Howard Dean wades into the healthcare battle

Former Vermont Governor, 2004 presidential candidate and most recently former Chair of the Democratic National Committee, Howard Dean has rolled up his sleeves and waded into the health care battle being waged in DC and across the country. Dean has founded an organization called "America Can't Wait" and is pushing for, "At least 218 House and 51 Senate Democrats," to pass a health care bill that includes a public option... FULL STORY

OK, I Give Up: Let Pelosi's Head Roll

Do the ends justify the means? It certainly looks like the defeat of Nancy Pelosi will be the end of the "torture gate" scandal, whose means I find very questionable.

This morning, the Washington Post is indirectly pointing the finger at White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and President Obama for allowing CIA chief Leon Panetta to bluntly accuse Pelosi of lying. They say such a blatantly (un?)political attack on a fellow Democrat could only have come from the top down, particularly considering Panetta's D. C. savvy. They say it is the same thing the Bush White House did to Trent Lott. At the same time, Politico is publishing an article called, "Conditions for a coup in Congress," implying Pelosi may be challenged, and shut out, as Speaker this year. They posit that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) would be more palatable to the White House as Speaker. They also claim it is the same thing the Clinton White House did to Newt Gingrich.

Up to this point I have defended Speaker Pelosi in this "torture gate" mess. I maintain still that she had little to do with it and that she has been scapegoated by the GOP and the former Administration. However, someone reminded me the other day that it was Pelosi who said impeachment (of Bush) was "off the table" at a time when there was considerable Congressional and popular support for such a move, and time to accomplish it. Perhaps she had little power to stop waterboarding in 2002, but she had ample power to stop George Bush in 2006, and hold the entire Administration accountable for the whole ball of wax. Instead, she opted for personal gain (using her political capitol to get elected Speaker) and refused to allow impeachment proceedings to even reach an exploratory committee. She could have stopped them. Who knows? If she had been successful, even moderately, she could have been President by now. (And people accused Hillary Clinton of being complicit with the Bush administration because of one vote...)

Again, do the ends justify the means? Possibly. When you look at the whole ball of wax, just maybe. This could all blow over, too. But it looks to me that it is steadily blowing up. Maybe my wish will come true. But what monster's head will grow back in Pelosi's place? She was such a good, loyal lap dog to President Obama when he was campaigning, up to and including making snide comments to the press about his primary challengers (and fellow Democrats.) But once she realized he would not return the favor in kind, she turned on him a little. Congress has not offered the rubber stamp they could, that's certain. And although they talk tall about how that is not the goal, and not what anyone wants... yeah, right. Every President wishes Congress would just do their will. Maybe Steny Hoyer already made some promises... or maybe Congress, and the White House are finally just sick of her.

Give Nancy A Break, OK?

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is taking a lot of heat over these "torture memos" that are being released. They're saying, "Oh she knew, and she didn't do anything about it." Like somehow Nancy Pelosi was responsible for waterboarding, like it was her idea or something.

News flash: George Bush, Dick Cheney and Porter Goss are the culpable parties.

Another one: Nancy Pelosi was not Speaker of the House in 2002 when these new interrogation techniques were rolled out by the White House and CIA. She was Minority Whip -- hardly a position equipped to stand up to an autocratic Executive like the Bush administration. Yes, she was ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, but there is ample evidence that that self-same committee did in fact lodge a protest with the White House.

Pelosi has indicated strong support for an investigative commission to inspect the alleged abuses of power during the Bush years. She's willing to open the whole can of worms. It's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and President Obama who want it all conducted behind closed doors, under close Executive scrutiny.

I know I say this every time it happens, but.... if I am defending Nancy Pelosi, the world really has turned upside down.

Praise For Pelosi

Mark this one on the calendar. I have something nice to say about Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Politico has the full details of the House road map to budget approval. And, it appears Speaker Pelosi has really pulled it together on this one. She's gone hard to the left, stayed true to the President's 'vision' of the budget, and worked her fingers to the bone courting Moderates who otherwise would have made trouble. Reasonable and realistic compromises and all. I have to say, Nancy: good job on this one.

$165 Million Dollar Shit Storm

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's ass is in a sling.

By the second, the media is making him look like the evil mastermind behind some maleficent plot to wreck the American economy. Geithner took his licks today, promptly admitting Treasury's role in the AIG mess, under his guidance.

President Obama, doing probably the only thing he can, publicly accepted responsibility yesterday. (Note: David Axelrod, who must have lost his mind, claiming "no one cares about the AIG mess," better write that promise by his boy Barack down on his little pad for 2012.)

Sen. Chris Dodd, Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and veteran Democrat heavyweight, while scrambling a little, as the only other visibly culpable party, is taking his licks, too, admitting to his role, and defending himself believably.

Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi took a big ball of the shit that is flying in every direction and threw it squarely in the face of both the Senate and the President, "this is Senate and White House language... this was never brought to the House." Let me say, props to Pelosi in one way: this debacle really had nothing to do with her. But she couldn't resist a dig, either. No one should be surprised; she started pissing on fire hydrants quite some time ago. Now the House gets to look like the big heroes, passing a 90% tax on AIG and other corporate bonuses today, 328-93 (Note: what anyone would have to call an overwhelming bipartisan support.) Again, props to the House. Those corporate fatcat bitches deserve a kick in the chops.

No one is trying to lie. A bad judgment call was made. And the number, $165 Million, is shocking. Headline grabbing, even. (Thank you everyone for reading this.) Tim Geithner must be praying for Bernie Maddoff to get raped in jail a couple more times a day for getting everyone so fired up over crooked bankers. Even John McCain's oft-used campaign one-liner, "We will make them famous," is getting airtime again.

It's amazing to me how a gaffe like this got so out of control. Yes, it's more than a gaffe. But, all the guilty parties are confessed and contrite, and in less than 24 hours the House has made AIG go cut its own switch for the beating they are about to get. So, why for does the shit fly in so many directions? I can think of plenty of things to get this mad about. Maybe David Axelrod is right in a way. More blame needs to be placed on AIG, and the swift way in which everyone fessed up and the problem was dealt with, should be getting praise. Now, that is not to say there couldn't be more of these little "oversights." In which case, some indignation and finger pointing may be warranted.

If this really is an isolated event however, the real culprit is AIG. Contractual or not, first of all, they should have known better. They could have found a way out of paying $165 Million in bonuses to already rich people. If all else fails, leak it to the media before the payout. Clearly, AIG thought they were going to sneak this one under the radar. Amazing how thick the blinders of greed are. I can understand the outrage on the one hand, but it is getting misdirected in D.C. People are so hyper-sensitive about money and "the economy" there is no way some voice in some boardroom somewhere along the line didn't say, "Um, can we really do this?"

AIG is ruined. They will be lucky to get bought by Chase, if that. It remains to be seen who they drag down with them. This could get uglier.

Obama Gets $787 Billion Dollar Valentine's Day Card

Congratulations, President Obama. Here's you're Valentine's Day breakfast, with a big side of pork bacon. Mm-mm.

Nancy Pelosi gets to write her biggest check yet, which she was bubbling over about: "I never thought I'd see the day when we had an opportunity to do so much... so great... for the American people..." Pelosi also claims this bill has "unprecedented transparency," which is one of the bigger lies I've heard told about it. The entire way this bill was crafted was the absolute antithesis of Obama's ethics regulations, which along with new lobbyist rules, are starting to look like they apply to.... um, no one. I suppose the chances of this bill getting 5 days "sunlight before signing" are equally slim.

Senate Tells Pelosi To Suck It Up

Power brokers of the stimulus deal that has been reached in the Senate are sending a clear message to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: don't screw it up, or it's on your head. I would say, that isn't even too much spin. If the compromise bill gets worked over in conference sessions between the House and Senate, and fails to pass again, it will be Nancy Pelosi's fault.

If I didn't think getting this bill passed was so critical, I'd almost welcome a bungle on that scale by Pelosi. She needs to be put in check before she embarrasses the president and her whole party. People think I just love to hate Nancy Pelosi and that's the source of all my complaining. It's not. She is gloating over the Democratic wash in November, intentionally goading her enemies and her allies alike, and asserting a kind of power with the Speaker's gavel that is counterproductive.

Still My Way Or The Highway For Pelosi

Did I say something nice about Nancy Pelosi yesterday? Allow me to take it back. Yes, I said she was "mending fences" and "taking a placating tone."

Not so much. Pretty much the moment word came out of the Senate that a deal on the stimulus had been reached, and enough GOP Senators swayed to the side of passage, she's at it again. Note that I believe the dial was turned way up on the rancor over this bill by her refusal to allow regular House rules to come to order, and for this bill to receive the daylight and due process a trillion dollar appropriations bill should get.

So, Pelosi says, "I'll restore regular rules once this stimulus bill is passed." This should be read: once I get my way, I'll throw you a bone. So, the bill passes the House. No regular rules. The Senate indicates they have reach a passable agreement, and Pelosi is already threatening to ruin it by reinserting everything the opponents of the bill hate. President Obama has called for this legislation to be on his desk by Friday the 13th. I don't see regular order in the House any time soon. And Pelosi has already let her favorite attack dog, David Obey off the chain.

