Pelosi never tried to get to the high road....
I’ve read some misguided blather about Nancy Pelosi’s very
public opposition to the great big compromise spending bill that passed through
Congress on its way to President Obama’s desk a few days ago.
This bill is a nasty one. Republicans inserted some ugly
riders. There was disgusting horse trading on both sides of the aisle, in the
House and in the Senate, by both parties.
But let’s make the call: Republicans won in the November
elections, and a compromise bill—both sides saw ugly elements in it—was the
best anyone could hope for. President Obama was right on that point.
So who’s giving the House Minority Leader points for
breaking with her party’s president and fighting the bill?
There is some talk that Pelosi’s “feisty” fight heartened
disgruntled members of the Democratic caucus, and some talk that she was making
a point, for Boehner’s benefit, that Democrats in the House will be able to
prevent override of a presidential veto for the next two years.
Here’s my take: Pelosi proved the contention of thoughtful and democratic (lower case “d”) skeptics, like me, that too many in the Democratic
leadership and the Democratic rank-and-file are just like too many in the Republican
leadership and Republican rank-and-file: more interested in politicking and
re-election than in doing The People’s work for the good of our country.
Everyone in Washington knew that a spending bill would be
passed in pretty quick order. Everyone in Washington knew that a government
shutdown would be disastrous.
I think Pelosi should have taken hard-core liberal positions
in down-and-dirty negotiating with Boehner and company, and struck the best
deal possible, and made a very public commitment to passing the ultimate
compromise bill, in the interest of doing “good government” instead of doing predictably
pathetic politics.
Why do we keep re-electing people who won’t do The People’s
work?
Copyright © Richard Carl Subber 2014
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