Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

Speaking of republicans, is there a way for a political party to declare intellectual bankruptcy?

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Nancy smash is sick of your bullshit.

Innocent people don’t delay justice.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

It’s always darkest before the other shoe drops.

Authoritarian republicans are opposed to freedom for the rest of us.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Despite his magical powers, I don’t think Trump is thinking this through, to be honest.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

T R E 4 5 O N

Not all heroes wear capes.

Accountability, motherfuckers.

The next time the wall street journal editorial board speaks the truth will be the first.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

He really is that stupid.

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

JFC, are there no editors left at that goddamn rag?

I was promised a recession.

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / Excellent Links / Thursday Evening Open Thread: Leader Pelosi

Thursday Evening Open Thread: Leader Pelosi

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… In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, inside the Capitol where a mob loyal to Donald Trump had laid siege, Pelosi said it’s time for the country to turn to its “better angels,” draw from history and ensure a day like Jan. 6 never happens again.

“Make no mistake, our democracy was on the brink of catastrophe,” Pelosi told the AP.

“Democracy won that night,” she said. “These people, because of the courageous work of the Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police and others, they were deterred in their action to stop the peaceful transfer of power. They lost.”…

Sitting beneath a portrait of George Washington, Pelosi drew heavily on the founders’ vision for a country where Americans would have many differences but rely on common sense to resolve them.

She referred to Lincoln’s efforts — insisting on constructing the dome of the Capitol despite naysayers during the Civil War — to underscore national unity.

“We cannot shirk our responsibility. We have the power and we have the responsibility and we will live up to that to keep our country together,” she said.

“Let’s hope that we never elect a president who will incite an insurrection on the Congress of the United States.”…

Reader Interactions

115Comments

  2. 2.

    debbie

    Don’t let these murderous bastards intimidate you today.

    Stare them right in the eye push them back into the hole they crawled out of. This is OUR country. This is OUR democracy. These treasonous Trump loving sons of bitches deserve no respect, no mercy, and no safe harbor.
    — Stonekettle (@Stonekettle) January 6, 2022

  3. 3.

    WaterGirl

    The Hamilton video was beautiful.

    Unrelated to everything, the first episode of Women of the Movement is on TV tonight.  someone posted the trailer to this in the comments at some point in the last week or two. I believe the first episode is about Emmet Till and his mother.

  6. 6.

    Old Dan and Little Ann

    For all my Rochester peeps.  I am no Twitter addict and look at it once in a while.  The only person’s tweets I ever commented on were from Bob Lonsberry. He never responded back.  I realized today that piece of shit blocked me.  I haz a sad.

  7. 7.

    Mezz

    This is so embarrassing.

    If Nancy Pelosi thinks “Democracy won” and she wants to play it that route, let’s have a parade, sing songs and be triumphant — we are all well and totally fucked.

    Please people, get a grip. We were granted a reprieve by incompetence. Like there was any fucking strategy involved in saving democracy. And the focus on the heroes of that day — while they absolutely deserve the plaudits and lauding as heroes — merely underscores the point.

    “Democracy won” because like 250 people who were put in insane positions didn’t buckle. If Nancy is going to bank on that working again in the future, she’s as loony as the MAGAts.

  8. 8.

    Betty

    This is a reminder that there are more good people, trying to do the right thing, than the naysayers and haters. You have to keep the faith.

  9. 9.

    dr. bloor

    @Old Dan and Little Ann: I haven’t lived in Rochester forever, and even I can tell you that getting blocked by roadkill like Lonsberry is ultimately to your benefit.

    A small man with a small mind in a medium-sized market.  Forget him.

  17. 17.

    Almost Retired

    @Mezz:  OK, please summarize the gist of the speech you think Nancy Pelosi should have given today.  And pick the appropriate supporting Hamilton clip, while you’re at it.

  21. 21.

    Mezz

    @Almost Retired:

    Well I would have appreciated a somber, realistic assessment of what obstacles the preservation of democracy faces. Maybe something along the lines of how the House 1/6 Subcommittee is planning on handling folks who defy subpoenas. Maybe along the lines of what they are actually doing to you know, assert federal control over federal elections, so that states can’t subvert results or overturn/decertify local secretaries of state.

