Rest now, sister.
We have the watch and I'll see you in Valhalla.
RIP to the GOAT— Cameron 🇺🇸🗽🦅 (@cameroncorduroy.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 11:38 AM
BREAKING: Nancy Pelosi won't seek reelection, ending her storied career in the U.S. House.
— The Associated Press (@apnews.com) November 6, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi will not seek reelection to the U.S. House, bringing to a close her storied career as not only the first woman in the speaker’s office but arguably the most powerful in American politics…
Pelosi, appearing upbeat and forward-looking as images of her decades of accomplishments filled the frames, said she would finish out her final year in office. And she left those who sent her to Congress with a call to action to carry on the legacy of agenda-setting both in the U.S. and around the world.
“My message to the city I love is this: San Francisco, know your power,” she said. “We have made history. We have made progress. We have always led the way.”
Pelosi said, “And now we must continue to do so by remaining full participants in our democracy and fighting for the American ideals we hold dear.”
The decision, while not fully unexpected, ricocheted across Washington, and California, as a seasoned generation of political leaders is stepping aside ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Some are leaving reluctantly, others with resolve, but many are facing challenges from newcomers eager to lead the Democratic Party and confront President Donald Trump.
Pelosi, 85, remains a political powerhouse and played a pivotal role with California’s redistricting effort, Prop 50, and the party’s comeback in this week’s election. She maintains a robust schedule of public events and party fundraising, and her announced departure touches off a succession battle back home and leaves open questions about who will fill her behind-the-scenes leadership role at the Capitol.
Former President Barack Obama said Pelosi will go down in history as “one of the best speakers the House of Representatives has ever had.”…
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Today, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi announced that she will not seek reelection and is retiring at the end of her term.
From her time working with Harvey Milk in San Francisco to her tenure as the first female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi is the definition of a champion for equality.— Human Rights Campaign (@hrc.org) November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
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The Evolution of Ms. Nancy Pelosi 💙
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In terms of marshaling votes, Pelosi was the most effective speaker in my lifetime.
— Kevin M. Kruse (@kevinmkruse.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 11:09 AM
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Godspeed Speaker Pelosi on your retirement.
— KAMALA NATION (@kamalanation.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 9:43 AM
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Every day this year has been a further reminder that Nancy Pelosi only made it look easy.
— Charlotte Clymer (@charlotteclymer.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 9:19 AM
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There will be so many things to say about the legendary Nancy Pelosi's transformational tenure in Congress—but for now, let's start with "Thank you, Madam Speaker."
— Hillary Rodham Clinton (@hillaryclinton.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 12:00 PM
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Nancy Pelosi
Greatest. Speaker. Ever.— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 4:51 PM
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1. Nancy Pelosi, the first and only woman to serve as House Speaker, announces her retirement from federal elective office.
Reminder: Pelosi was 47 years old and a mother of five when she was first elected in 1987.— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yasharali.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
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A shrewd political strategist, California Rep. Nancy Pelosi has had an unprecedented career in Congress. First elected in a special election in 1987, Pelosi went on to become one of the most effective leaders of the Democratic party. n.pr/4oNT0F6
— NPR (@npr.org) November 6, 2025 at 9:39 AM
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Speaker Pelosi is a truly historic figure. Her record of accomplishment as Speaker is unparalleled.
And she’s as compassionate as she is tough.
Nancy Pelosi is the GOAT – she will be missed by the nation. And by me.— Eric Holder (@ericholder.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 9:24 AM
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For almost four decades, Nancy Pelosi has served the American people and worked to make our country better. No one was more skilled at bringing people together and getting legislation passed – and I will always be grateful for her support of the Affordable Care Act.
— Barack Obama (@barackobama.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 11:47 AM
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As an antibully advocate in the Texas school system, the main lesson I used to impress upon kiddos was “never give your power away.”
Speaker Emirita Nancy Pelosi instilled that lesson upon ME decades ago, especially as a woman.
#ThankYouNancy, and congratulations on your retirement! 💖🙏🏽— Lisa Reyna Loe (@lisaloe.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 1:31 PM
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In light of Pelosi announcing her retirement, here's my favorite image of her from back when the USA was on the right side of history.
— Just Kevin (@kevinleecaster.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 1:47 PM
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Kudos to Nancy Pelosi – for being fierce when needed!
Enjoy your retirement.
#PelosiRetirement— MBlue.Bsky.social 🌺MB🌺 (@mblue.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 10:47 AM
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Thank you for your service, Nancy Pelosi!
— WuTangIsForTheChildren (@wutangforchildren.bsky.social) November 6, 2025 at 10:07 AM
On The Road – UncleEbeneezer – Enchanted Fall Color 2025: Winding Down (Part 4 of 4)
schrodingers_cat
She was a great Speaker. Greatest I have seen. Leading the coup against Biden last year was not her best moment.
p.a.
She has to be top 5, maybe the leaders during the New Deal or Civil Rights legislation era ’63-’66 could be higher, but I assume they had more Dems to work with.
WTFGhost
@schrodingers_cat: Friend, if someone had to give Biden the news that the time was “now” (then), it was best that it was Ms. Pelosi. It would have sucked from anyone, but, best from a colleague who valued the same sort of things.
Chief Oshkosh
And she did it all with panache.
RevRick
@p.a.: They definitely had more to work with. Supermajorities, in fact. But then those sprawling majorities were ridiculous coalitions of Southern Democrats and northern liberals. Today’s Democratic Representatives and Senators are far more ideologically aligned.
Raoul Paste
After one of her major successes, I remember that the country flooded her office with roses. A remarkable person.
NotMax
Repeated from the wee hours. Open thread FYI.
Finally, wings in space.