I honestly don't know what kind of game Pelosi thinks she is playing. She's not doing herself any favors with anyone at this point, except her personal amen chorus of Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer. Note that when Hoyer tried to advocate on behalf of Democratic House members asking for normal rules to be resumed, Pelosi quickly brought him to toe. The party line in the House is not the party line any more, it's the Pelosi line. Now that it appears the stimulus bill will be bounced back to the House for a joint conference session, the President has to protect his hard-fought-for bill from the meddling of his own party. All of this could have been avoided if Pelosi had allowed regular rules to resume in the House at the onset of the 111th Congress, which she gave a clear sign she had no intention of doing with her first edict. Pelosi and Obama have both jibed the GOP with comments about how "we won," and it looks more every day like rubbing salt in the wound is more important than actually getting anything done. Of course, the GOP isn't acting much better or more mature, but would you? If someone was constantly scoffing at your failures, telling you what a wreck you made of things and systematically destroying your ability to get anything done, and shutting you out of a process you have legal right and imperative to participate in? News flash, Nancy: we are still a two-party government. The GOP didn't get fired in November, and if you're not careful, you'll be lucky to be House Minority Leader by 2010.

Not tonight, Barack. I've got a headache.

Well, the afterglow is certainly wearing off.

Obama's "Health Czar" went down in flames yesterday before he even got his crown. Tom Daschle has withdrawn from consideration for HHS Secretary because he got caught not paying his taxes to the tune of $128K (or five times the average annual income of 30% of the US population). In one day Obama went from "absolutely" still backing Daschle to telling the press corps yesterday, "I screwed up." Treasury Secretay Tim Geithner was allowed to slide on his $34K back taxes, but the fallout also cost Obama another appointee: Nancy Killefer, who withdrew from consideration to be the government's "chief performance officer."

Not to mention the open hypocrisy of the new lobbying rules, that apparently apply to everyone but the president. Sen. John McCain said it best: "I think it’s a bit disingenuous to announce strict rules and then nominate someone with a waiver from the rules that you just announced..." McCain was referring to William Lynn, who Obama has picked to be Deputy Defense Sec and was a powerful defense contractor's lobbyist. Oh yeah, did we also mention that Daschle's wife is a lobbyist and so was he, even though he was not registered? And there's also Treasury's chief of staff Mark Patterson, who was a lobbyist for Goldman Sachs.

And now, it looks like the Presiden't precious stimulus bill is about to crash and burn in the Senate as Democratic leaders are admitting they don't have the votes to pass it. No surprise, it's full of pork. Everyone knows it's full of pork. Even the casual observer can see that $21 million dollars to re-sod the National Mall is not creating jobs. And, while converting the government fleet to "smart cars" is a good example of the government setting a good example, I'm also not sure how that creates any jobs or stimulates the economy, save for some lucky (probably Japanese) car company. The stimulus bill is a big Democratic pork projects that has now nearly tripled in size from the post-campaign number of $300 billion. There is even buzz going around that Obama is blaming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for this mess, and it's probably true. She's already got a growing mutiny on her hands, from Democratic leaders who are sick of her smoke-filled-room style of running legislation through the House. Meanwhile, in a fairly transparent last-ditch effort to gain GOP support in the Senate for the stimulus, Obama has nominated Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) to be Commerce Secretary.

The honeymoon's over, Mr. President. The new administration better start dotting their I's and crossing their T's. What was once called the "smoothest operation in D.C." is starting to look pretty sloppy to me.

The More GOPers Complain, The Higher The Bill Goes

The House of Representatives will vote today on President Obama's economic stimulus bill. President Obama, as promised, met with House Republicans yesterday to peddle the bill, and in an uncharacteristic show of humility, made a stop at the Ohio Clock, traditional headline-grabbing spot of Senators at the Capitol, and announced how well the talks were going. Maybe it was just old habits dying hard, as the President also made a Freudian slip at the Ohio Clock, referring to "my Senate colleagues," and correcting himself after, "I mean, my former Senate colleagues." Called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009, Obama's plan is expected to pass the House in spite of GOP resistance, and a few Democrats, too. In anticipation of the bill hitting the Senate floor within a few days, tax committees within the Senate have already tacked another $70 Billion onto the plan, bringing the total a Chairman's penstroke shy of $1 Trillion dollars. The Wall Street Journal published a scathing review of the legislation today, criticizing huge portions of the bill as non-productive, with low return potential and calling some of it outright vanity spending.

Democrats are saying the bill isn't big enough, Republicans are saying it's too big. At the same time, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is launching its first 2010 campaign ad, directly targeting Harry Reid and his "big spending." This stimulus bill better work, or Democrats are in trouble. We already thought we were seeing a Clinton Revival in Obama's administration staffing picks; we just might see an even more significant one at mid-term elections if they're not careful. House Republicans, upset over being shut out of the crafting of the bill, are already targeting Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Biden over it. And, Politico is claiming the stimulus is killing the Obama honeymoon, or Pelosi is. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) when asked what happened to Obama’s honeymoon answered, “Ask Pelosi." It seems the more Republicans complain about this bill, the higher the price tag goes. Back in September, when it was the GOP calling for "broad economic measures," the number was $500 Billion. Then Nancy Pelosi got hold of it and started floating progressively higher numbers until we get to today -- the day of the vote, and the Senate is already planning to hike the number again. Like I said, this better work.

Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy... or business as usual?

I just had a "duh," moment.

I read the news every day, and I research a good deal of what I read. I consider myself not only intelligent, but subtle. Regardless, it just occurred to me that the economic stimulus that is being ping-ponged around Washington right now is the front for the Democratic takeover of government.

Watching the House Appropriations Committee markup session on C-SPAN, allow me to rescind some of what I said about the "new feel-good Washington." House Republicans do not feel good about this bill. I have to hand it to 'em, they've got some very valid points. Chiefly, some GOP members are pointing out that the bill before the House contains no bipartisan oversight, as the officers in charge of executing the bill are all appointed by the President. Republican after Republican is standing up and complaining that there is not enough oversight, not enough internal monitoring, insufficient fiscal reporting, and no opportunity for sub-committee meetings on portions directly connected to those committees.

To the victor goes the spoils, indeed. Rep. David Obey (D-WI), Chair of the House Appropriations Committee is barely concealing his desire to see the discussion halted. David Brooks, at the New York Times today, described Obey as, "...a very compelling figure, who would be a judge on 'American Idol' if this were hell. He runs the committee like Captain Ahab in a bad mood." Speaker Pelosi is defending the GOP shut-out on terms of necessity, which I agree with, but her demeanor is so combative, it makes her seen patronizing to the GOP at best. On Inauguration Day, Obey was whipping up panic for the bill, indicating that he believed $825 Billion dollars might not be sufficient, and pressing for the bill to be passed to "stave off the worst aspects of the recession." While I believe all sides agree on the urgency of the bill, I question such shrill panic. Mid-February is the deadline assigned by the President, which means three weeks or thereabouts; there's time for a lot of meetings.

If any one issue can be pointed to as the tipping point for Obama's campaign it was his economic platform. Although Obama led in the polls fairly consistently throughout the campaign, he generally underperformed, and after the Republican National Convention, McCain passed him in the polls as much as 10 points, long enough to be reason for panic. Only when the economy tanked hard in late September did Obama regain a winning margin. Getting his economic plan signed into law, early, and with a perceived strong bipartisan support, will be a benchmark for Obama. His first radio address as President focussed almost in total on the economy. Speaker Pelosi is saying again that there will be "no recess" for Congress until the bill is passed. At the same time, Dems are spinning out lowered expectations, just in case. Mid-term elections are two years off, and we will have seen durable reverberations from the Stimulus Bill by then. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are conscious of this, which is why the GOP is preaching caution and the Democrats are... well, preaching, mostly to the choir, as is apparent if you actually watch the discussions.

Post-Partisan Playbook: The New Feel-Good Washington:

President Obama, during his campaign, spoke often of fostering bipartisan coalitions and dismissing the "partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that [have] poisoned our politics for so long," as he said on Election Day. I believe he has made a good faith showing of this promise in the first week of his presidency by agreeing to meet with Congressional Republicans to discuss his stimulus bill. The bill itself finally went into mark-up in the House, meaning relevant bipartisan committees are being allowed to review it and offer "mark-ups" or feedback before it goes to the floor for a vote. This period is also used for heavy lobbying inside Congress and under-radar negotiations. Although I disagree with the heavy handed way Speaker Pelosi dealt with the bill in its formative stages (i.e.: by keeping it inside a very tight, closed inner circle, even seeming to spat with President Obama over the details,) I believe expediency rather demanded it. She is the Speaker of the House after all, and legislative superintendence is certainly within her purview. I'd say Speaker Pelosi is also anxious to appear resurgent, out from under the thumb of the Bush administration, and to cast the 111th Congress in a positive light by quickly shepherding key Democratic platform legislation through.

President Obama for his part, for his part, has already hosted a bipartisan Congressional committee to discuss the bill and has agreed to a future meeting with GOP legislators early next week. Interestingly, some of the media outlets are spinning it as "Obama seeks GOP support," when in fact, the GOP hit the ball to Obama first, as House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) sent a meeting request on Inauguration Day. Interestingly, at the meeting the President already attended, he made a grossly partisan remark; disagreeing with House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA), on a tax issue, the president said, "I won. So I think on that one, I trump you."

I suppose, at the moment anyway, President Obama has no need or reason to be contrite. It makes an interesting contrast, and one that shows his mettle: I'm willing to meet with you, but don't think you can walk all over me. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid already knows all about that, but Obama is "one of their own," versus the House which enjoys quite a bit more autonomy for the most part. Curtailing the House entails both plying Pelosi with ample discretion and dealing with a political body four times the size of the Senate. All signs indicate that the stimulus discussions are going well, in in the spirit of cooperation, which is certainly a breath of fresh air. House Republicans were threatening to stir up quite a bit of rancor if they were shut out, which is fair, to be honest. As John McCain so aptly put it in his concession speech, "And, he will be my President, too." I believe that sentiment is rolling out through the webwork of government, we'll see how long it lasts. But, while it does last, it seems lawmakers on all sides are taking advantage, and for the most part, for the good.

