Pelosi on the head a few times, breaking his skull, and knocking the 82-year old Pelosi unconscious for about 3 minutes, before the police can tackle him. (they don’t try anything else)

    Somewhere in the mix is a police order to drop the hammer, to which DePape replies: “Nope.”

    I don’t know if the order is given while they were both holding on to the hammer

    This is at least not as near confused as the situation at the University of Idaho where we have no idea why the police said nobody else was in danger.

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 12:10 pm

    
    

27. 19. 20. Last Thursday, I didn’t quote this from the NYT article

    After working together for a few years, Mr. Ciccarelli helped Mr. DePape get away from the streets, moving him into a friend’s garage studio in Richmond, Calif.

    “Once he was housed, he had much more time to spend on his computer,” Mr. Ciccarelli said. “Because when you’re living under a tree, you don’t have a plug.”

    On Saturday, the F.B.I. raided the garage in Richmond and seized two hammers, a sword and a pair of gloves.

    As he spent more time on his computer in recent months, Mr. DePape appeared to have produced a voluminous record of his political leanings — ranting about the 2020 election being stolen, appearing to deny the gassing of Jews at Auschwitz and claiming that schoolteachers were grooming children to be transgender. Mr. DePape’s blog was registered at the Richmond address where he resided.

    Mr. Ciccarelli, who said he was scheduled to work with Mr. DePape on Monday, said he never heard Mr. DePape make racist comments, but said he had become increasingly isolated the last few years and wanted to work less in the carpentry business.

    “He was completely caught up in the fantasy, in the MAGA fantasy,” he said.

    Over the last few days, Mr. Ciccarelli has struggled to make sense of the news about his friend. “He did a monstrous thing, but he’s not a monster,” he said. “He’s really decent, gentle — it sounds crazy to say gentle — but he was a very gentle soul. But he was going downhill. He went down the rabbit hole.”

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 12:22 pm

    
    

28. Somebody stupid or out of touch enough to believe all that e believed, is stupid in other ways, too. So Paul Pelosi, after managing to make that 911 call talked him into letting him go down to the ground floor. (they have an elevator in that house)

    Sammy Finkelman (1d215a) — 11/21/2022 @ 12:24 pm