“Sir, we have to close the grilling gap!”
;)
mappy!
You don’t simply push agendas, you count votes. She has bestowed continuity. Well done.
Ben Cisco
Hail to the GOAT!!
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
Suzanne
Well said, Secretary Clinton.
I admire Nancy Pelosi greatly and I hope she and her husband enjoy make many happy memories during her retirement.
la caterina
@rikyrah: Good Morning!
rikyrah
For the 20+ million people who have received access to Healthcare because of the ACA..
THANK YOU, NANCY PELOSI.
She wouldn’t give up when things looked dark for the possible passage of OBAMACARE.
rikyrah
Need suggestions.
Peanut bought some Brie.
She wants to make baked Brie.
Fig Jam or Apricot Jam?
I’ve never had either, but the recipes that I have looked up have one or the other consistently in it
If there is another jam that you can suggest, I am open to it.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: Fig jam.
I have made baked brie with a homemade sweet and hot and sweet cranberry mango relish that I make. It was a big hit.
J.
@rikyrah: Both jams are delicious with Brie. You can’t go wrong. Have a taste of each and then decide.
p.a
@rikyrah: On taste, I vote fig, but it is very seed-y, which could bother some people.
Applebutter might work
Deputinize America
@rikyrah: Fig – it’s amazing.
NotMax
@rikyrah
If you can get your hands on it, recommend blackcurrant jam.
prostratedragon
@rikyrah:
Because his is apple season and I like various cheeses with fresh apple, I thought of something along those lines, perhaps baked apples or apple syrup (boil down some cider). This author agrees. He has many other suggestions.
Deputinize America
@schrodingers_cat: Kroger’s Private Select premium brand has a bacon pepper jelly that is absolutely wonderful – smoky, savory, sweet, with texture.
schrodingers_cat
@rikyrah: I have also made baked brie with pesto and pistachios. Unfortunately for me I can no longer digest dairy. So my brie eating days are long gone.
The Red Pen
A lot of people on the left made a habit of bitching ceaselessly about how Nancy Pelosi was betraying them. Maybe she did sometimes, but she got shit done and sometimes, I think, she would recognize that “this shit isn’t going to fly” so she settled on something she could get to fly.
Naturally, her critics from the left would shout that she just isn’t trying enough or that she was going to fail in her alternate plan to which I would always say, “Never underestimate Nancy Pelosi’s political instincts.”
I attended Netroots Nation 2008 and Pelosi made an appearance. Before she came out, the host gave the audience a minute or two to get the booing out of their systems. They did. Then Pelosi came out and crushed it. Only Code Pink violated the request not to be disruptive during the appearance (as they do).
Ben Cisco
@rikyrah: Good morning!!
NotMax
Morning grin. Closed caption funnies from a couple of hours ago.
Didn’t catch the entire sentence well enough to replicate it verbatim, but it included in the dialogue the word “polliwogs,” which the CC displayed as “Polish dogs.”
:)
narya
My two favorite Pelosi moments: First, the way she led during the J6 riot–she just took charge. It was her who said we WILL go back into session. Second, that image of her walking out of the White House during Cheetolini’s first terrm, in that red coat, putting on her sunglasses. Also, I saw a thread on Bluesky this morning about how she has supported trans folks; I wasn’t aware of that and was glad to see it.
narya
@rikyrah: Honestly, both. Not together, but they’re both quite good. I’ve also seen a Bonne Maman seasonal trio (Cranberry Cherry, Fig, Pumpkin Spice) that would have been a nice choice, but it’s out of stock.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@rikyrah: first, good morning.
Fig jam is delicious but if you’re willing to make your own apricot “jam” I recommend following a Julia Child recipe (just the apricot part). It keeps well and is wonderful.
Julia Child’s Apricot Dacquoise
piratedan
as noted, she may have not been the best in front of the cameras, but she showed how important it was to actually do the work. She helped draft and craft legislation that would help people. She then lobbied the body for votes to pass said legislation. once completed, she moved onto the next item.
I look specifically to the first 120 days when she was the speaker during new administrations, wielding the urgency of the needs of the nation, in getting votes lined up before the legislation was even introduced. Working with her peers to get a whirlwind of measures passed, all unfucking previous GOP travesties.
I can only hope that those she helped nurture will do the same, because if/when we take out Democracy back, there needs to be a lot done in a hurry to prevent our catastrophic slide into the abyss. I hope like hell that there is SOMEBODY drafting and crafting as we speak. Legislation to delineate which body has authorization to do what, enforcement guardrails, returning power from where it has been conceded and simply just fixing a bunch of shit.
Geminid
@schrodingers_cat: Are people in your part of Massachusetts growing figs yet? Fig trees were fairly scarce in Central Virginia a few decades ago and need special care. With our warmer climate they’re easy to grow now.
Suzanne
@narya: My favorite Pelosi moment:
Suzanne
@rikyrah: I vote for apricot, but I’m sure either would be great. Slivered almonds would be a nice add, too.
There is a white Stilton cheese with apricots that they sell at Trader Joe’s, and I get that on occasion as a treat. It’s fantastic.
Geminid
@piratedan: I read that Democrats are targeting Rep. Rob Wittman (VA01) now. Your district doesn’t look as stretchy as it did three days ago.
schrodingers_cat
@Geminid: Not that I know of. Pears, apples, plums and peaches are the common fruit trees that grow here.
I know some hobbyists who grow stuff like bananas in their green houses.
zhena gogolia
That first tweet made me think she had died. Glad that’s not it.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: She has announced her retirement.
narya
@Suzanne: Iconic. I would love to know what she did out of public view; my guess is that a fair amount was (a) behind closed doors and (b) one-on-one, which means it would be difficult to fully grasp it all. What we CAN see is the results, and, damn.
