Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

He really is that stupid.

đŸŽ¶ Those boots were made for mockin’ đŸŽ”

The new republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

This really is a full service blog.

Reality always lies in wait for 
 Democrats.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

Let’s show the world that autocracy can be defeated.

Trump makes a mockery of the legal system and cowardly judges just sit back and let him.

My right to basic bodily autonomy is not on the table. that’s the new deal.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

President Biden is doing good where he can, and getting it done.

I desperately hope that, yet again, I am wrong.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

Donald Jessica Trump found guilty as fuck – May 30, 2024!

This year has been the longest three days of putin’s life.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

Fundamental belief of white supremacy: white people are presumed innocent, minorities are presumed guilty.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Good lord, these people are nuts.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

Many life forms that would benefit from greater intelligence, sadly, do not have it.

The problem people have with Biden’s age is the color of the VPs skin.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Sadly, media malpractice has become standard practice.

You are here: Home / Politics / Politicans / NANCY SMASH! / Open Thread: Nancy Pelosi, Still Standing

Open Thread: Nancy Pelosi, Still Standing

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The morning after the midterm election, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slipped on a sterling silver whistle given to her by her husband, who was attacked last month by an intruder at their San Francisco home.

The whistle was similar to those worn by coaches or drill sergeants, and she wore it at her office after a long night of watching election returns. Staff members were assembled for a pizza party lunch in the same conference room where she has led her party through some of the most tumultuous times at the U.S. Capitol.

She blew the whistle as she entered, and the staff cheered. With the races close and many votes still being counted, it was time for the waiting to begin. The final results will determine which party controls the House — and Pelosi’s own future…

Many expect her to retire rather than lead Democrats in a shrunken minority. The attack on her husband, Paul, made her exit seem even more likely. He was assaulted less than two weeks before the election, when a man invaded their home searching for his wife.

And yet after rising to become perhaps the most consequential House speaker in decades, Pelosi is not one to simply step aside. When asked ahead of the election if she had decided to stay or go, she said only that the attack on her spouse of nearly 60 years would be a factor…

Pelosi’s rise instantly established her place in history — not only as the first female speaker, but as the only speaker in 70 years to have won the office twice, in 2007 and again in 2019.

But it’s what Pelosi did with the gavel — steering the Affordable Care Act into law with Barack Obama and twice impeaching Donald Trump — that seals her legacy as one of the strongest political figures in America.

The day after the election, she arrived in Egypt for the international COP-27 climate change conference as she works to project U.S. influence abroad. One of her first pieces of legislation as a new lawmaker 35 years ago was climate-related…

“A lot of people would wither under the pressure that she’s under,” said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University…

“I see that spirit in her, that no-quit — the grit,” Brinkley added, saying it reminded him of Theodore Roosevelt.

“She takes slings and arrows by the second, from all different corners, but she constantly keeps a kind of political courage, personal integrity, and no-nonsense demeanor about her,” he said. “She’s legendary.”…

Much as it would please the GOP Death Cultists and their media enablers, Pelosi is obviously not gonna step down while the votes are still being counted — or, I suspect, before the end of the lame duck session, while there’s still so much important work to be done on things like the budget. Once we’ve got a final tally on the number of Dems versus Repubs, then it wouldn’t surprise me if she chose to step down, because she’s given everything and more to save our commonwealth from the sociopaths and grifters that beset it. Her husband’s no doubt looking at a long rehabilitation, and they’re both of an age where they shouldn’t have to be scrambling.

Reader Interactions

144Comments

  1. 1.

    hells littlest angel

    She is the greatest.

     

    (Also — this is just so fucking weird — I am beginning to genuinely like Bill Kristol.)

  2. 2.

    Alison Rose

    She’s just such a bad ass, and a formidable politician in every sense of the word. What I love most about her is how all of the demonizing and belittling and insulting shit the right has thrown at her for decades just rolls off her like nothing. She so clearly couldn’t give a single shit what they have to say about her, and I’m sure that rankles them even more.