    Maybe something indicating what actual progress we can make.

     

    But no cool, let’s all learn to sing a new song. Bully.

  22. 22.

    Mezz

    I’m not trying to be a troll, really I’m not. Don’t want to end up in the pie filter, have been a lurker for a decade.

    But if folks think that Pelosi’s speech today was some giant titanic success, then it just makes me all the more fearful. This is an engaged and educated group, and to think that ya’ll are that smitten to just “Oh, ok, Reichstag fire is out, *phew* democracy is saved” I’m not that sanguine. Sorry.

  24. 24.

    Almost Retired

    @Mezz:   OK, fair enough.  That’s a cogent explanation of what you expected from the Speaker.  And very different from the tone of your original comment, which read to me as classic doom-trolling.

  26. 26.

    Cameron

    @Mezz: Not sure what you think she should have said.  “People, I  love ya all, but I gotta be real – we’re hosed.”  If that’s the only message I had, I’m not sure I’d show up to deliver it.

  32. 32.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Thank you Pie-Filter.

    What Pelosi is saying should be clear to anyone with two functioning neurons.  Democracy won.  Not for good.  Not forever.  But that day, Democracy one.  That was one moment.  One battle.  And there will be many more.  Nobody is saying that the fight is over so let’s just sing kumbaya and let down our guard.  Nobody.  And anyone pretending that she or any other Dem is saying that, is full of shit and purposefully misinterpreting their statements in bad faith.

  33. 33.

    Mike in NC

    My fervent hope for this new year is that it will finally be reveaed that Trump was illegitimate, installed by Putin via the GOP’s messages of hate and fear. Wipe his rotten name from the history books.

  34. 34.

    SpaceUnit

    Nancy is not naive and she’s not being a Pollyanna here.  She’s pointing out that the insurrectionists are a bunch of anti-American losers, and I think that’s a pretty good message.

  35. 35.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Here is a really good interview I listened to about Trump’s shady financial dealings from a guy who has been covering him for thirty years.  Towards the end he predicts that Trump will be indicted in several jurisdictions.  The woman co-hosting, Jill Wine-Banks, is also a former prosecutor who worked on Watergate.  Very good interview.

  37. 37.

    Roger Moore

    @Mezz:

    Pelosi is right that Democracy won on January 6, 2021.  It didn’t win a permanent victory, but it triumphed over dictatorship on that day.  What we need to remember is that those victories are always temporary.  The forces that demand dictatorship weren’t permanently vanquished, and they’ll be back again.  But we aren’t permanently fucked.  We won then, and we can win again.

  38. 38.

    realbtl

    Damn these are boring trolls, one note wonders.  Reading the old threads makes me realize how the standards have slipped.

  42. 42.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka):

    Just in this thread. One commenter is a left-over pie from three or four days ago; the other is a new (to me) gloomy and rather hostile Eeyore type who just showed up this evening. What I had forgotten is that if you pie someone, everyone who replies to that commenter also ends up in the pie locker. So if you look quickly at this thread on my phone, it’s a gooey diabetic mess of cupcakes and tarts and icing.

  44. 44.

    WaterGirl

    Seems like this might be a good time to roll out this comment from The Thin Black Duke from over a year ago:

    Remember folks, you don’t have to go to every argument you’re invited to, especially when the other guy has already made up his mind.

  47. 47.

    Another Scott

    C-Span shows me that Rep. Gosar was lecturing Pelosi about the election results at 2:15 PM on 1/6/2021, just before the House went into recess. His apparent tick of wobbling his head around while he speaks is, er, interesting, and somehow appropriate.

    C-SPAN.org (5:15).

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  50. 50.

    SpaceUnit

    I’m not on Twitter but if I was I’d try to start a meme.  I’d respond to every right-wing outburst with a clip of Philip Seymour Hoffman in the movie ‘Twister’, pointing down the road and yelling, “Losers . . . Move On!”

  51. 51.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Troll. A new one. What a coincidence that it arrived after a grand moment by the Democrats.

  55. 55.