Ohio Mom
@rikyrah: My thought is, which leftover jam are you most likely to use up? Because you are going to have leftover jam.
I would end up using the apricot more than I would the fig, but that’s me.
p.a
@Geminid: Here in RI they have to be boxed/insulated to overwinter. The 1st generation Italians & Portuguese would actually dig a ditch, uproot & drop the tree into it, bury it for the winter, & replant in spring. You gotta REALLY like figs to go through that. Sometimes if you just plant a fig tree for the first time, the birds don’t realize they’re edible for a season or 2. Then the battle begins. My neighbor had 2 trees for about 6 years, but they became too much work for not enough output. He didn’t want to go through the process of netting them in growing season.
zhena gogolia
I’m not as fond of her as I was before July 2024, but I can watch her tearing up the speech over and over.
lowtechcyclist
@Suzanne: What was the occasion for that? I don’t know how I missed that one. (I assume the ‘he’ was Hair Furor.)
oldgold
The Short-fingered Vulgarian just gave us a political gift. A quote worthy of Marie Antoinette.
As the Orange Menace builds golden ballrooms and pals around with his billionaire buddies at Great Gatsby galas, he said this:
“I don’t want to hear about the affordability.”
Geminid
@schrodingers_cat: People grow banana trees outdoors in Charlottesville now.* My friend Joan had some going for a while, but she eventually had them dug out. The trees didn’t yeild any bananas, but they spread like great big irises.
* We can also grow sweet potatoes and peanuts.
schrodingers_cat
@zhena gogolia: Same.
Scout211
Thank you Speaker Emerita. You served us well.
As has been noted numerous times, Nancy Pelosi was unmatched in her ability to keep the caucus together, push legislation and negotiate with the other side of the aisle. But she was not a charismatic speaker, nor did politics require that in her heyday.
As others have also said, these are different times. We need both powerful negotiators and politicians who can capture the attention of all the vibes voters with powerful words that are quotable while also capturing the attention of the media.
Whether this is a good thing or not, time will tell. But right now, I will extend my sincere thank you and admiration to Speaker Emerita for a job well done. She is one of the greats.
Emily68
As Speaker, Nancy Pelosi is the GOAT. Mike Johnson is not fit to wipe her shoes 👠👠.
lowtechcyclist
@Geminid:
Hmmm…if they grow in C’ville, they’d probably grow here in southern Maryland. I yam intrigued. ;-)
MazeDancer
The reverence in which I held Nancy Pelosi was unsurpassed. She was a heroine of heroines.
Until she knifed Mr. Biden.
piratedan
@Geminid: no it does not look out of reach now. With the insistence that federal workers stay furloughed, troops unpaid, it is an absolute killer here in Virginia, more than a few service members that work on the MD eastern shore bases commute from Virginia and a damn big number live in VA 1. I think that a good number of them are apolitical or lean GOP, but they see that this fiduciary capriciousness is petty and stupid and hits them right between the eyes.
It’s not a burning in effigy angry because that is not who these people are, yet the ballot box results sure indicate where these people are at. Culture War bullshit be damned, they have bills to pay and families to feed.
CliosFanboy
@Geminid:
give it 10 years and we’ll have palm trees in Richmond outside the Governors Mansion.
Mai Naem mobile
I heard an older interview with her. She expected a female president before a female speaker of the house because of the hierarchy and the skilled jockeying in the house. I’d never viewed it that way before. That makes what she did even more impressive. BTW, I haven’t seen much comment about her also being involved in funding for AIDS care and research very early on. Obviously it affected her district particularly hard but it still took courage back then to do that.
prostratedragon
Just what the room was needing.
@MazeDancer: Some day I’d like to see a detailed chronology of that time; my offhand memory is a little different, but facts first.
Geminid
@lowtechcyclist: You oughta give a fig tree a try. I helped my Atlanta friend plant one seven years ago and it started producing figs the third year. He picked well over two hundred this summer. His wife froze a bunch.
HinTN
@NotMax: Damn right!
Anonymous At Work
Waiting for her to step off Capital steps, turn to reporters, and then start unloading like she’s Rambo. “Let’s start with the littlest bitch, Mike Johnson…”
Mr. Bemused Senior
@prostratedragon: he is soooo out of touch. From the Guardian: President jets in to speak at ritzy American Business Forum as millions see their food aid slashed – crisis, what crisis?
Soprano2
@oldgold: Oh man, if a Democrat of any stripe said that it would be fodder for the political press for weeks; they’ll probably ignore it or put it off to “FFOTUS being FFOTUS”.
Nancy Pelosi is a good illustration of how different leaders have different strengths. She wasn’t a good speech giver or a good interview, but she knew how to get things done when it mattered. That is a skill that the way too online people don’t appreciate like they should.
jonas
But it’s Democrats who are the out-of-touch elitists, amirite?
Just look at that parking lot
Loved her just for the fact that whenever she walked in the room, Trump would shit shotgun shells. That’s how scared he was of her.
Belafon
If you would like to build up an urge to punch people, go read most of the replies to the Phil Lewis post, full of people who have no clue how government works.
SFAW
@jonas:
Exactly. In fact, if you keep repeating it, you too could become a pundit for FTFTFNYT, WaPo, or the new! improved! Bari Weiss CBS.
tobie
My late father always called Obamacare Pelosicare. As far as he was concerned, she brought the historic package to the finish line and made it possible for the self-employed and those employed without benefits to get health insurance. He loved Pelosi’s grit, as do I.
On another note: Hillary Clinton’s posts on Bluesky (?) or Twitter (?) have been a model of grace. She congratulated Mamdani very warmly on Nov 5. I feel like I should aim to be like her when it comes to politics.