    So proud she comes from my state! I lived in SF when she was first elected Speaker and there were big celebratory billboards around town about it. It was awesome :)

  6. 6.

    Mike in NC

    I was getting a haircut just after the 2016 election, when some elderly dude seated a few chairs away opined that Donald Trump was going to be the “best president of my lifetime” and in the next breath whined about how awful Nancy Pelosi was. Kept my mouth shut rather than stir up shit with an idiot Republican. Wonder what that guy is thinking these days. Actually, I really don’t care.

  7. 7.

    Elizabelle

    Selfishly, I hope that Nancy Smash remains in Congress for another term, in whatever role.  Power behind the power, if that’s what she selects.

    We are still in perilous times.

    Don’t let that Q lunatic with a hammer take that away from us.

    Remember Sandra Day O’Connor.  That did not work out well, for her or us, her retiring when she did.

  8. 8.

    E&C’s Dad

    Didn’t she commit to stepping down after this term? She’s very difficult to replace, of course, but we do need some leaders who aren’t in their 80s.

  14. 14.

    Jackie

    Nancy will do what’s decided between her and her family.

    Selfishly, should we eke out keeping the House I want her to stay. And, selfishly, should we lose the House by the slimmest numbers, I want her to stay – knowing when it comes to herding cats, Nancy’s the best.

    If we lose the House, McCarthy (or whoever) will be trying to herd cats in the middle of a tornado – lots of tornadoes, one after another after another. Nancy would personally provide the popcorn for us all lol!

  15. 15.

    JoyceH

    On the one hand, I can sympathize with Pelosi wanting to step down. Heck, she’s done a very hard job for years longer than most of us can imagine, she’s well past retirement age, and it would be great to just concentrate on her husband’s recovery and rehab.

    But! On the other hand, the opposition is so toxic these days and the way Pelosi has been vilified for decades, if she does step down, I can imagine some of the GOP’s more unbalanced adherents (and they’re all unbalanced to some degree or other) to get the notion that the appropriate tactic for a hate object on the other side is to go after their family with a hammer.

  17. 17.

    eclare

    She was on Colbert’s show just before the 2018 election, and he asked her about all of the D’s distancing themselves from her.  She said something about how she does not have thin skin, they can say what they need to say.

    “Just win, baby.”

  19. 19.

    Citizen Alan

    @Mike in NC:

    At this point, I just look at Republicans who say crap like that straight in the eye and say as coldly as possible “Agree to disagree.” and then pointedly ignore them. I have accepted the fact that once I get a job outside of Mississippi, my sister and I will probably never speak again. And we haven’t even been arguing (although she did admit that she was a 2-time Trump voter and really likes Desantis), but we have an 8-year age difference, and with both our parents dead, we have absolutely nothing in common.

  20. 20.

    Citizen Alan

    @Elizabelle:

    I can see Nancy (regardless of the results) stepping aside but completing this term rather than stepping down and leaving the Dems down a vote until a special election can be held. And I have nothing but contempt for O’Conner. She cast the deciding vote to make Bush president. And he repaid her by replacing her with a man committed to overturning every major opinion associated with her. Are there any prominent O’Conner opinions that have survived the last 10 years? I know her abortion and Establishment Clause opinions have been flushed down the toilet.

  21. 21.

    MattF

    Well, if the Ds get a one-vote majority and Pelosi resigns, that makes a zero-vote majority. Not good. Pelosi is simply smarter and harder-working than any dozen of her Congressional colleagues put together, and I’m reluctant to see that go away. Of course, if she decides it’s time to go, then bon voyage and thanks for all the fish.

  22. 22.

    Ohio Mom

    Pelosi will not leave us high and dry if she retires, she will be mentoring — I assume she has already been mentoring — new leadership.

  24. 24.

    gwangung

    I’d surprised if anybody other than Hakeem Jeffries was the next leader. And I’d be almost as surprised if she left the House and Jeffries before he gets acclimated to the office.