The Fall Of The House of Dean

Ever since he came to my attention as a presidential candidate in 2004, I have had a great deal of respect for Howard Dean. I've never gotten over my anger at the media for what I consider their intentional ruin of his campaign by endlessly hammering on the "Dean Scream." What is worse however is what is happening to him today -- being forced out of the DNC by the very establishment he is credited for fathering. Although it is reported that Dean is traveling this week, it is notable that he will be absent from President-elect Obama's press conference where the new DNC Chair, Tim Kaine will be introduced. Back in December, Dean made a "joke" about being passed over for Chief of Staff in favor of Rahm Emanuel, who Dean had already scrapped with over his "50 State Strategy," which Emanuel opposed. The situation stinks of Nancy Pelosi who was desperate to get rid of Emanuel as a potential challenger for the Speaker's gavel. After Dean was forced to capitulate and call for Hillary Clinton to concede the presidential primaries to Barack Obama in June, Pelosi was no doubt peeved when Dean then retreated to the safety of DNC rules and waffled on seating Florida & Michigan delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The initial stripping of those state's delegates is credited with not only an early perception that Obama was winning, but that Hillary Clinton was "willing to do anything to win," and sparked a hysteria-pitch debate about fairness of the primary process, and opened a can of worms in the perennial debate over caucus vs. primary. Bad blood between Dean and Pelosi can be tracked to a March 2003 speech Dean gave where he openly criticized California politicians (explicitly naming Pelosi) and their willingness to "back George Bush 85% of the time." So Pelosi uses Dean to get rid of Hillary, then once his usefulness (long extended beyond normal failed presidential candidates) is expired, she settles an old score with him and gets rid of her newest thorn-in-the-side, Rahm Emanuel all at the same time. And, Tim Kaine gets a nice, shiny prize for delivering Virginia in the General Election. Not to mention that Kaine and Pelosi seems to have been building a relationship since 2006. The Fall of the House of Dean is a decisive victory in Pelosi's war for control of the Democratic Party.

Photo Courtesy of DayLife.com

Dems Have the Bit In Their Teeth

I have often called Harry Reid the "creature" of Nancy Pelosi. He has certainly echoed her sentiments concerning Executive involvement in Congress. However, I would point out that it also seems he is maintaining a decent standard right now in terms of seating the new Senate, and mediating the disputes surrounding Roland Burris and Al Franken. More than once he has cautioned Congressional Democrats not to "over-reach" and his relatively neutral stance on two contested Democratic seats eases some of my concerns about his partisanship. This is in direct contrast to Nancy Pelosi's false claims of governing from the middle. Maybe she means the middle of the Democratic caucus, because she is certainly pushing House Republicans to the back of the bus. It appears that Harry Reid, in cooperation with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is working to realign the Senate committees in strong favor of the Democratic caucus, but not orchestrating a full tilt GOP shut-out, like what seems to be happening over on the south side of the capitol. The rules changes that Pelosi is supporting would also abolish House committee term limits, essentially making committee appointments "for life." So democratic.

It seems the one thing all sides of the aisle and the capitol are willing to come to the table for is economic stimulus, which Pelosi is aggressively pushing to a vote by February. It seems that the GOP is on board so long as tax relief and state-level bailouts are included in the package. As I warned in an earlier post, Nancy Pelosi likes to write checks and pretty soon it will be blank ones -- for Congressional careers and for government spending, and now President-elect Obama is already lowering expectations on controlling spending, announcing that a multi-trillion dollar debt could last for years, which is being peddled as a good idea. In light of the Democratic takeover that is unfolding in Congress, the GOP held a meeting of the six contenders for the RNC chairmanship that drew an unprecedented standing-room-only crowd yesterday. Hopefully the GOP has taken the sink-or-swim message from voters; as I have said many times, no one party should control government in total.

Unprecedented Disorder

The Washington Post is reporting that Roland Burris was rejected by the Senate today, calling it a "spectacle." The 111th Congress was sworn in today, and on the heels of the Roland Burris "spectacle," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has called on Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) to concede the election to Al Franken, although they will not seat Franken today. Franken has declared victory in the Minnesota Senate race, and Coleman has filed suit in protest, and could delay the seating of a Senator for weeks or months. Meanwhile the Kennedy melodrama is still overshadowing the whole process of replacing Hillary Clinton's New York seat. And, why is Joe Biden keeping his Senate seat when someone has already been picked to take it? The Hill is calling today's Congressional mayhem "unprecedented disorder."