Wapiti
@narya: I read a piece where a journalist did a ride along with her. Her office was crazy effective – when she was in transit, she’d be making calls. She had aides riding with her, and while she was one the phone with one representative/ donor/ whatever, the aides would be connecting to the office for the next call, so that her time was not wasted.
Suzanne
@Scout211:
Yes. We are a team, an ensemble. We need a broad range of skills and to use our people for their strengths.
Jeffro
LEGEND
Thank you, Madam Speaker!
Now then…in her honor of course…let’s talk about continuing to rack up big Dem wins
(people ‘get’ that trumpov’s tariffs are indeed TAXES that hit/hurt them…even rural/red folks)
narya
@Wapiti: this is my “not surprised” face. That level of organization–and that level of knowing how to deploy staff to maximize the effectiveness of one’s own time–is just on another level.
Citizen Alan
@The Red Pen: Code Pink — one of many groups on the left, who are such poor advocates for their own positions that i’m merely convinced they are secretly bankrolled by the very people they oppose.
Jeffro
@oldgold:
110%
hey Donnie – just because you’d like to wish it away, or just keep telling lies to residents of the FoxBubble, doesn’t make it so
my understanding, per a far superior* president, is that “reality gets a vote”
*which is really all of them of course
jonas
@Wapiti: I got tired and stressed out just reading about that.
WaterGirl
I wish I could find the Nancy Pelosi quote from around the time they were working to get the Affordable Care Act passed, where she said something in the neighborhood of if they put up a wall, we’ll go over it, or maybe it was around it. That would be applicable to this time we are in, too.
If Steeplejack were here, he could surely find the quote, but my google fu is nothing like his or Another Scott’s.
RaflW
@jonas: Two people who cannot, it seems, even fake expressing compassion are 1 & 2 in government. And frankly Mike Johnson comes off as a cold fish, too. Gives us a lot to work with over then next months and years.
But both Trump and Vance look flat out annoyed when any reporter dares to ask about prices, inflation, etc. Vance’s bs about inheriting a ‘disaster’ is wearing really thin – I seem to recall his boss promising some very instant results! And Trump continuing to say gas is two dollars? Totally checked out.
Matt McIrvin
@WaterGirl: My memory of the whole agonizing process of getting the ACA passed is why I can’t credit claims that the Democrats don’t have your interests in mind because they didn’t do A, B or C “when they controlled the government”.
Since the mid-1960s, Democrats have never controlled the government to the extent that they could simply pass what the median Democrat wanted. Now, that’s partly the fault of the party’s own right wing helping the Republicans to obstruct it from doing so. But the center of the party has been in there trying to move things forward, and dealing with an endless series of obstacles.
Betty Cracker
Pelosi was without question the most consequential Speaker of the House in my lifetime. The clowns that followed her into the office sure have put her skills into stark relief!
I’m so old I remember when Pelosi was called a radical. She was out there in full support of gay rights when most politicians were way too chickenshit to do so publicly. She has a lot of courage. I hope she knows what a huge difference she’s made in so many lives and enjoys her retirement.
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: Yes, Pelosi was considered the wild liberal extreme of the party back in her early days in office. She was in a position similar to AOC today.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@WaterGirl: ML sort of works. Here is Google’s response to “pelosi aca quote”
schrodingers_cat
@Citizen Alan: They maybe.
Scout211
As is apparent here and elsewhere, how we react to politicians’ words and actions is like a Rorschach test in real time. We see things differently, react differently, and that’s okay. I hope we all have the grace to accept that others’ opinions are not necessarily our own and we can agree to disagree.
Nancy Pelosi took a hell of a lot of grief in her long tenure. Name calling, threats, severe injury to her husband and countless insults and smears. I am in awe of her ability to keep calm and always present herself in public with that strong, calm face. I really don’t know how she did it.
One of my closest friends was an attorney with a reputation as someone who could be a difficult and relentless negotiator for her clients. We started to drift away from our close friendship as she got more and more engaged with the local business class (Republican leaning) and the local Rotary group. During the Dubya era, she started complaining to me that she couldn’t stand Nancy Pelosi because she was “so strident.” I was shocked to hear that from her.
My response? “What powerful woman has not been accused of being strident?”
My friend just stared at me for a few seconds and then realized she was way off base in her criticism of Nancy Pelosi, who was being criticized just like she herself had been criticized.
Again, I don’t know how Nancy Pelosi did it. But I’m glad she did.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Scout211: from your description I take it you are still friends. If so, I’m glad.
Jackie
@lowtechcyclist:
During the J6 insurrection when Pelosi and Schumer were in hiding while Nancy was working her phone trying to get backup for the Capitol and DC police. Her daughter was filming everything and that was part of the recording.
Scout211
@Mr. Bemused Senior: Thanks. Yes, we stayed friends. Sadly, she died two years ago and I’m still feeling the loss. We were friends for over 40 years.
Craig
She was my Congress Critter for 30 yrs. I met her a few times and she was always cool. Always knew she worked for me.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Scout211: ohhh. My condolences.
Miss Bianca
@rikyrah: Peanut likes brie? She’s been raised right! :)
Fig jam, ftw!
laura
Speaker Emerita Pelosi learned early in life how things work- she was Nancy D’Alesandro, the daughter of Tommy and Big Nancy in Baltimore Maryland, and the D’Alesandro politics were retail, local and enduring. She’s also a practicing Catholic and has always made works the evidence of her faith. She is fearless in the protection and defense of children, has always been a defender of gay Rights. She does not drink and evidence of her cool headedness will forever be ensuring votes were not stolen or spoiled and bringing the House back into session on January 6th- preserving the nation. Shitler was terrified of her. She is a great American. She’s the opposite of move fast and break things and I’m down with that! Never a show pony, always a work horse. She deserves her place in history and her rest and personal life.
