Trump comes to Nancy Pelosi's rescue in speaker race

Nancy Pelosi is having a bit of a time trying to secure the votes necessary to get back into her old office of Speaker of the House. She feels entitled to the position and she’s just not ready to admit that it’s time for the next generation of Democrats to move into more positions of power.

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President Trump weighed in as he headed off to California Saturday morning. Though Pelosi claims she has the votes necessary to be the next Speaker, she doesn’t so Trump said he could get her the votes she needs. Earlier the Tweeter-in-Chief offered his help in tweet form.

He reiterated his promise to assist Pelosi as he left the White House for California, saying he could get her however many GOP votes she needs, whether it was 100 or 10.

Pelosi said Thursday she intends to win the speakership with Democratic votes and would not accept help from help from Republicans.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1063758107229257728

Lol! Just the thought of an effort made by President Trump to help along to her victory must have created early morning heartburn for San Fran Nan. Naturally, she denies that she would accept any Republican votes to drag her over the finish line in this race.

Pelosi said she intends to win the speakership with Democratic votes and would not accept help from Republicans.

“Oh please, no,” she said. “Never. Never. Never.”

I don’t even know who these Republicans are if there are any, who would vote for Pelosi but it’s fun to watch Pelosi squirm a bit. She admits there are others capable of doing the job but she’s not going willingly. She is going to have to be carried out feet first from the office.

Pelosi is in a bit of a jam, though, because her only potential rival so far is Rep. Marcia Fudge. She represents Ohio’s eleventh congressional district and she’s African-American. She checks more boxes in the identity politics game than Pelosi does. Fudge has a bit of cred going for herself. She’s progressive, sure, but she is also a past chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. We all know that the CBC must be appeased.

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She has represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District since 2008 and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of progressive Democrats in the House, and a member and former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, an influential voting bloc in the lower chamber.

“It has been heartwarming and humbling to know how many people think that I should do this,” she said.

She met with Pelosi Friday and says that Pelosi didn’t ask her not to run. Pelosi did, however, ask her what she can do to get her support. Like the old pro she is, Pelosi is looking to cut a deal to make her potential competition just go away. Fudge correctly argues that the Democrats ran on change and that should be reflected in their leadership. Pelosi has her old team ready and the Democrats coming up are getting antsy. The top of the leadership totem pole is filled with people who are 70+ years of age.

Fudge says she’ll think about it all and make a decision over the Thanksgiving holiday. Her office is already cleaning up her voting record a bit, though, so a message is being sent. She expects to be taken seriously.

Fudge’s office is already defending the fact that she has not signed on as a cosponsor of the Equality Act, a bill that would amend the landmark 1964 Civil Rights Act to add protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

She elaborated, saying, “What I opposed was including the Equality Act in the current Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act is over 50 years old and isn’t even adequate to protect the people currently in it. I want us to do a new and modern civil rights bill that protects the LGBTQ community and updates protections for this era. I do not believe it is appropriate to open and relitigate the current Civil Rights Act.”

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I do so love it when identity politics come back to bite Democrats on the butt. The party is so beholden to every special interest group that there is no real wiggle room available for free thinking. Every decision has to conform to lefty groupthink or there will be consequences down the line.

The question becomes one centered around the decision of the CBC. Do they support Marcia Fudge or do they fall in line behind Pelosi? The current chair, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) says he’s not spoken to Fudge about a potential challenge but he’s ready to support her.

“I’m not anti-Pelosi, but whatever Marcia does, I’m very pro-Marcia,” the Louisiana Democrat said. “But I have not seen that Marcia is running for speaker. I think this is something that others are pushing.”

Those others, the anti-Pelosi contingent that Fudge has long been part of, claim to have enough members in their ranks willing to vote against Pelosi in the floor vote for speaker. The group has been at a disadvantage, however, because they did not have a candidate to challenge Pelosi — that is, until Fudge said Thursday evening she was considering it.

Richmond is straddling the fence but clearly intrigued that Fudge may run. He doesn’t want to piss off Pelosi in the event she’s successful in eliminating her challenger. Frankly, I have no doubt that Pelosi will be Speaker of the House again. I think there is a real vacuum in leadership in the Democrat party and people may bellow but no one is really going to push her out. She’s grandma money bags and they all want to stay on her good side.

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She will make a great foil during President Trump’s re-election campaign in  2020. Meanwhile, pop some popcorn. It may be fun to watch.

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