    WaterGirl

    Mezz has been commenting here since 2009, so I think this is a sincere difference of opinion and outlook and not a new commenter coming here to intentionally troll the blog.

    But i think what The Thin Black Duke said is still relevant; “Remember folks, you don’t have to go to every argument you’re invited to, especially when the other guy has already made up his mind.”

  56. 56.

    Roger Moore

    @SiubhanDuinne:

    What I had forgotten is that if you pie someone, everyone who replies to that commenter also ends up in the pie locker.

    Strictly speaking, all responses to that commenter get sent to the pie locker.  Not all of a commenter’s responses are pied just because they responded to a pied commenter once.

  57. 57.

    Benw

    “Democracy won” is also a canny message, because it means democracy was attacked, which a lot of Republicans are trying to deny.

  59. 59.

    CaseyL

    @Baud: Well, tardigrades are adorable, durable, and well worth reading about.

    Twitter is not even a faint reflection of real life.  It’s Party Line for anyone with an Internet connection.

  60. 60.

    The Thin Black Duke

    @WaterGirl: Thank you. And, to be fair, you raise a legitimate point. Always give someone an ample amount of rope to hang themselves first before opening the trap door.

  62. 62.

    Goku (aka Amerikan Baka)

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I don’t. I agree with others that Pelosi meant that Democracy won THAT day, not forever. Pelosi is trying to keep people’s spirits up. But Twitter denizens are a myopic bunch. I’m guessing a lot of people are just on edge because voting rights hasn’t been passed yet

  63. 63.

    Baud

    @CaseyL:

    tardigrades are adorable, durable, and well worth reading about

     
    No wonder Google thinks I’d be interested. They’re like me!

  66. 66.

    RaflW

    Biden gave, by most any account, an excellent speech. VP Harris did well. Schumer and Pelosi said what needed to be said. IOW, Dems in Array.

    Now, we all know that the Beltway thinks that cohesion is boring, but it does let normal folks know that there is no disagreement among the Democratic leadership in D.C. that Jan 6th was a serious assault on democracy, that both the House Committee and DOJ continue their good work (adding in the Garland speech y’day), and a shit ton more work needs to happen.

    So. Onward!! (as a pantsuit sort of lady might say)

  68. 68.

    mrmoshpotato

    @Mike in NC:

    My fervent hope for this new year is that it will finally be reveaed that Trump was illegitimate, installed by Putin via the GOP’s messages of hate and fear. Wipe his rotten name from the history books.

    Sadly, the Kremlin’s, orange, fascist shitstain will be in the history books. Hopefully with lengthy explanations of how the fascistic, traitorous shitstain is Putin’s bitch.

  70. 70.

    RaflW

    @Benw: And “Democracy won” coupled with Biden earlier today hammering that “the other guy” LOST is a nice one-two.

  72. 72.

    Yutsano

    @burnspbesq: Gah! I hate you now. I tried reading the stupid article. When I got to the “contrarian for contrarian’s sake” part I bailed. Tripe is an insult to edible pig stomach lining.

  74. 74.

    HeleninEire

    There are idiots on Twitter (looking at you Tom Nichols) who say the day was too solemn to have a song. Disagree. That song fit in beautifully.

  77. 77.

    WaterGirl

    I can’t believe there isn’t a LOSER meme already where people take photos of the former guy and make the loser symbol on the forehead.  Of course, then you would have to look at an image of the former guy.  Never mind.

  78. 78.

    Ken

    @Baud: For some reason, Google thinks I’m interested in stories about tardigrades.

    Do not fight the algorithm. Read about tardigrades. Develop an interest. Knit tardigrade puppets and sell them on etsy.

  79. 79.

    RaflW

    @HeleninEire: Nichols has this grand idea that there will be a coalition of Ds and Rs who will rise up together and save democracy.

    But as far as I can tell, we have only Liz Cheney and Lisa Murkowski. So how’s that gonna work?

  80. 80.

    burnspbesq

    The Ashes are in a rain delay, which makes Tony Jay happy because England’s embarrassment is not getting any worse. For the moment. Guess I’ll watch some college basketball. Catch y’all later.

  81. 81.