I can’t forgive her shiving Biden, but wonder if she does regret that now.
RaflW
From the daily newsletter I get from the local StarTribune
I continue to think the economic sh*t is gonna hit the fan, and when it does, a bunch of companies will start looking at the huge sunk costs they have in AI, with little to really show for it, and all hell is gonna break loose. My broker tries to soothe me, but I remain pessimistic for the near-to-mid term.
OTOH, a staggering economy under a GOP tri-fecta might, maybe, lead to more political change like we saw presaged in VA this week?
Betty Cracker
@Matt McIrvin: I agree and think of that comparison from time to time. The nation’s trajectory over the course of Pelosi’s career shows what’s possible — in both a positive and negative sense.
I remember a conversation decades ago with someone who said it was all well and good for Pelosi to support gay rights since she represented San Francisco but that it wouldn’t fly in the rest of the country. Eventually, it did, but now we’re sadly going back…
schrodingers_cat
@laura: Agreed with everything you wrote here.
OT: Any new art projects/acquisitions?
gene108
She got robust COVID relief through the House in 2020, and the Republican Senate and Republican President went along with her and House Democrats. All the fiscal stimulus that kept the economy from crashing harder during COVID originated with her and House Democrats.
From March 14, 2020
cnn.com/2020/03/13/politics/coronavirus-relief-congress
RaflW
@Betty Cracker: The Six Radical Supremes again dealt another blow to our trans community. But I think both Mamdani openly campaigning for LGBTQ folks, and the Virginia GOP going hell-bent on trans issues and having their ass handed to them suggest the public is not really on board for the retrenchment.
I think there’s a lot of room for Democrats to actually fight back and gain momentum by reclaiming the work to protect all our queer folk. It ain’t over, for sure. Fight the rearguard actions required, and start planning for more progress as younger people (who seem very socially liberal on queerness) to gain their position setting policy.
tam1MI
Yes, that will be an enduring stain on an otherwise admirable record. I’m glad she was able to somewhat redeem herself for that grievous error by her work to pass Proposition 50, and by choosing to exit the House gracefully when she knew the time had come.
Cheryl from Maryland
@rikyrah: My go-to baked brie uses raspberry jam.
Sandia Blanca
@rikyrah: It’s also good with hot pepper jelly!
Omnes Omnibus
@Cheryl from Maryland: That would be my choice.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Sandia Blanca: there’s a good idea.
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: The fact that transphobic appeals utterly failed to move votes on Tuesday suggests that there’s a real public-opinion limit to the LGBT rights backlash. Unfortunately the people in power continue to keep pushing.
Paul in KY
@schrodingers_cat: Please respectfully fuck off on that.
Betty Cracker
@Matt McIrvin: I think that’s true. In the aftermath of 2024, the theory that struck me as most plausible is that Repubs successfully painted Dems as more focused on DEI, trans rights, etc., than on economic issues. It was bullshit! But it was probably one of the messages that persuaded enough angry, low-info voters to throw the election to Trump.
Paul in KY
@Geminid: A banana tree has to get pretty big (more than 20 feet tall) to produce (I think).
Paul in KY
@MazeDancer: Same as comment to The Cat.
Betty Cracker
@Paul in KY: Our producing banana trees aren’t that tall — maybe 10 feet or so. I think the name of the variety (which I forget) includes the word “dwarf,” so maybe they aren’t the typical height?
@Paul in KY: PS: I think Pelosi did what she thought was best for Democrats’ prospects, which is what she did throughout her career. Conveniently for her detractors, you can’t prove a counterfactual. But the best evidence we have suggests running Harris gave us a better shot than running Biden would have.
kindness
I’m a bit taken aback by those of you who state it was Nancy who ‘shived’ Joe Biden. Are any of you saying Joe Biden would have won in ’24 if only we kept supporting him? Even after that abominiable debate when Joe went deer in the headlights? No. Joe would have lost by a much bigger margin than Kamala did. Kamala and Nancy tried to save the Democratic side. They helped up by getting Joe to step aside. It wasn’t their fault far too many of our fellow Americans are misogynists and racists.
On that note, I’ve been amazed at the horribly bad hindsight being displayed over at LG&M over Nancy. So many of them think Nancy should have retired 2 or 3 terms ago. I mean, I’m a big supporter of younger members being elected, but hating on olds because they are old is not strategic, it’s bigotry.
Paul in KY
@laura: Ditto on my response to The Cat and Geminid.
Paul in KY
@tam1MI: Ditto on the others.
Paul in KY
@Betty Cracker: Maybe not or the sub-tropical environment where y’all live just so much better for them. I also could be completely wrong on what I wrote above. Glad y’all get fresh & free bananas!!
laura
@schrodingers_cat: well, I finished a hummingbird mural on the side of the car hole- though now it needs a big ole nasturtium blossom around the bill, so not finished, and I did make the usual art book at hardly Strictly bluegrass; I’m very happy with my Fishman drawing during the Dengue Fever set, but now I’m wrapping up a consulting side hustle doing a compensation survey for staff positions at a housing cooperative. Once that’s finalized I’m going to inventory my art stock and downsize. Those creamy aqua pencils have made scads of colored pens excess. There is a free art cupboard here in Sacramento called the Broadroom and they are going to get all my extra stuff so it doesn’t go to waste. And wait, that’s not all- the side hustle is going to pay for a backyard greenhouse/art studio she shed deluxe, so we can reclaim the second bedroom I hope.