In equally depressing news, Nancy Pelosi was re-elected Speaker of the House today. Apparently there was a short-lived plan to get rid of her. It would be good for everyone, including Obama.

As a side note, Jeb Bush announced he will not run for the Senate for Florida in 2010. Like anyone really thought that was advisable. George W. Bush has so disgraced his own party, they barely spoke his name at the Republican National Convention last year. Supposedly, Jeb would "re-energize" the GOP.

Impeach Pelosi

Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that my favorite Love To Hate politician is Nancy Pelosi. I believe she is the exact antithesis of what she should be, and what she claims to be. As the first woman to ever be Speaker of the House, making her the most powerful elected woman in the history of American politics (which she also guaranteed herself for a few more years by aggressively undermining Hillary Clinton in the 2008 presidential primaries,) Pelosi should be a role model to women and to liberal, peace-loving, democracy-building, coalition-supporting politicians everywhere. Instead, she is a partisan hack who greedily hordes her personal power in Congress, and openly bullies, threatens and intimidates anyone who is less than totally subservient to her. She is a tyrant and a hypocrite, and worse, in two short years not only has she become George W. Bush's attack dog / yes-woman, she has also single handedly paved the road for the Bush Administration to walk all over the Constitution and bolster its own corrupt regime to imperviousness.

This article by Joyce Lynn details quite thoroughly all the reasons everyone should be done with Nancy Pelosi: Take Nancy Pelosi off the table as Speaker of the House.

Pelosi Feels The Burn

For the first time in 5 years, Nancy Pelosi is no longer the most powerful Democrat in America. She worked her little tail feathers off to get President-elect Obama elected, openly contemptuous toward Hillary Clinton (and in the end, Hillary still gets more power, more access to the President, and more star power) and blithely bullied the Democratic caucus to get behind her. Now, she has to "lay down the law" with Rahm Emmanuel -- no longer her creature in the House. Not that he ever was to begin with, just an alacritous player. Emmanuel has long been a Blue Dog, and prominent member of the Democratic Leadership Council, Hillary Clinton's true power base, and the body from which Bill Clinton rose to the Presidency. With Rahm out of the DCCC chairmanship, and out from under Pelosi's thumb, she announced today that there would be "no surprises" from the Democratic White House, and in essence told the incoming Obama administration that they had better mind their P's and Q's, and she wants to know the second they set foot on her turf, and why. Poor little Nancy.

Nancy Pelosi Loves To Write Checks, Pretty Soon It Will Be Blank Ones

As anyone who has read my opinion columns knows, I hotly despise Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. I'll refrain from the name calling that I stooped to during the Democratic primaries. However, now that Pelosi's power reigns supreme following Obama's huge coattails that swept a 20-seat pickup into the House, it's even worse. Not only does she operate like a Trap Door Spider in Congress, but now she wants the government to cross the line from subsidizing financial institutions, to directly bailing out private-sector corporations. She's also calling for another stimulus plan, which while it put some drinking money in American pockets, or a new Wii under the Christmas Tree, really did absolutely nothing for the economy or Americans at large. A few months after the last stimulus plan was passed, the US entered the worst economic crisis in a generation. Pelosi loves to spend money the government doesn't have, all the while claiming that she supports "pay as you go" legislation, of which there is no such thing. I have long believed that the reason she supported Obama in the Democratic primaries over Hillary Clinton was a combination of two things: 1) professional jealousy, and 2) the near-certainty that she will be able to manipulate Obama much easier than Clinton. Now that she has personally delivered an entrenched majority to the House, she has a mandate all of her own. She likely saved her own seat by pulling a now-trademark Obama move: refusing to debate her opponents, in fact having them forcibly removed from a press conference at one point. Nancy Pelosi is a tyrant and hypocrite and should be stopped. She is now saying Obama should "govern from the middle" because of the new class of moderate freshmen Democrats she has to crack the whip over, not because she believes it.

Acts of God And Politics

According to Nancy Pelosi, God has sent us Barack Obama. If that's true, then it may also be true that God sent Hurricane Gustav to John McCain. GOP response to the threat of a Katrina Redux is already apparent; as my friend and liberal blogger, Maxomai says, "...at the very least, they avoided some of the worst aspects of fiddling while Rome burns." The Republican National Convention has been stripped to the bare bones proceedings, and McCain and Palin have directly called all Americans to a united focus on hurricane relief. Senator Obama has echoed the identical sentiment today on C-SPAN, and last night in two press conferences. President Bush is in Texas as we speak, putting a face on direct management of the hurricane efforts, and John McCain toured affected areas this morning. Hurricane Gustav may go down in history as the best-managed natural disaster in America.