  25. 25.

    Redshift

    @hells littlest angel: The weirdest thing is that it wasn’t just that Kristol was on the other side, or was a neocon, and he certainly wasn’t as personally odious as lots of others. It was that he was reliably wrong about everything. Like you could have made money always being against him. And now he isn’t. So was he actually smart enough to know better, and just parroting the party line knowing it was wrong? Or did he convince himself all that was right?

  27. 27.

    Captain C

    So what happens if the Republicans have 218 or 219 seats, and in January or February 4-5 of them get indicted in the January 6 probe?  Do we have a temporary Democratic majority, and if so, do we get one more short round of Speaker Pelosi (or maybe Speaker Jeffries)?  Imagine the contrast:  2-3 months of temporary Democratic majority and another good bill or two passed, then back to the goat rodeo after the special elections.

  28. 28.

    Ohio Mom

    On a completely unrelated note, took a Covid test earlier this evening and it was negative. That was a long eight days, and I’m still tired.

    Now for Ohio Dad and Son to get better. I had a head start and a course of Paxlovid, probably going to be at least the first part of next week for those two.

  29. 29.

    Geminid

    @E&C’s Dad: Pelosi did not exactly promise to step aside this year, back in November of 2018 when she turned back a challenge from ten or so caucus members. But I think she will, and that the decision was made earlier this year and is not contingent on whether Democrats end up a majority or minority.

    I expect we’ll hear from her about this soon. If she steps aside I think Hoyer and Clyburn will too. There would be contested caucus elections either before or after Thanksgiving, depending on how quickly close races are resolved.

    This will be spectacular fight- in the media and among outside activist groups. But I believe the next three ranking members of House leadership will win the top three posts and without too much trouble. That would be Hakeem Jeffries (NY), Katherine Rice (MA) and Pete Aguilar (CA). Jeffries is 51, Rice is 59, and Aguilar is 42.

  31. 31.

    Sure Lurkalot

    Nancy Smash is irreplaceable, in the sense that she’s a jumble of immense innate political savvy and decades of lessons learned. I hope whoever succeeds her holds her close as a mentor and as an example of grit, compassion and public service.

  33. 33.

    WendyBinFL

    Whenever Nancy Smash decides to retire, she’ll be replaced by another San Francisco Democrat. When that happens, Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will probably take up her mantle in leading House Dems.

  34. 34.

    bbleh

    @Elizabelle: @E&C’s Dad: @Baud: @Jackie: @Citizen Alan: @Ohio Mom: @Geminid:  I expect she will (1) stay in Congress, (2) step back at some point from the senior leadership role, either ASAP from the Speakership if by some chance the Dems retain the majority or relatively soon as Minority Leader if they don’t, (3) remain a potent force behind the scenes (because duh! what new Speaker or Minority Leader wouldn’t want Nancy advising them?!), and (4) within another few years, when she’s sure things are stable, retire from Congress.

    (And in the meantime, I hope she settles some scores, not least ones with people who encouraged behavior like the attack on her husband.  If indeed she has decided on an exit strategy, she will have very few fks left to give, and I would really like to see Nancy Unchained.

  36. 36.

    James E Powell

    @Ohio Mom:

    Good to hear. It was ten days before I tested negative & two after that before I felt normal. Can’t imagine what it would have been like if I weren’t vaccinated. Now, I suppose, he are as immune as we can get, no?

  40. 40.

    Geminid

     

     

    @Captain C: Any Republican House members who get indicted will likely not leave their seats until convicted, if then. They can only be expelled from the House by a 2/3d’s vote.

  41. 41.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Does anyone know, is there (yet) a decent, let alone good, biography of Nancy Pelosi? If so, I’d love a recommendation. If not, I wish a motherfucker historian would get on that task right smartish.

  42. 42.

    Suzanne

    I deeply admire Nancy Pelosi for reasons apart from her politics. It is an amazing thing for a woman to raise her kids and then go start a political career.