Matt McIrvin
@Betty Cracker: Yeah, the median voter probably thinks of minority civil-rights stuff as something they just don’t want to think about either way, so if you can paint the other side as obsessed with it you win. And it probably helps if you’re the out-of-power opposition.
Geminid
@Matt McIrvin: A poll* of Virginia voters found that Abigail Spanberger had a 13 point advantage over Winsome Sears on the question: who was better able to handle the issue of transgender rights? This was after the Sears campaign had spent two months and a ton of money pounding Spanberger on those issues.
Another poll finding really stood out to me. Respondents were asked to choose their top issues and only 3 percent picked transgender rights. This why I think the issue backfired on Sears. Voters kept hearing these scary ads about an issue they did not think important, and some of them must have asked, “Is this all you’ve got?”
* a CNU/Wason Center poll released early October.
schrodingers_cat
Maplesyrup Messiah has come out against getting rid of the filibuster, watch his followers make up excuses for him, yeah even the ones who were ready to crucify Janet Mills for it.
tam1MI
No.
Jeffro
conversely, up to 97% of voters think that the GOP in general, and Sears in particular, is kind of a weirdo for constantly focusing on a handful of trans people who just want to live their lives in peace
or a major weirdo, take your pick!
iKropoclast
But they did inherit a disaster, the very same disaster Trump left that Biden only halfway through cleaning up. Republican crises continue to onset faster and faster while patience grows thinner with recovery efforts. This is why harm mitigation arguments fall flat, it’s not mitigation it’s prolongment.
We need a vision beyond rebuilding.
iKropoclast
@Paul in KY: So, I’ll put you down as objectively in favor of donors and party elites overriding voters and a couple other forms of sick fuckery.
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: Got a link?
Steve LaBonne
Not only one of the few great Speakers in our history, but one of the few Democrats who came out fighting right from the start of Trumpreich I. She has well earned her retirement, but she will be missed.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker: Here
Betty Cracker
@schrodingers_cat: Thanks. If he really said that (I am unfamiliar with that aggregator), it’s indefensible given his past support for ending the filibuster.
iKropoclast
@schrodingers_cat: So, that’s not a source. Anyone can take a static photo of someone and put whatever words they want next to it.
Surely there is somewhere this was originally reported. An interview, a published article with date that folk can reference, maybe he said it on CSPAN. Any of those things.
You’re some manner of scientist, aren’t you? In a scientific research capacity, would you ever accept a tweet as attribution on anything?
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker:
@iKropoclast:
It was in a recent interview. This is what I could find quickly
RevRick
@MazeDancer: @laura: Unlike you, I think what you call a knifing or shivving of Biden was just what the moment called for. She has always been a hard-nosed politician. She well understood the risks of pushing a President aside, because she saw how Ted Kennedy’s primary fight with Carter and Pat Buchanan’s primary fight with Bush 1 fatally damaged both of their reelection campaigns.
But she did so, anyway.
And I find that tremendously courageous, because she was willing to face the wrath of Democrats like you who see it as betrayal.
I can only conclude that she took this momentous step, because the internal polling data Democrats were seeing must have been an absolute nightmare. That data probably showed Democratic House and Senate candidates being trounced across the board. And if we think Trump is a nightmare now, imagine him with bloated majorities.
I can’t imagine how difficult and painful the conversation must have been since they had been partners in legislation for over 30 years.
dnfree
@tam1MI: Or the other version is that she had worked a lot more closely with Biden than you or I did and could see his limitations.
I don’t think he had another four years in him, regardless of what he had done in his term.
PatD
@The Red Pen: It wasn’t the left that made Pelosi a foil and target in swing districts. Granted, the left did criticize her plenty but there will always be factional conflict and part of her great record, overall, is how well she bridged the gaps and brought unity to the caucus.
PatD
@Betty Cracker: I think a charitable reading of is that he favors keeping the filibuster to stop Trump and still supports getting rid of it in the future. But yeah, very weird comments.
schrodingers_cat
@Betty Cracker:
@iKropoclast:
Link to Vt senator’s evolving views on the filibuster
iKropoclast
@schrodingers_cat: So, the only statements I have been able to find of Sanders have been him supporting the end of the filibuster. These statements were all a few years old.
From this, I infer that if he is opposing the filibuster now, it’s for tactical reasons, not wanting to give Republicans more power.
I actually disagree with this. The right way of doing things should be the right way regardless of who is in power. Still, I’d be skeptical of Twitter and Bluesky posters who might just be farming outrage
ETA: Just saw your new link. I appreciate that. I don’t appreciate Sanders playing politics with the filibuster. But at least he has a lot of company in that regard.
iKropoclast
This ongoing Biden debate has finally made me add a third category to people I’d pie. At first it was just obvious trolls who would disappear after a couple days and slanderers, which was really just one person. Complete moral bankruptcy and advocacy for bigotry will be the new category. Good reasons to discount opinions, but I never imagined there would be so many people here.
Betty Cracker
@PatD: Yeah, that’s the charitable interpretation, but it’s bad politics, IMO. I suspect there may be an incumbent Dem or two who oppose eliminating the filibuster, and “strategic” plays like this will just strengthen their hand. To me, opposing the elimination of the filibuster is tantamount to abandoning the reforms that are necessary to save democracy, so fuck anyone who opposes it, including Sanders.
geg6
@Cheryl from Maryland:
YES! THIS!
geg6
@kindness:
They are total bigots when it comes to ageism over there. It’s so disgusting to see when it’s a bunch of middle aged, most white, males who live very privileged lives in academia. It’s despicable the way they talk about age.