    Mike E

    A funny thing happened on my drive home from work when I tuned in to NPR’s ATC (I know, I know) for the wheeling out of Mara Liasson to deploy her Webb telescope “both sides” sunshield to cover the 1/6 anniversary… the attempt quickly flew out of a studio window, apparently, because she and the anchor covered the most salient facts, how the Repubs are total liars fully engaged in “existential politics” and there aren’t any sane saviors remaining to pull their party back from the brink. We’ll, I feel like I caught this year’s good NPR News minute so I can go back to totally ignoring them for the rest of 2022.

  84. 84.

    Geminid

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): There are many thousands of Twitter commenters. You may be following some of the ones who at every opportunity try to undermine Democrats. There are plenty of them.

    You might do well to check out committed Democrats like Ragnarok Lobster and Black Professor, and the people they retweet. I would especially recommend Magdi Semrau (@Magi_jay) to you. She is very calm and lucid, with a good eye for the essential. I learn a lot from her.

  85. 85.

    CaseyL

    @RaflW:

    Nichols has this grand idea that there will be a coalition of Ds and Rs who will rise up together and save democracy.

    …as long as Democrats don’t actually pursue Democratic policies.

    (I like Nichols, tbh, but he thinks he’s a lot smarter and more insightful than he actually is.)

  86. 86.

    phdesmond

    Dick Cheney participated alongside his daughter in the House ceremonies today!  according to Chris Hayes just now, they were the only two republicans present.

  92. 92.

    JR

    1) Biden’s speech was great. He’s not a natural speaker but that is as good as he gets. It hit all the right notes, mostly anger, and I loved it.

    2) Hosting a LMM musical number was tone-deaf and took something away from the remembrance today. Fortunately, the first point is the only thing people will ultimately recall, if they recall anything at all.

  94. 94.

    Tazj

    @Goku (aka Amerikan Baka): Yes, there were a number of liberal and progressive pundits on Twitter apparently appalled at that Hamilton performance today.Their reactions were hilarious to me. It’s fine to think it didn’t belong in her speech today or that it was weird but some went on to claim that this was the reason the Democrats were going to lose the midterms and why they’re so out of touch.

    I mean an old lady like me who pays too much attention to politics as it is, stuck at home with her kids on a snow day, didn’t even see it. I don’t think many other people saw it or will ever care about it but they’re wasting their time being embarrassed and doom posting about it.

  95. 95.

    Geminid

    @phdesmond: I’m glad Liz’s father showed up, but Republicans like Gaetz and Gosar should be a little fearful. Liz Cheney will do as much damage to them as she can, but at least it will be in public. Darth Cheney is a different proposition. I would not want him after me.

  97. 97.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @CaseyL:

    (I like Nichols, tbh, but he thinks he’s a lot smarter and more insightful than he actually is.)

    Who amongst us….?

    @JR:  2) Hosting a LMM musical number was tone-deaf and took something away from the remembrance today. Fortunately, the first point is the only thing people will ultimately recall, if they recall anything at all.

    I’m almost to the point where I press play on that video so I can have an opinion of the song. Almost.

  100. 100.

    laura

    @Mike in NC: Your fervent hope is mine too. I want the entire rotted log kicked over and tfg, the dirty dozen who trooped to Moscow on the 4th of July, every traitor to our nation revealed for the seditious, treasonous scum that they are.

  101. 101.

    There go two miscreants

    @Ken: Knit tardigrade puppets and sell them on etsy.

    My grandson has a Christmas tree ornament that’s a glass tardigrade! It’s cute.

  102. 102.

    Ohio Mom

    @Mezz: Everyone here knows Democracy is still at risk. Extremely scarily at risk.

    We liked Pelosi’s speech because it was appropriate for the moment.

    Just like there are no ugly babies or ugly brides — every baby is always cute and adorable, every bride is gorgeous and glowing — there are moments when a Speaker of the House is called to be some combination of solemn and uplifting.

    We are only remarking that once again, Pelosi showed her complete mastery.

    In other times and places, she (and we) will address the peril our country faces. So calm down already.

  103. 103.