Last week in Denver, Democrats made more history. Barack Obama's acceptance speech of the Democratic nomination for president on Thursday was the most watched speech of all time, raking in just about 40 million viewers, and Hillary Clinton's speech Tuesday night netted 26 million. The dynamic duo toppled political coverage ratings records. Obama netted about a 5 point gain, according to Gallup who places him at +6 post-Convention, an impressive and encouraging bump. However, even while this was happening, Hurricane Gustav was already becoming a metaphor for John McCain and the approaching Republican Convention.

McCain was quick to respond. I will quote William Kristol who writes for The New York Times, who says McCain was acutely aware of the dangers in being seen as, "...accepting a role as a bit player in The Barack Obama Story..." - William Kristol, NY Times Op-Ed Column, A Star Is Born?

The Arizona Senator roped in the GOP conservative base, reclaimed his maverick image, and made a bold pitch for reform in one fell swoop with the announcement of Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate. The two wasted no time getting on the campaign trail, and immediately diverting attention to Gustav. McCain's statement to the press after he and Palin were briefed by the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency was clear: focusing on the human needs and the relief efforts is what matters right now.

Palin has dominated the media loops for four days. The only way to hold onto that momentum is to dovetail the Palin Bump into the Gustav bandwidth. House Minority Leader John Boehner carved out that framework in an interview with the Christian Science Monitor Sunday:

In addition to its obvious capacity for human devastation, the hurricane injects a host of political complications into to what was supposed to be a week of celebrations and party-building. The sight of thousands of people fleeing New Orleans three years after hurricane Katrina is a searing reminder of what critics have said was the Bush administration’s failed response to the 2005 disaster.

By toning down the festivities this week, McCain, who has denounced the Katrina response, can further define himself against Bush and define himself as a leader who puts people before politics. But if the hurricane turns into a replay of Katrina, it could refocus national attention on the Republican administration’s shortcomings in 2005.

Boehner said that by driving up oil and gas prices, the hurricane would underscore the strengths of McCain’s so-called “all of the above” energy plan, with its mix of new offshore drilling, nuclear power, and market incentives for alternative fuels. “The energy issue is not going to go away,” he said. [SOURCE: CSM, August 31, 2008]

If there was ever a more convenient ways and means by which Palin could be tested, Gustav represents it. Gustav is also projected to compromise as much as 25% of domestic oil production. The resultant spike in oil prices opens the GOP to push for emergency resources to lower gas prices just in time for the vote. It also underscores the need for alternative energy resources and reduction of foreign oil dependence. Palin can speak decisively and pertinently about all of these topics, and represents a state that is dead center in the middle of the energy debate. The Alaska governor herself has shown both tenacity and sensibility in this debate already, and has already played a critical role. She was deployed to St. Paul today where she and Cindy McCain are reported to have had breakfast with the Louisiana delegation, symbolic of GOP rallying behind Gustav-hit states. Palin has spent the day in briefings and meetings with delegates and party insiders, and has Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee in tow. She is said to be working on her acceptance speech, which will be a thing to watch, I am sure. If the Democratic controlled Congress fails to co-opt this debate back into their corner, there could be trouble for Democrats. No doubt Palin will underscore energy concerns at the RNC and present herself and John McCain as pro-responsible energy. She is also an on-record combatant of pork spending, and no doubt she will showcase fiscal conservatism as well. Palin won the gubernatorial race against an incumbent and corrupt state dynasty, against the wishes of the party, by a landslide. She knows how to campaign, and Gustav makes a perfect backdrop to pander directly to her strengths.

While John McCain can be very engaging, he is boring on television. More than embracing the traditional vice presidential role of attack dog, Palin also brings a very charismatic and forceful presence to the ticket. McCain was badly battered by the Republican primary process, something that was largely unnoticed, overshadowed by the all encompassing drama of the Democratic race. In that way, Palin has filled the Hillary Vacuum. Sending her to St. Paul as his surrogate while McCain stays on the front lines of Gustav both gives gravity to Palin and ethical sure ground to McCain.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden are sitting pretty on top of a 6 point poll surge. Obama has been all over the news organizing his supporters and donors behind Gustav relief. The hurricane politicking has taken on a tone of cooperation and bipartisan concern. Both parties will benefit, but the onus is on the GOP to appear responsive. President Bush more specifically has the true responsibility for Gustav response, which has got to be a relief to McCain. If the government falls down, his reform platform is strengthened, if the government does what it should, it is a sign that McCain's "reform" is already being embraced, that the party base is responsive to the need for change. Senate Minority Leader Boehner also echoed that sentiment yesterday. Another quote from the Christian Science Monitor article:

Asked about the significance of a party now led by its “mavericks,” Boehner said the “reformist streak” is an appropriate response to the party’s recent political troubles.

