Nancy Pelosi sent an email to her caucus members, all her fellow Democrats, to give them a heads-up regarding all the work which awaits their return to session. Working her way toward conclusion, the Speaker wrote this: "Thanks to your leadership and the unity of the caucus, I know that we will be ready."
Is this line sobering, if not slightly scary, only to me? It is text-book. A cliche of any zealot, anyone arrogant enough, and consumed with power, and the exercise of it. Think of the others down through history who have tried to convince the masses that better days require only two things - THEIR leadership and for everyone else to follow it in unified fashion. Nancy Pelosi is 180 degrees from what the voters voted for on November 4th. Change. A change from party-driven, divide-and-conquer politics and legislating. Nancy Pelosi did not get that message. She had the arrogance a few weeks ago (or is it less?) to fire a few shots across the bow of the new President-elect, by letting it be known that she expects - and make no mistake, she was demanding it be so, or else - the Obama administration, any officer of that administration, right up to Barack Obama himself, to basically communicate with her caucus exclusively through her, and to not call and certainly not plan, strategize, or negotiate directly with Democratic members of HER caucus.
The arrogance. The phenomenal, old-style, unmitigated arrogance of the woman and Speaker, to use her power that way, and attempt to intimidate an administration in advance of its first day in office. I hope, as kindly as possible, they told her to go to hell. As kindly as possible. "Change" of the kind Obama campaigned on has no shot - no shot - at reality until he fires a few shots unmistakably across HER bow, to let her know that if she attempts to run this next Congress as she has those previously under her Speakership - featuring partisan tactics intended to deny the nearly 50% of Americans (yes, Americans) who voted Republican from having any real representation in her Congress, such as "suspension of the rules" and of "regular order", which keeps Republicans and any one else of whom she does not expressly approve from introducing legislation or amendments, or keeps laws from proceeding first through the regular sub-committee process, and so on - that the President will call her on it publicly, and do all he can to defeat those tactics. Republicans did them when they were in charge. Nancy does them with glee now. This is not change. This is the status quo we all voted against. President Obama will need to let Nancy know early on, "Nancy, not during my presidency. For the next four years, government operates differently. That's what the voters voted for. That's why I'm in this office. So, knock it off, or you will have me to confront, me to battle...publicly."
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