    Foodwise, I decided to indulge myself with one of my very favorite meals ever: a bowl of pasta with lemon, parmesan, ricotta, and basil. I am too old (and not hot enough) to go to a club, so I put on dance music, put my apron in over my sweats and slippers, and dance around my kitchen while I cook.

  44. 44.

    Kevin

    I don’t know much about her until recently but just the last 4-6 years of service probably seems like a lifetime to her. she deserves a comfortable retirement. But my guess is she’s savvy enough to wait for the right time politically.

  45. 45.

    bbleh

    @Captain C: @Geminid:  Concur.  Throwing people out is not just a nuclear option, it’s like launching ALL the missiles.  (Plus I rather doubt any sitting MCs will be convicted of crimes related to 1/6.)

  48. 48.

    Ohio Mom

    @eclare: Ohio Son is too young and without the risk factors that allow you to be prescribed Paxlovid; Ohio Dad’s doctor told him he’d probably manage well enough without it, call him if his oxygen levels dropped.

    That was a good guess on the part of Ohio Dad’s doctor, what he has is more like a head cold. My Covid was very flu-like and I have asthma, so I got the anti-viral. It does leave a rotten taste in your mouth but it works fast.

    Back to the topic of the post, I do not worry about the next steps, I have deep trust that Pelosi’s got this, whether she stays or goes. She’s a master strategist after all.

  49. 49.

    Geminid

    @SiubhanDuinne: I am looking forward to Speaker Pelosis memoirs. I may have to wait a while, but as my late friend Chris used to point out, “it will be good when you get it.”

  51. 51.

    Scout211

    @SiubhanDuinne: That’s a good question!

    This one  on Amazon is the most recent, with the best reviews:

    Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power Hardcover – April 20, 2021by Susan Page (Author)

    I counted 9 books written about her on Amazon

  52. 52.

    Geminid

    @JPL: I don’t  know. I’m sure he’d like to tell his colleagues, “All right you lazy fucks! Let’s see how one you does with this crappy job.”

  53. 53.

    JPL

    So I’m streaming CNN and Wolf keeps saying any minute now, we will have Nevada results.   Of course, some of the votes will come at 10:30 so not any minute now.

  54. 54.

    Suzanne

    @Ohio Mom: So one of my cousins had a terrible reaction to Paxlovid. She and I have both had sinus problems, but hers are worse than mine and she has asthma. Paxlovid have her terrible acid reflux, which triggers her asthma attacks. So she didn’t take the full course. She had a harder time with COVID than I did.

    I think I got RSV a couple of weeks ago, and I am just now feeling back to normal. The hoarseness just went on and on.

  55. 55.

    West of the Rockies

    @Citizen Alan:

    I have a younger sister with whom I have nothing in common.  She is an Orange County Prosperity Gospel evangelical who believes I am hell-bound because I don’t believe as she does.

    Meh.

  56. 56.

    Jackie

    @JPL: I heard around 8:00 local time. I do know by law, Nevada has to finish counting all the mail in votes by 5:00 local time.

  57. 57.

    Ken

    @Geminid: Say a Republican is convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison, where they can’t vote, but refuses to resign. Should the Democrats cooperate to provide the 2/3 to expel the criminal, or just let the Republicans soldier on with a vacancy?

  59. 59.

    Spanky

    “It’s time to raise the voting age!” A WaPo Opinion piece.

    Relax, it’s Alexandra Petri, and the suggested age is 50.

  60. 60.

    raven

     

    Dolly Parton is the latest recipient of Jeff Bezos’ Courage and Civility Award recipient.
    “Jeff and I are so proud to share that we have a new Bezos Courage and Civility Award winner — a woman who gives with her heart and leads with love and compassion in every aspect of her work,” Bezos’ girlfriend, Lauren Sanchez, posted on Instagram alongside a video of their speech Friday before awarding the grant to the country music legend. “We can’t wait to see all the good that you’re going to do with this $100 million award, @DollyParton.”