    Kalakal

    I don’t get this take on Pelosi’s speech as being some Panglossian “Yay we won and from now on everything is beer and skittles”. She rightly pointed out that America was on the brink of catastrophe a year ago and that on that day the good guys won and that that victory is a cause for celebration.  She then talked about continuing to strive to avert a repeat. She is very, very far from a fool and knows full well that if you want to build on a victory, to move on to further victories you celebrate them. You don’t stand up and say “well that was ok but we’re still fucked”. That way does ensure defeat. It was a victory, we should celebrate it, we should use that energy to help us in the continuing struggle. That’s what she said and it was the right thing to say

  104. 104.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @CaseyL: I’ll say this for Nichols, his specialty with Soviet history and politics gives him some insights.

    This is both hilarious– the once and future pretender to the Republican nomination, scourge of the lesser Ivies and quite possibly the most pompous human being in Washington, groveling before the flop-sweat trust-fund baby who has been fired at least once by every cable news network and spent twenty years trying to make himself a thing by wearing a bow tie (“Get it everybody? I’m like, the Gen-X George Will! Take me seriously! Please”)– both hilarious and potentially terrifying

    Tom Nichols @RadioFreeTom 18m
    One of the Party’s chief ideologists is calling an errant comrade to the floor to explain himself and to engage in serious self-criticism to bring himself back toward the general line of the Party, which is always correct.

    Acyn @Acyn · 23m
    Tucker: You called this a terror attack.. That’s a lie. You told that lie on purpose. I’m wondering why you did
    Cruz: The way I phrased things yesterday, it was sloppy and frankly it was dumb
    Tucker: I don’t buy that. Woah woah woah! I don’t buy that

  107. 107.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Kalakal: Ted loves Big Brother again.

    they didn’t even need to bring in the face-cage with rats

    though there is something rat-like about Tucker

  108. 108.

    Kalakal

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Room 101 for Cruz is that every time he tries to put himself forward as powerful, decisive , a manly man amongst men, a force to be reckoned with, he gets slapped hard and revealed to be a mewling fool. And he knows it. He knows deep inside that were he a king he’d go down in the books as Ted the Toady

  109. 109.

    RaflW

    This, from an AP story today on the Biden speech, is about the best put-down of Lindsey Graham I have ever seen (emphasis added). And it’s in a straight news story. The Minneapolis StarTribune ran it today.

    “What brazen politicization of January 6 by President Biden,” tweeted Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a sometimes Trump confidant who had initially said he had abandoned Trump after the riot only to quickly embrace him again.

  110. 110.

    Kay

    @burnspbesq:

    There’s a good idea in there though:

    What’s more, there’s been no large-scale effort from the White House to organize a Democratic response to local attacks on democracy. Grassroots Republican activists, fervent believers in election fraud lies propagated by agitators like Steve Bannon, have begun competing for previously nonpartisan election administration positions and volunteering en masse for precinct-level election activities.

    It makes absolutely no sense to “organize” it from the White House nor should Biden be the leader of it, because that’s ridiculous and might be illegal, but it would be good to have Dem groups encourage or assist people to compete for nonpartisan election administration positions and precinct level election activities.

  111. 111.

    James E Powell

    @RaflW:

    A lot of Never Trumpers live in a fantasy world where the things they write & say still matter, where the ideas & policies they pushed their whole lives didn’t lead inexorably to Trump, Gosar, Gaetz, Boebert, Taylor Greene, and the rest, where everything they’ve said & done in their careers didn’t turn out to be bullshit.

  114. 114.

    dopey-o

    @Mezz: And sorry, I can’t pick a germane Hamilton clip because I’ve never seen it, have no desire to see it, and could only be paid to see it.

    Gee, I walked out of “Hamilton” thinking I had never seen such an overwhelming love letter to America. Written the son of ‘immigrants,’ from what TFG would call a ‘shit hole country*’’ Yet you speak with great ignorance.

    (*and yes, i am aware that Puerto Ricans are American citizens.)

  115. 115.

    matt the somewhat reasonable

    I’m not really sold on musical guests for this – did they think people wouldn’t watch otherwise?

    I’d like to see some serious and bloody minded stuff about the crimes that were committed and so forth, maybe. Certainly no musical numbers.

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