First, let's let Ryan Cooper of TheWeek.com explain, as he has at least twice (here and here), why U.S. Senator from New York Charles "Chuck" Schumer is a walking disaster from any leadership or strategic standpoint.
Second, let's have a little fun and read Alexandra Petri's ironic, sarcastic take on criticism of Nancy Pelosi (Petri's column actually fooled Joe Conason, who is a great journalist, into thinking it was an anti-Pelosi piece--on FB, he wrote "A lot of men against Pelosi but...Alexandra Petri is reassuring"-- proving Conason must have read the headline and a part of the column on his phone while on the run, proving again how our comprehension abilities suffer in such circumstances.)
Now that we have had that fun, let's unpack what is really wrong with Nancy Pelosi as a leader of the Democratic Party at this moment in American history. Let's start with this article from Common Dreams, which shows Pelosi firmly in the pocket of medical insurance companies and Big Pharma. Let's recognize, too, Pelosi had literally nothing to do with the Blue Wave, and that it occurred despite her, not through anything she affirmatively did. Let's then read her statement, after corporate media called the House flip for the Democrats, where she promoted the idea of bi-partisanship with House Republicans when those Republicans promote policies and conduct themselves in a manner diametrically opposed to any sort of competent governance, where they show an abject lack of respect for the Commonweal with their white nationalist siren calls, and believe only in lock-step capitulation, not compromise. Just as bad, Pelosi is currently pushing a gimmick that there be a super majority in Congress before passing any legislation that, in any way, raises taxes on the bottom 80% of taxpayers. This is ridiculous because, with the House of Representatives comprising a now healthy Democratic Party majority, this would never happen for anything other than a payroll tax for....you guessed it, Medicare for All. Pelosi, in her statements and approaches to holding power over the years, exhibits an incompetence at political strategy with respect to galvanizing support for the best Democratic Party policies. She accepts the Overton Window as is, and tampers down most attempts to move that political discourse window back to a true center, where the majority of Americans actually are.
And note how all the corporate media and social media voices against Bernie Sanders on the basis of his being too old generally comprise the same people who do not want to speak that way about Nancy Pelosi--when Pelosi is a year older than Bernie.
Notwithstanding the above, I have no use for and have been critical of right wing demonization of Pelosi, and especially calling Pelosi a "socialist" or even "communist." But that does not mean I or others should refrain from criticizing Pelosi, or wishing there could be a coherent coalition among the Democratic Party Congressional majority to replace her as speaker. What needs to be recognized is, when push comes to shove, Pelosi is more in the pocket of corporate donors who continue to influence the leadership apparatuses of the Democratic Party, nationwide and in most States. Trump and the Republicans have publicly stated they are happy to have her back as Speaker, with Trump adding Republicans in Congress should vote for her for Speaker, assuming enough Democratic Party congresspeople said no. I have decided to root for this event because it would be at least exposing some of the truth of the very criticism I and other progressives have leveled at Pelosi.
The Alexandra Petri column in the Washington Post is typical in wanting to make the anti-Pelosi forces all about hating Pelosi because she is a woman. There are, however, fundamental strategic issues at stake and Pelosi has shown herself as incompetent (as has Schumer, we should definitely remind ourselves as at the top of this post). It is time more Americans, who are either Democratic Party members or progressives, recognize Pelosi's tenure as Speaker from January 2007- 2011was a lost opportunity to reestablish the Democratic Party as a party of the people. Pelosi's reign only re-enforced the Democratic Party leadership's fealty to wealthy donors who happened to support identity politics, or in their case, Human Resource Department politics.