  63. 63.

    Martin

    Just to be clear, she’s in D+60 district. Even if she were to retire, Dems aren’t losing that seat. I hope she does what’s best for her and her family. She’s earned it.

  68. 68.

    Geminid

    @Ken: I really could not say. But between pre trial motions and preparations and post conviction appeals, I don’t think anyone would be imprisoned until the second half of 2023 at the earliest.

  69. 69.

    eclare

    @SiubhanDuinne:   There is an excellent Frontline documentary on her.  I saw it a few months ago…you may be able to stream it on PBS or get it at the library.  It started when she was a child in Baltimore and how her family’s politics influenced her.

  72. 72.

    TriassicSands

    House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slipped on a sterling silver whistle…

    Oh, no, did she hurt herself when she fell? This might be seen as a poor way to describe Pelosi putting the whistle around her neck.

    @Alison Rose:

    Rubin has been an unrelenting critic of Trump, but her politics are neo-conservative and she supported the GOP for many years as it progressively slid into fascism. Only Trump and the party’s subservience to Trump made Rubin part ways with the Republican Party. She’s pro-choice, but supported the anti-choice Republican Party year after year, which ultimately resulted in the Dobbs decision.

    Both deserve credit for finally accepting the truth about Trump, but Cheney voted against his first impeachment and voted for him in 2020. That is no friend of Democrats or the Democratic agenda. Yes, it would be better to have Cheney in Wyoming’s one House seat than the Trump cultist who replaces her, but her voting record is abhorrent.

  74. 74.

    Alison Rose

    @bbleh:

    And in the meantime, I hope she settles some scores

    She did say she wanted to punch trump in the face on the video in the last hearing. I would pay cold hard cash to see that happen.

  76. 76.

    Ken

    @Geminid: So we’re not streamlining the process so the arrest and execution are on the same day, and the family is billed for the bullet? I could swear the Republicans were cheering for that a couple weeks ago.

  77. 77.

    JPL

    OT  Don’t mock me, but on Next Door there have been incidents of deer attacking dogs?  Is that really a thing?

  78. 78.

    Jackie

    @JPL: MSNBC just changed the release time to approximately 7:30 et. Nevada must have got the counting done faster than anticipated! Kornacki is refreshing his tablet every few minutes lol

  83. 83.

    JPL

    @Spanky: Little Finch likes to go out early and we heard coyotes nearby and tend to do our business and come inside.   I’ve seen deer nearby, but a neighbor has seen them in my yard.  Just another thing to worry about.   ha They’d run from little Finch.   He has a big bark.

  84. 84.

    TriassicSands

    @Jackie:

    Pelosi presents a dilemma. She’s way too old. But she is one of the great Speakers in our history and she’s still doing a stellar job. We need someone with her skills in the House, but she’s going to be replaced eventually and I’d hate to see her suddenly deteriorate and become a subject of ridicule like Feinstein. I wish her well. She’s invaluable.

    Looking at the list Cole put up in an earlier thread of the senators up for re-election in 2024, it is also obvious that most Democratic senators are too old to appeal to some of the younger voters we need.  A lot can happen  to individual cognition after the age of 70, and there is no way to know which candidates will be negatively affected. Candidates need to know when to call it quits and assist in a transition to promising, younger women and men. Like many athletes, however, they hang on too long.

    Eek, you spelled eke correctly. Well done.

  86. 86.

    Geminid

    @Jackie: Was that Jaime Herrera Butler’s seat? If it is, that would be the second seat where a Republican Impeacher lost their primary and then a Democrat won. The first was in western  Michigan where Peter Meijer was primaried out and then Hillary Scholten won on November 8.

  89. 89.

