It’s looking increasingly like Nancy Pelosi has the votes to retake her speaker position.
For all her issues, for the lukewarm at best message it sends concerning the future of the Democrat party, it appears she may actually be the least worst person vying for the position, the cynically branded #fivewhiteguys counter-campaign notwithstanding (I mean, two of those supposed white guys were black woman but not to digress). As if on cue, to press the point progressives have been making about real problems with her leadership, this week came with news of a Pelosi-stamped proposal to alter PAYGO rule in a manner that could make progressive policies like Medical for All a nonstarter. If the most “progressive” contender for your house speaker position is proposing rule changes that will impede actual progress and has gone on record saying “we’re capitalists, and that’s just the way it is,” could it be the case that criticisms about how similar your party is to the Republican party are valid?
Of the incoming progressives contacted about their positions on PAYGO, only Ro Khanna and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were willing to go on record voicing their opposition. Slightly more disappointing this week was AOC, Ilhan Omar, et al offering Pelosi their endorsements for house speaker. AOC, to her credit, offered a reasonable break down of why Pelosi sadly is the least worst option on the field (worth mentioning why others lawmakers to her left might not feel comfortable throwing their hats in the ring but not to digress), but as with some of her previous public statements that got her in hot water with the left for a change, the option to just not publically endorse/tweet out condolences to war criminals/etc stared her in the face the whole time and she decided not to take it.
Other items this week
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked Mississippi’s abortion ban. More on his decision, including a strongly-worded condemnation of the legislation can be found here.
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves on why he struck down Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban
Gavin McInnes quit The Proud Boys, the organization of supposed volcel, western male-chauvinists he founded, on news that the FBI finally classified them as an extremist group.
In yet another victory for the Third Way in their unwitting efforts to pivot toward full-blown fascism, Hillary Clinton shocked even her most ardent cultists yesterday in a Guardian article where she proposed curbing immigration as the solution for beating back the right populist movements taking root everywhere in Europe. It sounds like a broken record set to repeat at this point, but it wouldn’t be the Clintons if it wasn’t an opportunistic capitulation to fascist, xenophobic demands in effort to hang on to power.
Gloating about how we’ve been right about her all along is also pretty tiring at this point, but if you’d still like to take part in petty sniping, here are a few suggestions for things to reply with the next time you see someone post something particularly grating like “butter emails” or “buttery males” and its many variations:
- “Curvy Migration”
- “Brindem Tahil”
Those two are admittedly a bit rough around the edges right now and are still being workshopped. Feel free to add your own suggestions!
That’s it from me… let us know what else happened in your corner of hellworld this week!