PatD
@iKropoclast: If you’re actually debating this in good faith then I’d argue that it’s definitely a bad look for party elites to force out a sitting President running for reelection. I would also say that the calendar put them in a horrible position. Biden wasn’t going to recover after that first debate. They acted to try to preserve as many down-ballot seats as possible. I think some are comforted by the thought of allowing Biden to go down with the ship. But, he’s a public servant accountable to all of us. He wouldn’t have stepped down otherwise.
schrodingers_cat
@geg6: It was not just men. There were quite a few women on the ageism train.
They have now decamped to the MM’s blog.
Betty Cracker
@PatD: Agree with this. Also, polls of regular Dem voters showed that huge majorities wanted Biden to step aside, so it wasn’t just party elites and donors. The latter had enough clout to force the issue but they wouldn’t have had that kind of juice without public opinion on their side, IMO.
iKropoclast
So for a perceived, unprovable benefit in one election (one might even say solidly disproven), they made a choice that will harm the party for a generation or longer.
I truly don’t care if what happened last year gave Democrats a better chance last November. This is exactly what I’m talking about when I call these arguments morally bankrupt. It was wrong on its face, just wrong, not just a bad look. Not only that, you lot made your play and still lost, yet I don’t see a moment of doubt in any of these monsters responsible.
Now these attitudes are blossoming across the party. Right here in MA, we have a Senate candidacy premised entirely on ageism. Good job, sick fucks, you broke the party.
iKropoclast
Same could be said about Trump. Didn’t bear out at either stage of the election when people actually voted. The poll respondents you were chasing were partisan Republicans and committed non-voters.
Steve LaBonne
@Betty Cracker: I am quite sure that if it ever becomes a realistic possibility, more than one or two Democrats will come out of the woodwork as opponents of ending the filibuster. The culture of the Senate is deeply dysfunctional.
Princess
@Betty Cracker: I’m not finding Sanders dumping the filibuster anywhere else. Not saying he isn’t, but I’m going to wait for real evidence.
Princess
oops double post
WaterGirl
@Mr. Bemused Senior:
I’ll skip AI and go for a source that’s more trustworthy. But i appreciate very much that you found the quote!
PatD
@iKropoclast: why would anyone regret what they feel to have been the right choice? The country is bigger and more important than Joe Biden and his right to have run for re-election. The party made its choice and most people have moved on. Whether the impacts will last for a generation seems overblown and frankly irrelevant compared or our current reality.
Betty Cracker
@iKropoclast: That’s not true. Polls said the majority of Republican voters backed Trump for reelection during his first term (and still support the piece of shit now). In July 2024, the polls said the majority of Democratic voters wanted Biden to step aside. You can argue that the polls were wrong, but the data is a matter of public record. You could look up.
WaterGirl
@Betty Cracker: Who is the “Maple Syrup Messiah” then? Because Bernie Sanders is from Vermont, not Maine.
iKropoclast
Yes, surely the flourishing of age bigotry among Democrats this year is just a coincidence. And I am definitely the only one who finds it off-putting. .
Christ, because of the age related arguments he was making last October/November, I reflexively recoil from Obama’s voice now the same way I have from Trump’s for years.
Democrats lost and they knowingly cast aside every shred of dignity on the way to getting there. You’ve pulled the party in a direction I can’t follow. If this age thing continues to succeed among Democrats, which evidently doesn’t even require voters to go along, I’m out.
iKropoclast
Good Lord in heaven, THEN THOSE PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE VOTED FOR DEAN MCIDIOT. “Biden is too old” messaging was out there well before the primary. It FAILED with actual voters. Polls showed voters thought Trump and Biden were both too old. None of that manifested in actual voting.
I’m glad you’re proud of the dump you took on the rug, but someone still needs to clean that shit up.
ETA: Also, there was a real opportunity with people thinking both candidates were too old to point out that the President isn’t the whole government and sell the Democrats as a team. But that would require foresight, I guess.
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: There’s a hell of a lot of maple syrup in Vermont.
dnfree
@MazeDancer: Some of us think Biden knifed himself and others took necessary action, sadly. He could have gone out on a high note.
dnfree
@Paul in KY: I appreciate your efforts.
iKropoclast
@dnfree: Some of you were just looking for any excuse to confirm your priors, a bandwagon capable of taking down the President.
It’s funny that this is all being discussed on a thread nominally about Pelosi, selling the message that tangible results from the government are more important than communications strategy. Biden did a lot of good work, but that don’t mean shit because he embarrassed the party for one half of one debate.
Every one of you are depraved monsters. And hopelessly shallow. Now I’m finding myself wishing the pie filter worked on the homepage with the OPs.
dnfree
@iKropoclast: “Objectively” does not mean what you apparently think it means. Some of us take the same facts (as far as publicly known) about Biden’s level of functioning and draw a different conclusion from what others do.
In my case, I saw the debate and concluded on my own that he didn’t have another four years in him. (I conclude the same about Trump.). I would have voted for Biden if he had stayed in, but at that late point I thought Harris was the best available option. I also think Biden would have lost by more than Harris did. Polls indicated that too.
dnfree
@RevRick: Thank you for your compassionate response regarding Biden and Pelosi. I think she had probably tried privately long before it became a public issue.
PatD
@iKropoclast: There is absolutely nothing anyone can say that will change your mind or make you feel less angry but you continue to provoke this conversation in thread after thread. So just add all the contrary voices to the filter and be done with it. Eventually you’ll be left with 4 or 5 people that agree with you and maybe you’ll be happier for it.
dnfree
@iKropoclast: Why would you say “solidly disproven”? Harris lost, but there are indications from polling that Biden would have lost by more.
Geminid
@zhena gogolia: One of the first places Bernie Sanders lived in Vermont was an old maple syrup making shed. That was back in the 70s, when young people could move to country and find places to rent dirt-cheap. Plenty ended up in Vermont, and plenty ended up in Central Virginia.