    TriassicSands

    @JPL:

    There are two neo-cons that write columns for the Washington Post — Rubin and Max Boot. I’ve read most of both of their columns and Boot seems to have been affected more by Trump than Rubin. He’s admitted his past mistakes, whereas Rubin has not. She’s entirely about the present and as far as i can tell has never reconsidered any of her old ways. I think they both remain neo-cons at heart, but Rubin seems to worship Cheney and if by some miracle Cheney took over the GOP, Rubin would once again be a devoted Republican. Boot might be more cautious.

  91. 91.

    Jeffro

    @Mike in NC: “some elderly dude seated a few chairs away opined that trump was going to be the “best president of my lifetime”…kept my mouth shut rather than stir up shit”

    Probably a good call – no need to waste energy on someone who meant that trumpov would be the most openly racist president in his lifetime.

  92. 92.

    Jackie

    @ALurkSupreme: This who she beat:

    ”Kent’s alignment with Trump and the most conservative House Republicans, including Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, opened the door for Gluesenkamp Perez. He called for all weapons available to the military, including machine guns, to be available to the public. He supported a national abortion ban, with no exceptions, and called for Dr. Anthony Fauci to be charged with murder.”

    https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/democrat-marie-gluesenkamp-perez-defeats-republican-joe-kent-in-wa-house-race/

  94. 94.

    PJ

    @JPL: Rubin may not call herself one, but she is still a Republican (like Josh Barro, or Andrew Sullivan, who are anti-Trump but believe the Democratic Party should adopt their “values” to appease them).  Just before the mid-terms, she had a piece calling for Joe Biden to step down for the good of the country.

  96. 96.

    Jeffro

    @bbleh:If indeed she has decided on an exit strategy, she will have very few fks left to give, and I would really like to see Nancy Unchained.

    Whether soon or right after the 2024 election (maybe at the 2024 DNC?) I hope she gets a prime-time speech and names names.  It’ll be good for her and great for the country!

  98. 98.

    lowtechcyclist

    “A lot of people would wither under the pressure that she’s under,” said Douglas Brinkley, a professor of history at Rice University


    We’ve seen those videos of Pelosi on 1/6/21 where she was cool as a cucumber as the barbarians stormed the Capitol.  If she didn’t wither under that sort of pressure, it’s hard to imagine what it would take.

  99. 99.

    CaseyL

    @ALurkSupreme:

    Marie Gluesenkamp Perez has defeated Republican Joe Kent in Washington’s 3rd Congressional District.

    Just wanted to see that again. This race was a nail-biter, and very gratifying to win (not my district, but my state).​

  101. 101.

    Suzanne

    So Tiffany Trump got married today. Not a peep out of TFG. Thank God.

    Her dress is beautiful and she looks great. She’s prettier than Ivanka.

  102. 102.

    CaseyL

    @Kent: And thank you for that!

    I do wonder if she’ll turn out to be a Blue Dog.  Seems likely, with her background, but we’ll see. (It’s not just Gluesenkamp Perez; I wonder that about any other Democrat who won in a red-to-reddish district.)

  103. 103.

    PJ

    @TriassicSands: ​
      Unlike many commenters on this here website, I don’t think there is an age limit past which someone is “way too old” to be doing something. Whether someone is mentally or physically capable is a completely different question, and there are many people currently in Congress, regardless of their age, who would not be capable of being a good Speaker.

    Pelosi, on the other hand, has been a great Speaker, and right now there is no one apparent who can consistently wrangle 218 Democrats into passing transformative legislation like she has. God knows, she owes no one anything and should retire if she thinks that’s what’s best for her family. But it’s my wish that, if the Democrats hold the majority, she remain Speaker for two more years to make sure we continue to make progress.

  104. 104.

    Kent

    @CaseyL: I sort of know her.  She is a Reed college Econ grad and super progressive.  She just ran a really smart and tight campaign.

    She will likely focus on rural economic issues but from a progressive frame.  Exactly what the Democratic Party needs. Basically a log cabin AOC.

  105. 105.

    Jackie

    @Kent: Yup, and now eight of Washington’s 10 House members will be Democrats!

    Sadly, my District – CD 4 – is still blood red. 

