Don't Screw This Up

Democrats won at least 37 or 38 new seats to became the majority in the House of Representatives, and are poised to assert a counter presence to the current regime of authoritarian self-destruction, corruption and stupidity.  If they can only stop from destroying themselves before the session even begins.

Democrats in the House have one decision to make between now and the start of the session, and that should be a very simple one: vote to make Nancy Pelosi the Speaker of the House.  Right now however, these Democrats seem to be stumbling towards a tragic mistake.

Democrats are without an effective national leader, which is a dangerous situation right now.  President Obama is still their leader in some respects, but he is not in office.  Chuck Shumer will remain the minority leader in the Senate, where he has been dismally ineffective.  Nancy Pelosi has been and will be the most effective leader the Democrats have.  It is imperative that she be made Speaker of the House.

While mostly conservative Democrats are attempting to deny her the office, they simultaneously have no credible substitute, at least one that is electable.  In her four years as Speaker, Pelosi proved to be politically and operationally an effective leader, who knew the job and did the job with distinction.

It was only with her steady hand, her ability to listen and broker agreements but also her ability to exert discipline, that made the Affordable Care Act the law of the land.  Millions of people owe their health care to her efforts, as well as to President Obama.  Pelosi got other major legislation shaped and through, that got us out of the Great Recession and jumpstarted clean energy, for example.  Pelosi can count votes, and can be counted on.

It is especially crucial that the Democrats in the House hit the ground running in January, and only Nancy Pelosi has the experience, the knowledge of the House and the various committee chairs, to orchestrate a dynamic and unified start.

Even as a majority, the Democrats had weak leadership in the Senate.  At this crucial moment the House needs focus as much as it needs the diversity of new voices.  Pelosi has signaled her willingness to be a "transitional" leader, as the House trains up new leaders from the ranks of younger members.  But it is essential that in January 2019, Nancy Pelosi is the Speaker of the House.

 Rep. Donna Edwards adds more specific reasons why this is necessary in her Washington Post oped.

Election Update: The More The Waveier

I stand corrected, sort of.  Since election night, Democrats have picked up more House seats (including in California), held on to some Senate seats they looked like they would lose, and with the concession of Republican candidate Martha McSally (who may well wind up appointed to the other Senate seat anyway) and election of Krysten Sinema as the new Senator from Arizona, the election's outcomes have made for a clearer picture, and that picture is a big Blue Wave.

Still outstanding is the Senate seat in Florida, now undergoing a sloppy but earnest recount despite the outrageous authoritarian efforts of Gov. Scott (who also happens to be the senatorial candidate being recounted) and Homegrown Hitler.  It would seem unlikely that the Dems will keep this seat, except for the hysteria being expressed by the Rs.  But either the Senate or governorship of this key state would be big.

The other element I overstated was the White House sense of gaining power, or at least not losing much of it.  Subsequent events have instead indicated fear and even panic there.  The turn towards naked and unhinged authoritarianism has been striking, but it isn't a confident turn.  It smells resentful and desperate.

That's most clear in HH's behavior: he is increasingly isolated, and has responded to this by increasing his isolation.  European leaders aren't even subtle about ignoring him.  Not only did he reportedly fume in his hotel room instead of visiting the war memorial in France, he actually skipped the traditional presidential Veterans Day visit to Arlington National Cemetery.

Instead he stayed in the White House that he has turned into a mausoleum.  The White House no longer hosts concerts and artistic and cultural events by America's best, because America's best won't set foot inside his White House.  He is left with nobody to give Medals of Freedom to except dead people.  Unless of course he believes Elvis is alive.

On the other hand, I am not revising my warning that he is still very dangerous, and there is still no certainty that he will be effectively resisted, or brought to account.

But we'll see.  More Mueller indictments are expected soon, it appears that the constitutionality of the temporary attorney general can be tested in court fairly easily, and the person who drafted the regulations governing the relationship of the Justice Dept. to the special prosecutor says this guy can't oversee Mueller.

It's heartening also that despite all the R political pressure, judges aren't buying the baseless accusations of vote fraud.  And despite HH's bullying of CA while another tragic wildfire takes lives, homes and forests, the federal government quietly does its job in helping deal with the fires and their effects.

Plus House Democratic leadership-to-be is making all the right moves--particularly in emphasizing voting rights while Rs are so blatantly opposing them.