Then the 80s came and they all had to get jobs.
iKropoclast
@PatD: @dnfree: I don’t trust polls. Ever. At all. Furthermore, no one could have won as a Democrat after the way Democrats comported themselves last June and July. You didn’t just shiv Biden, it was a party-wide self shivving.
And I am not the one who raised this. I engaged when I saw the conversation ongoing because I care about this, profoundly. If you can’t look past the gamesmanship behind the related decisions and realize that some people act on principle, I can’t help you. That’s what I’m supposed to hate about the Republicans, though. I can’t accept it from Democrats either.
Lastly, doing a bad thing because it might have a better outcome is still doing a bad thing. Morality doesn’t bend to your personal preferences.
Betty Cracker
@iKropoclast: I didn’t get to vote in the primary because the Democratic Party of Florida backed Biden and said holding a primary would be a waste of money. For the record, I didn’t have a problem with that and would have voted for Biden if they’d held it.
I actually wasn’t someone who was here arguing vociferously for throwing Biden out after that disastrous debate, but I recognized it for the trainwreck it was and could understand why people felt that way. I was mostly ambivalent and wasn’t around here much at the time since I was at my sickest over the summer of 2024, but feel free to continue to make offensive and incorrect assumptions. It’s what you do.
iKropoclast
@Betty Cracker: Whatever, you’re here defending it now. With the full results on display. Not sorry. The only assumption I’m making is that you mean the words you are using.
Betty Cracker
@iKropoclast: Also bullshit; I cited polls that are a matter of public record that contradicted what you said. But you know what? It’s a nice day, and arguing with a disingenuous jackass on the internet is a poor use of my time, so I’ll leave you to it.
iKropoclast
@Betty Cracker: I’ve made my position on public opinion polls abundantly clear many times. I do recall the way the polling was being reported at the time. Voters overall thought both Trump and Biden were too old.
If you segregate out only Republicans would that hold for Trump? Maybe not. And you didn’t actually cite polls, just made a general assertion about all polls within a time frame.
People will often say only one poll matters, the election. Those came up for the older candidate. Every time.
Now if you want to argue our primary process is too deferential to incumbents, I’d agree. But that isn’t this conversation.
Doesn’t surprise me, though, that the typical D response to accusations of bigotry look so similar to responses by Rs.
pluky
@rikyrah: Whatever fruit best suits your taste buds! Even honey will work.
dnfree
@iKropoclast: I don’t necessarily trust polls either, but they can be an indicator. All the people saying “Biden beat Trump in 2020 so he can do it again” were ignoring a lot of evidence to the contrary, including his obvious aging and lack of energy. He meant well but I think was ignoring evidence that he should step down and allow a contest for the nomination. He left Harris with too little time and in a position where she couldn’t easily disagree with him on anything. Nonetheless, the enthusiasm for her was evident compared to the air of resignation for Biden.
in the primary I voted for the Biden/Harris ticket, so what happened as far as her candidacy was exactly what would have happened if Biden had had a stroke or died at that point.
Editing to add that I’m a female in Trump and Biden’s age bracket if that matters to you.
iKropoclast
@dnfree: Nonetheless, the enthusiasm for her was evident compared to the air of resignation for Biden.
No possibility that we could have marshalled that enthusiasm for the wok being done and still needing to be done over any candidate, no? How about for people up and down the ballot doing that work who are often ignored by voters?
The truth is government is a team effort. We’ll never have a better chance to break the cult of the Presidency than we had last year. Too many people making panicked decisions based on an interpretation of how things have always been, so the only thing that matters is whether the President looks good on TV.
Shallow shit.
dnfree
@iKropoclast: speaking only for myself, I was unenthusiastic about Biden running for a second term and thought he should have stepped aside and not run again. I thought he didn’t have another four years in him before the debate.
I think part of what I react to in these discussions is the idea that Pelosi and others “shivved” Biden in a diabolical plot and they should NEVER be forgiven. I think they were trying to figure out the least-bad solution to a very difficult problem that, if Biden had any sense of his own situation, would not have happened. It was like a legendary sports figure tarnishing his own image by staying on past his time.
dnfree
@iKropoclast: And it certainly wasn’t a shallow question like “whether the president looks good on TV”. His stuttering issues that he has always had didn’t begin to explain the blank staring into space and the confused answers. It looked like “sundowning”, which if you have encountered in your own life (maybe with relatives) is a real thing among people developing dementia.
currawong
I’ve been receiving dozens of follows on BlueSky from accounts made up of two words like CloudDream or DriftHollow that have hundreds of followers but their top post has always been a repost of the Obama post about Nancy Pelosi shown above. I’ve blocked them all.
Usually, spam accounts only have a handful of followers. It’s getting harder to spot.
Gvg
@Paul in KY: Different cultivars have different cycles. Most need at least 20 months of no frost to reach fruiting which is why they can live further north than they can produce bananas. Some of them have 9 month cycles however, especially if given fertilizer and water. The ones I know of that are zone pushers are mostly shorter. Dwarf cavendish or Raja Puri. I think Goldfinger is also good. Then there are some really small ones that can be brought in as houseplants for the winter like super dwarf. You can also do something like the fig tree burying. Each shoot is the potential fruiting stem you need to protect from frost. You can dig some of the biggest shoots up, roots and all, wrap them in bubble wrap, and bury them in mulch or some people store them under the house for the winter. When danger of frost is gone, replant. I might add, different varieties taste different. A full stalk can weigh hundreds of pounds and cause the tree to tip over, so home growers sometimes resort to propping up their trees with 4×4 lumber tripods and ropes to support the fruit while it ripens.