  107. 107.

    TriassicSands

    I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this yet, but they just declared Gluesenkamp Perez the winner in her House race in Washington State. That is a flip and means that the fascists are down to only two representatives from Washington State in D.C.

    Kim Schrier won her race, keeping her seat in an iffy district that she flipped in the past. And neither Schrier nor Gluesenkamp Perez is old, which could bode well for the future. Two Republican representatives from WA voted to impeach Trump. One of them lost in the primary to the election-denier-liar who ran against Gluesenkamp Perez. The other actually won reelection. That leaves only the odious McMorris Rogers in the House from WA.

  108. 108.

    Formerly disgruntled in Oregon

    
how amazing would it be to watch on January 3rd as Nancy Pelosi gets 218 votes for Speaker, and then goes up to take the gavel once again?

    I can’t believe that Bill Kristol wrote that. He’s sure come a long way. Hear, hear!

  109. 109.

    Ken

    @TriassicSands: Before the election, someone commented here that they were hoping to see all the districts touching the Pacific go blue — I think they said there was just one red one. Was that this district?

    Also, they meant the west coast only, though it would be cool if Alaska and Hawaii also went blue.

  110. 110.

    eclare

    @Suzanne:   Her dress was not my style, but it was tasteful, and she did look beautiful.  Glad TFG found a smile mask.

    Did you see what Ivanka wore to the rehearsal dinner?

  111. 111.

    James E Powell

    @Jackie:

    I am getting sick of everyone in the press/media calling people like Taylor Green, Gaetz, Boebert “most conservative.” Liz Cheney is conservative, very conservative; those people are anti-American, insurrectionist Trump cult members.

  113. 113.

    Kent

    @Ken: yep this was the one and that was me.   Unfortunately it looks like we will lose one in OR.

    And we meant the entire Pacific.  Both Alaska and Hawaii are blue.

  114. 114.

    Suzanne

    @eclare: I saw that Ivanka and Lara wore almost-identical dresses to the bridal shower and I CACKLED. #petty

    That was literally a 90210 episode.

  116. 116.

    Jackie

    @James E Powell: I concur. I prefer President Biden’s definition: Mega MAGA.

    There’s nothing conservative about them. The Seattle Times is conservative-leaning, unfortunately.

  117. 117.

    Suzanne

    @eclare: You’re right. It’s terrible. One might even call it deplorable.

    I will never understand why rich people look like shit.

  118. 118.

    Geminid

    @CaseyL: Blue Dogs now are very little different than members of the “moderate” New Democrat Caucus (and they are in turn not so different than most Progressive Caucus members). These affiliations are in large part a matter of branding, I think. Ms. Gluesencamp Perez will vote like she’s gonna vote no matter what label she chooses. And she’ll most likely be a reliable vote for her caucus.

  122. 122.

    James E Powell

    @Geminid:

    Tough to know what labels & classifications mean. The press tend to adopt whatever the Republicans are using. Thus, Joe Biden, formerly known as the senator from MBNA, is now a socialist while the people who promoted an armed insurrection against the congress are merely conservative

    Query. What issue positions would mark the current version of Blue Dogs? What are Biden & the Democratic senate & house doing that they would disagree with?

    I get the state commercial interest issues, like Manchin with coal & energy, but what do you think the differences would be? Top bracket tax rates? Anything else?

  123. 123.

    Kent

    @Geminid: I think there is zero chance she will undermine the party on any issue.  She ran very hard on abortion rights and labor (union) rights.

    What I predict is that she will carve out the fairly unoccupied spaced as a rural resource management Dem (timber, fishing, etc.).  You will see her doing things like tromping around the national forests in boots talking about better forest management and walking salmon streams talking about preserving salmon habitat.  That sort of thing.  In fact I predict she will form some sort of rural Dem caucus with Mary Peltola of Alaska and a few others like that.  Which is EXACTLY what Democrats need if we are going to claw back some red spaces.

