What’s Happening:
Nancy Pelosi shut down Congress for months, citing pandemic problems. But when it came time to get her votes for Speaker, she demanded all congressmen and women must return to D.C.
(Including those infected with COVID or required to quarantine—but we’ll not talk about that, eh Nance?)
There was rumor that she might not even get enough Democratic votes to secure another term as the most ineffective Speaker in years. Some liberals even openly defied her, calling for a change in Democrat leadership.
When everything was said and done, she actually had five Democrats who refused to vote for her or defy her “victory.” From Slate:
House Democrats voted in favor of reelecting Rep. Nancy Pelosi as speaker for the 117th Congress on Sunday by a 216-209 vote… In the end only two Democrats voted for someone else—Rep. Jared Golden of Maine cast a vote for Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Conor Lamb chose Rep. Hakeem Jeffries while three others— Reps. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, and Abigail Spanberger of Virginia—voted present.
Some Democrats in the House talked big going into the vote, including “socialist” Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. But in the end, the so-called “squad” chickened out and voted for Nancy again—proving they are all talk.
Unfortunately, they came up one short from ousting Pelosi and putting Republican Kevin McCarthy in instead.
Only a few Democrats stood up to Nancy. Two voted for other members while three others simply voted “present,” a common way to lawmakers to passively oppose a vote.
AOC explained away her support for a woman she frequently attacked, essentially saying their slim majority needed to be defended from Democrats.
The socialist appears blissfully unaware that it was her influence that likely cost Democrats so many seats in the House, along with other far-left Democrats who embraced radical policies throughout the year.
The Speaker vote was the closest in recent history. Pelosi won the seat by a mere eight votes, far too slim a win for her to boast about anything. Every Republican voted for Kevin McCarthy. He would have won if a few more Democrats defected.
What does this bode for the House over the next two years? Nothing good. Regardless of how the Senate or presidency shake out, we can count on more of the same failure and lack of leadership under old Nance.
She refused to stand up and lead during the pandemic, opting to delay legislation and hold up progress.
Some are saying this might be her last term as Speaker. We can only hope.
Source: Slate