Dirty Little Secret

“Pelosi caves,” said The New York Post. “Pelosi blinked,” Bloomberg boomed. “Pelosi folds,” The Mercury News mocked. The incredulity was palpable. How. Dare. She! How dare she what? Accept what was settled weeks ago? The media outrage and Speaker-shaming over the faux, turned real, border crisis is an act, fake news.

Her best option, now, is to shift to the right.

The press is upset because Pelosi and The Resistance were set back on their Trump-bashing heels and their dirty-little-secret is out. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell branded the Pelosi-led House “Resistance Theater.” Pelosi and cast pass going nowhere bills; click-bait for their media buddies, but it’s just a show. Without 60 Senate votes and a presidential signature those bills are D.O.A. The Senate has been working with President Trump on border legislation since May 1.

Pelosi has been wasting everyone’s time and endangering immigrants for almost as long. The numbers prove the point; She knew on 6-19-19 when the Senate Appropriations Committee voted to advance the same $4.6B bill by a 30-1 margin, 97% support (a landslide). Liberal lion and Vice-Chairman, Pat Leahy (D-VT), was one of the 30 votes, as was Pelosi chum Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The full Senate then passed the law by 91% in an 84-8 vote. Schumer said, “This vote should not have come as a surprise.” Pelosi’s own House of Representatives voted in favor by a 75% margin, 305-102.

Harsh Reality

The border crisis is real. The number of children in custody has increased from 870 to more than 2,300 in recent months. By mid-June, 1,900 children were in border patrol custody awaiting transfer to HHS, which had fewer than 700 available beds. Beds have been ordered but, as reported, Wayfair employees prefer to let kids sleep on cement. The Border Patrol caught nearly 133,000 people last month alone. Pelosi’s games put vulnerable people at greater risk.

The 2020 elections are real. Congress is going home for the July 4th Holiday to face angry constituents. Voters are not amused by news reports from our southern border. The reports are tragic and disturbing. Voters want action, not political blame-games. Based on their votes, moderate Democrats seeking re-election, or those wanting to solve the problem, agree.

The Democrat divide is real. Pelosi appeases the progressive wing of her party in exchange for their votes. Moderate Democrats, however, are tired of the nonstop hoopla. The divide between the Moderate and Progressive Democrats is widening. One frustrated moderate, Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), said flatly, “The House needs to take up the Senate bill and pass it and get money to the border.” Murphy was one of 129 House Democrats who voted for the Senate bill.

Best Days Behind Her

Is Nancy Pelosi a bad leader, or just in charge of bad followers? It’s hard to say. She does, however, have three major problems. (1) Her relationship and joint White House visits with Chuck Schumer gave her gravitas. Schumer, however, clearly sided with his Senate pal, Leahy, and left his House pal dangling in the wind. The lack of coordination between the two may signal a fissure is opening.

Following the release of the Mueller report, many thought impeachment talk would end; it hasn’t. (2) Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) continue down the impeachment path, holding hearings and issuing subpoenas. Pelosi has tried to quell the impeachment chatter but it lingers like a summer cold. Pelosi has sought to mollify the impeachment crowd, but statements such as, “We’ll see,” are seen as weak.

The worst of the followers, however, is (3) the progressive left. In particular Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who has had to apologize for anti-Semitic remarks. Rep Rashida Tliab (D-MI) in a curse storm, screamed to a rabid progressive crowd that, ‘we’re gonna impeach that “motherf—er!” The leader by far, however, is media darling AOC. She rails against any and all immigration policies but has yet to support any legislation, as CNN’s Tapper exposed.

Pelosi’s Choice

Via Breitbart News

Judging from the headlines Pelosi’s tack-left strategy has failed. It has failed because it has led to strained relationships with longtime political allies, a minor Moderate Democrat revolt and being gamed by three rowdy anti-American freshmen. Her best option, now, is to shift to the right. Pelosi future depends on her shifting right and more centrist Democrat positions, including an actual legislative agenda. The agenda is the real challenge but first things first. Pelosi does those two things or she loses her speakership. The choice is Pelosi’s; assuming anyone can call that a real choice.