    She will also talk a LOT about people who build things, fix things, and work with their hands.

    It’s all good.

  126. 126.

    CaseyL

    @Kent: That would be amazing and terrific, because you’re right: we do need to make inroads on the non-professional class voters, and she sounds like just the ticket.

    My friend just called me to say that the latest Nevada data dump came in, and Cortes Masto has pulled ahead of Laxalt by a about 2,000 votes.  She also said the race was called for Cortes Masto, but I’m not sure that’s correct.

    OHMYGOD – They DID call the race.  Dems keep control of the Senate!!!

  133. 133.

    TriassicSands

    @Ken:

    Yep, this was the last R district in the far west. Out east it’s a different story, but now they are down to only two Representatives, with is great.

    And now they’ve called Nevada for Cortez Masto, which gives the Dems control of the Senate no matter what happens in Georgia. Cole made a point about the importance of Warnock winning, but in some ways the most important reason for him to win is to prevent the worst, dumbest candidate ever from being elected. Let’s hope that the fact that they can’t gain control in the Senate will keep enough fascists home to allow Warnock to get a full, well-deserved term.

  134. 134.

    Jacel

    @West of the Rockies: Even during the days of his work for GWB, when I opposed just about any opinion David Frum expressed, I respect his ability and willingness to describe about any  process or historical situation accurately and clearly. Glad he’s using those talents in better causes more of the time now.

  135. 135.

    Geminid

    @James E Powell: The three ideological caucuses- Blue Dog, New Democrat, and Progressive, can be defined  in that they each have a roster of members. But some of these cross affiliate. For intance, Florida Blue Dogs Stephanie Murphy and Charlie Crist (before he resigned) were also members of the New Democrats. Shontelle Brown is both a New Democrat and a Progressive. And Lauren Underwood and Joyce Beatty are not in any of the three caucuses.

    Some journalists and activists magnify the differences and give the impression that these are two opposing wings. But I doubt if there is much policy difference between the most “right” 40 members of the Progressive and the most “left” members of the New Democrats. A graph of the entire caucus show a bell curve and not a double curve, or in calel terms, a dromedary , not a Bactrian.

    Probably the biggest difference between these caucuses is the character of the members’ districts. Almost all the Progressives represent deeper blue districts, while the New Democrats tend to represent lighter blue to purple seats. Most of the Blue dogs flipped Republican seats that are now purple, maybe trending blue. Lou Correa is an example of this in southern California.

    Blue Dog Ed O’Halleran lost Tiesday because his Arizona seat seat trended Republican, while another, Jim Cooper (TN), retired when Nashville Republicans redrew his district.

  136. 136.

    sab

    @JPL: When my pitbull lived next door with her previous owner, a pregnant doe moved into the yard and had twins. She attacked the dog every chance she got. The poor dog couldn’t leave the deck to go pee in the yard.

    This year that deer (or one that looks just like her) is in our yard being just as threatening. She has big pointy hooves. We don’t mess with her.

  138. 138.

    trucmat

    @TriassicSands:

    I absolutely read that Pelosi had fallen and so scanned down quickly to see if she was hurt. Thankfully she had just put a chain around her neck and had not stepped on a whistle and fallen.

  140. 140.

    leeleeFL

    @hells littlest angel: I agree……on both statements!  He really had a Road to Damascus moment with Trump!  He always had talent with words.  Now that he wields that talent for good things, a person like me can give him props.  I hope he knows his political re-alignment has earned him a respect he would never have gotten previously.

  143. 143.

    Geminid

    @leeleeFL: William Kristol’s father, Irving Kristol, was one of the original “Neo-Conservatives.” Back in the early 1970s, someone said that a Neo-Conservative was a Liberal who got mugged.

    One might say that William Kristol is a Neo-Conservative who got mugged, by Trump and by Trumpism.

  144. 144.

    Mimi

    @Suzanne:  I thought Tiff was smart enough to stay away from her family. She’s marrying money, so she doesn’t need anything from them.

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