The Best Fiction I’ve Read In Ages
I just finished reading Al Hunt’s column about Nancy Pelosi. It’s worthless if you’re looking for real information but it’s the best fiction I’ve read in ages. Here’s the opening to Mr. Hunt’s column:
The speaker leads the most unified party in the recent history of the House of Representatives. She might add at least a dozen, and probably more, members to her 37-seat margin this November. She played an important, if subtle, role in facilitating Obama’s nomination.
Pelosi is the toast of television talk shows as she peddles her new book, “Know Your Power.” She even held her own on Jon Stewart’s satirical comedy program, “The Daily Show.”
She has achieved this success and quieted skeptics, including reservations expressed in this column a year and a half ago, with well-honed political instincts, prodigious work and genuine toughness.
Ms. Pelosi has “well-honed political instincts”? Were her “well-honed political instincts” on display when she tried shutting down debate in the House on energy policy? Did she use her “well-honed political instincts” to get an impressive number of legislative initiatives accomplished?
I’d submit that Ms. Pelosi’s supposed “well-honed political instincts” don’t exist. She’s had a tin ear politically since becoming Minority Leader, then Speaker. The best proof that her “well-honed political instincts” don’t exist is that she didn’t allow a vote on drilling. She’s running the Democrats’ majority into the ground with her stubbornness on this issue.
Friday, America got to see Ms. Pelosi’s inner tyrant. It wasn’t a pretty picture. They saw her attempt to stifle debate on the biggest issue of this election cycle. When Republicans refused to back down, she ordered the House chambers locked, the mics and lights turned off.
While truckers, farmers and commuters were getting hit with record gas prices, Ms. Pelosi told them her book tour was more important than their financial survival.
I don’t doubt that the House Democrats are unified. That should bother people. Look at this statistic:
House Democrats have achieved a 92 percent unity rating, according to Congressional Quarterly; that’s not done with the speaker imposing ideological litmus tests.
That’s appalling. Why would Tim Walz’ voting record resemble Charlie Rangel’s? I’ll admit that there should be some common ground between the two but there shouldn’t be such unanimity because their constituencies are so different.
BTW, does anyone agree with Mr. Hunt when he says that Ms. Pelosi has this unanimity without “imposing ideological litmus tests”? That’s possibly the funniest fictional line in Mr. Hunt’s column. This sentence ranks right up there, too:
She often taps freshmen members or those from vulnerable districts to take the lead on popular legislative moves.
Perhaps Mr. Hunt could identify some of Ms. Pelosi’s popular legislative moves. They should be easy to identify because Democrats haven’t had many “popular legislative moves” during the 110th Congress. Their signature accomplishment was raising the minimum wage, not exactly something to sustain the base’s hunger for accomplishments. It certainly isn’t enough to keep the base fired up and contributing.
Despite all of Mr. Hunt’s lavish praise of Ms. Pelosi, the truth is that she’s a tyrant whose biggest intent is to stifle debate. No amount of lavish, misguided praise will change that. Last Friday, Ms. Pelosi was exposed as that type of tyrant. Now that that genie is out of the bottle, there’s nothing Ms. Pelosi or Mr. Hunt can do to remake Ms. Pelosi’s image.
Technorati Tags: Al Hunt, Nancy Pelosi, Fiction, 110th Congress, Minimum Wage, Gas Crisis, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
August 3rd, 2008 at 4:06 pm
But the citizens give them a 9-11% approval rating. She is a weak, party puppet.
August 3rd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Her book is laying an egg.