Sunday Reflection: Defying Stereotypes

 

"Women are leaders everywhere you look--from the CEO who runs a Fortune 500 company to the housewife who raises her children and heads her household. Our country was built by strong women and we will continue to break down walls and defy stereotypes." -- former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, interviewed in Glamour Magazine, January 2007, and one of those strong women who built this country. 

Pelosi, the most consequential Speaker in modern history, turns 83 today. She was responsible for getting the Affordable Care Act, the American Rescue Plan, the Build Back Better Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act among other significant legislation that has benefited working and middle class families. Her achievements made her the target of the right-wing for years. An intrepid and outspoken adversary of the lawless and unhinged Malignant Loser, Pelosi served as a defense against his worst authoritarian instincts while Speaker.

(photo: Newly- elected Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, surrounded by children and grandchildren of members of Congress, holds up her gavel in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, Jan. 4, 2007/ AP Photo, Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

 

Quotes Of The Day -- Back*Stabb*ing The Blue

 

".. George Orwell believed that political language mattered because politics mattered, and that the corruption of one leads to the corruption of the other. And in some cases, the misuse of words can lead to political violence. We saw that on January 6, 2021. My fear is we’re edging ever closer to that. Some people on the right—enraged and inflamed, caught in an echo chamber of undiluted anger and massive lies—clearly hope for it. They are perpetually frenzied and hyper-agitated, convinced they are in an existential struggle against a wicked foe.

"In the face of this, virtually the entire Republican Party is egging them on. Based on no evidence right now, Republicans are promoting a narrative that the events of this week prove that the United States government and its chief law-enforcement agency are Nazi-like, corrupt to the core, at war with its own citizens. This can’t end well..." --  Peter Wehner in The Atlantic on the unhinged fury of the Republican/ Seditionist Party and the crackpots in their echo chamber at the search warrant conducted at the Malignant Loser's estate.

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“You would think there would be an adult in the Republican room that would say, ‘Just calm down, see what the facts are, and let’s go for that,’ instead of, again, instigating assaults on law enforcement.” -- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi yesterday to Capitol Hill reporters.  Of course, she knows full well there are no such Republican adults, just spineless sycophants ready to dance to whatever tune the Malignant Loser plays.

Looking Back at the 111th Congress

The recently adjourned 111th Congress was responsible for more landmark legislation than any since the days of the Great Society in the 1960's. As much as any two leaders, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid deserve enormous credit for getting so much done in the face of Rethuglican obstruction and an often feckless White House. We have serious qualms about the means and results of some of the legislative process, but in the final analysis, the American people have come out a lot better. Here's a brief rundown of the 111th's achievements:

-- health care reform
-- Wall Street reform
-- economic stimulus
-- Lily Ledbetter equal pay law
-- New START treaty
-- tax cut extension (ugh) and additional stimulus
-- Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal
-- food safety legislation
-- expansion (first in 40 years) of the school lunch program
-- 9/11 responders medical care law

Having a Congress pass half of this list of laws would be significant. Having a Congress pass all in two years is just a remarkable achievement that will benefit the American people for years to come. Hats off to Ms. Pelosi and Mr. Reid.

Pelosi Elected Minority Leader

150-43. The insurrection led by doofus Blue Dog Rep. Heath Shuler (DINO-NC) was a failure, just like Shuler's football career. Good.

Time to Dog the Rethuglicans

Yesterday, Think Progress published an investigative piece that exposed the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's funneling of foreign corporate contributions into campaign ads supporting Rethuglicans here in the U.S. Remember that the "U.S." Chamber fought hard against a Dem proposal to repeal tax incentives for businesses shipping jobs overseas; now we see the fuller picture.

The Rethugs, thanks to outfits like the "U.S." Chamber of Commerce, are rolling in contributions from corporate tycoons and the wealthy, who like things the way they were. Going into the final weeks of the election campaign, the Rethugs are outspending Dems by a margin of 6 to 1. In an interview with the Huffington Post, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi pushed back, saying that the Rethuglican love for big donors will end up boomeranging, once the public gets the message:

"If Democrats can't match them in spending, said Pelosi, the party would tar Republicans by connecting them to corporate cash. 'Of course, they all have euphemistic terms, 'For Seniors' or 'For Prosperity,' or whatever it is, but really it's just cover,' she said.

'Whenever you get hit with an overwhelming weight, you have to jujitsu it. So we want to turn it against them... I want to tattoo them right on to the Republican candidate,' she said, smacking her hand for emphasis. 'Big oil, big banks, big health insurance: We're going to tattoo you with that, so it's like doggy-doo stuck on your shoe. Wherever you go, people will know.'"

Yes, and recognize the odor.

(photo: No one can say the Rethugs haven't been hard at work at something -- click on picture to enlarge if you dare)

You Drink First, Dreck

Less than one week after accusing President Obama of hating white people -- presumably including the President's own mother and grandparents -- Fux's mentally disturbed star Glenn "Dreck" Beck did a schtick on his program where he imagined poisoning House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's drink. The HuffPo has the video.

Apparently, Fux will allow Dreck to swim in the sewer as long as he likes, despite losing such sponsors as Procter and Gamble in recent days. Meanwhile, the rest of us are just waiting for Dreck to have a career-ending on-air psychotic breakdown, so that even his cynical, wingnut employers will feel a rare sense of shame and pity for this damaged person. Until then, fix that drink, but you go first Dreck.

The Pelosi Diversion

Are you noticing how the Villagers and mainstream media have jumped on the non-story that Speaker Nancy Pelosi knew about waterboarding and did nothing to stop it? The non-story that the Rethuglicans are eagerly pushing to divert attention from their massive culpability in authorizing torture, not to prevent future attacks, but to extract false confessions regarding an Iraq/al Qaeda tie to justify the invasion? She has maintained that Bushit-era CIA officials misled her. Let's not forget that Pelosi was in the minority and was not Speaker until January 2007, so her power to change the unlawful policies of the Bushit Assministration were limited at best, even if she had been aware of the torture. But does anyone really believe that the last Administration would be honest with a Democratic leader, particularly one who consistently opposed their policies? Not likely.

Let's have that Truth Commission that the Speaker has called for, and see how the Rethugs like that.

On Pratfalls and Fumbles

Today's editorial in the New York Times, "The Real Fumble in Damascus," properly frames the real issue concerning Speaker Pelosi's trip to Syria: that the Bush Assministration's refusal to have discussions with Syria over a range of issues is what is truly "unproductive." It contrasts with Thursday's opinion on the neocon editorial page of the Washington Post ("Pratfall in Damascus") that mocked the Speaker's efforts. Key quote in the Times' editorial:

"Such Congressional visits can serve the useful purpose of spurring a much needed examination of the administration's failed policies."

AMEN.