“You know, they threw us out and frankly, we should have lost,” he said, alluding to the 2006 elections that cost Republicans control of Congress. “And the only way we can get back is if we earn our way back. And that means showing people we’ve learned our lessons.” [SOURCE: CSM, August 31, 2008]

The GOP has been as fast as McCain in their about-face. With respected Republicans like Jim Leech openly criticizing the party and endorsing Barack Obama, it has to be clear that any other track will lead to failure. FEMA and the Bush administration's bungled response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was the crowning failure in a laundry list of GOP derelictions of duty, and proper management of Gustav is quickly becoming a litmus test for whether or not they have learned their lesson. So far, they are handling it in a timely manner, with appropriate resources, and under a tone of cooperation and benevolence. First Lady Laura Bush and Cindy McCain will serve as surrogates for Bush and McCain at the opening of the Republican National Convention tonight. No doubt their speeches will be hand tailored to appeal to unity, compassion and excitement about John McCain's reform platform. Morbid, but true, the GOP must be saying, "Thank God for Gustav."

It Aint Over Til The Lady In The Pantsuit Sings

Here is what may be the final irony of the Democratic presidential contest: even though it appears Barack Obama has solidly won the nomination, Hillary Clinton can still make or break his candidacy. This puts her in a very precarious position, however, where she also stands a chance of ruining her own career. Clinton was unequivocally clear that she was making no decisions the night of the final primaries, and has remained officially mum so far today. She and Obama are both in Washington addressing the AIPAC conference followed by a stop in the Senate for a budget vote. No doubt there will be a private sit-down before the end of the day.

Clinton is not out of options, although many of them are undesirable. Regardless, she has the leverage to get just about any concession she wants. Here are a few:

The obvious, Obama offers Clinton the VP spot.

This would be the quick and dirty way to unify the party. There are negatives, but the positives may be found to outweigh them. The media is saying Bill Clinton is the major negative to that ticket. I believe it would be a mistake for Obama to let that sentiment get too much sunshine; starting a General Election campaign by publicly insulting a vastly popular former President -- the only Democratic President in this generation or more -- would be toxic. I believe the true negative is the combined fear that a) Clinton would be too ambitious an understudy and b) she could dampen Obama's liberal image. The positives of course are a much easier path to wooing Clinton's supporters, chiefly the blue collar, women, Latinos and probably the Jewish vote, too. Clinton's voting coalition of formidable, and many of them prefer her not because she is her, but because Obama is him.


Take it to the Convention

Admittedly, this is one of those undesirable options. Regardless of that, Clinton is fully within her rights to continue her campaign and instigate a floor fight. Her claim to a popular win is solid, and while the Democratic nomination is based on delegates, this does not mean she cannot contest the seating of them, and attempt to sway the Convention in her favor. Nancy Pelosi and Howard Dean have long been trumpeting the "will of the people" which is, in reality, quite a different thing from the the will of the state parties that assign delegates. In more than one state Clinton won the popular vote, but Obama picked up more delegates, and the argument that this is contrary to the will of the people is certainly valid. Of course the negatives of this are very real, very dangerous, and make the likelihood of a Convention battle very low. I believe Clinton knows this, and unless there is some extremely compelling reason to throw down the gauntlet, she will not take this road.


Run as an Independent

Another undesirable and highly unlikely option, but one that has floated around enough that it should get some discussion. Doing this would most likely accomplish only one thing: securing the Presidency for John McCain. It would also destroy Clinton politically unless by a true miracle she won. Now, that would be history. Clinton has a huge political machine at her disposal, and stands to be the unrivaled superpower of the Senate as it stands now, but all of that is beholden to the Democratic party, and dyed in the wool Democrats would desert her in droves. Clinton's appeal in this area (right leaning Dems and left leaning Republicans) would be much better used to cut into McCain's support base than to launch an Independent campaign.


Harness the momentum of her campaign and use it

I know that sounds vague, but there are many ways she could do this. Obama has already mentioned Vice President, Health Secretary, and any number of other potent roles inside his cabinet. Clinton could easily pitch for President Pro Tempore of the Senate, or might even be able to muscle her way to Senate Majority Leader. Secretary of State might not be such a bad place for her, either. No matter what she does, as long as she uses her visibility and leverage to help get Obama elected, she will heal whatever divisions are seen between her and Obama. There is also the rumor that she may consider running for Governor in New York State, although I find that the most unlikely of her general options. Clinton before anything else, is a Washington Politician, and is very cognizant of the spotlight being brighter in the capital. She is a big game hunter in that way, enjoys her work, and knows she has the most influence right where she is.

If she wants to survive politically, and keep her hopes alive for another Presidential run in 2012 or 2016, she needs to navigate carefully. If Obama loses in November, with or without her on the ticket, the main question will be, "Was it Hillary's fault?" John Kerry tried to blame John Edwards for his loss in '04, and even though that is likely not true, it cast a long shadow over Edwards. One thing to watch for: who delivers the keynote address at the Convention this year? I'd lay money on Clinton; in fact, I would bet it will be very high on her list of demands preceding a concession-endorsement of Obama.