Pelosi Blames the Messaging

Politico reports that Nancy Pelosi's letter to members of the House Democratic caucus regarding her bid to be Minority Leader blames Tuesday's drubbing on bad messaging, rather than bad policies (i.e., she still doesn't get it).

Of course, John Yarmuth was a member of Pelosi's messaging team. If the caucus elects Pelosi as Minority Leader, will Yarmuth get to remain her "messager"? The odds work in his favor, given how few Democrats remain.

Pelosi told Democrats "Now, we must further modernize not only that message but the way in which we communicate with constituents." You hear that, John?

Yarmuth Learned Nothing

Emboldened by his victory, John Yarmuth flipped yesterday and announced that he will support Nancy Pelosi for House Minority Leader, instead of Steny Hoyer, as he had previously indicated. It seems that Yarmuth is so secure in his reelection that he failed to notice that 62 of his liberal colleagues have joined the ranks of the unemployed. Consequently, he is unperturbed about supporting the person who did much to cause the drubbing: Nancy Pelosi.

Certainly most Republicans would like to see Pelosi reelected: she is the gift that keeps giving.

Note that in Yarmuth's statement, he singles out the fact that she was the first woman speaker. No matter that she built a healthcare monstrosity that fueled the Democratic takeover of the House. No matter that she is so vacuous that she sees no need to read the bill before calling for a vote: "we can find out what's in it later on."

To Yarmuth, her shallowness is of no concern because, after all, she belongs to a segment of liberal identity politics, the feminists. In focusing on Pelosi's status as a woman, however, Yarmuth fails to distinguish between women and feminists. He confuses the two, even though women bailed on Democrats this year.

In any event, Pelosi will have a much easier time with her job this go-round -- so many less Democrats to keep in order.

Yarmuth makes a curious remark that his support of Pelosi is about "principles and not personalities." That seems to mean that when it comes to personalities, he doesn't much like Pelosi's. (Ouch!)

Yarmuth compliments Pelosi for building consensus in a House Democratic caucus with a broad ideological spectrum. Well, it won't be nearly so broad, come January. And Yarmuth ignores that Pelosi's big failure was her inability to build consensus across the even broader ideological spectrum that is America. That's why Democrats lost big.

Here's Yarmuth's statement, complete and unrepentant:

“Over the course of my four years in Congress, the vote that I am most proud of is electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House. Speaker Pelosi has proven time and time again that she is able to build consensus in a caucus comprised of members from all across the ideological spectrum. Her dedication to advancing policies that improve the lives of all Americans is clearly evident in the significant legislative accomplishments that have been achieved with her as Speaker. These decisions, like all I make, are about what is in the best interests of my constituents and the country, about principle and not personalities - and that is why I will support Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic Leader in the 112th Congress.”

The Ad CBS Refused to Run

CBS refused to run an ad that opposes the card-check legislation. That's the proposed law that would take away the right to a private ballot for workers voting on whether to unionize. CBS apparently objected to the ad because it singles out House Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- who allowed members of Congress to elect committee heads by secret ballots. Pelosi -- who was scheduled to appear to appear on a CBS show -- doesn't want the little people to enjoy the same right to keep their vote secret. Here's the ad.

Pelosi's House Demonstrates Fuzzy Math

Let's see: the bailout legislation, had it been enacted, would have cost us $700 billion over several years (assuming worse case scenario), but the nosedive in the stock market caused by the defeat of the bailout legislation by Pelosi's House of Representatives cost us over $1 trillion in one day alone. Mmm . . . .

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

McConnell Demonstrates Leadership

In contrast to Nancy Pelosi's partisan antics on the House Floor, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell issued a level-headed statement this afternoon. According to Politico:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate still intends to move ahead -- although he doesn't know when.

"We're not leaving town until this is fixed," he just told reporters.

McConnell declined to point fingers over the failure of the bailout bill in the House Monday afternoon.

Instead, McConnell pleaded for quick action.

“Let’s fix the problem instead of fixing blame,” McConnell said.

McConnell said today’s record-breaking losses on Wall Street only underscore the need for immediate action.

“The reaction of the markets makes it clear if anybody had any doubts…that taking no action at all was acceptable,” he said.

When Pelosi and others are losing their heads, it is reassuring that McConnell has kept his.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Thanks, Mama Pelosi, For That 700 Point Stock Market Plunge!

We can thank House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's partisan rhetoric for the Wall Street legislation going down in flames today in the House. No doubt she was suffering from severe lack of sleep, but there really was no excuse for her standing up before the vote and trying to place the entire blame on Republicans -- and specifically President Bush -- for the financial market crisis.

Wasn't it the Democrats who just last week decried injecting "presidential politics" into the legislative debate? Well, that is exactly what Pelosi did today -- and House Republicans were understandably furious at her for trying to spin the vote even before it was taken.

So it's back to the drawing boards for the Administration and Congress to come up with Plan B. Here's one suggestion to get things started: gag the House Speaker.

If Congressman John Yarmuth is still "messaging" for Pelosi, he's got his work cut out for him. It's time for Anne Northup to run an ad hanging Pelosi around Yarmuth's neck.

Update: Make that a 777.68 point plunge.

Update: I guess Yarmuth has resigned his position on Pelosi's "messaging" team: he voted against the bill. So did Congressmen Ben Chandler, Geoff Davis and Ed Whitfield. Congressmen Ron Lewis and Harold “Hal” Rogers voted for it.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Congressional Democrats Drill Themselves A Hole

Ed Morrissey at Hotair suggests that the last poll numbers could be registering the beginning of a GOP resurgence to retake the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. He attributes the Republicans' gain to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's mishandling of off-shore oil drilling legislation:

The erosion began last month, and may result from a double whammy of sorts. The Palin effect may have energized the base, but the gain among independents may be more likely the result of the Democratic punt on energy in August. Nancy Pelosi shut down Congress rather than allow a vote on expanded drilling, a huge miscalculation with an electorate favoring that policy by more than 2-1.
. . . .
If Democrats lose the House, they can look back to Pelosi’s adjournment as their tipping point. She may have singlehandedly transformed her party, which looked like it couldn’t lose this year, into a minority in the House.

So much for Congressman John Yarmuth's "messaging" on behalf of Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Dems Continue to Stonewall on Drilling

Democratic leadership, including House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer, are betting that the drilling issue "has peaked" and that voters won't punish Democrats for preventing our country from drilling oil here and now. To the contrary, voters remain "piqued" about gas prices.

House Republicans have been staging protests in the House, which is in recess while Pelosi uses her "mother of five voice" to moderate the Democratic National Convention. Pelosi has called off-shore drilling "a hoax."

The Investor's Business Daily, however, makes clear what Pelosi cannot grasp: the price of oil will go down just by lifting the prohibitions on domestic drilling -- even before the first drop of oil flows.

The belief that the current quantities demanded and supplied are the sole determinants of price misses an important point. Both current and expected future demand and supply interact to determine the quantity demanded and supplied in the current marketplace.

That is true because oil, and indeed almost everything else, is storable.

When a quantity is storable, the amount a producer will supply and a consumer will demand is not independent of future expectations.

Pelosi assumes that price only reflects the supply of oil that is currently available. In fact, the possibility of off-shore drilling causes gas prices to fall. We have seen this already. Once the presidential order against drilling was nullified, and once Republicans began pushing on the issue, prices started to fall.

Pelosi might not get the connection, but voters will. Three-fourths of Americans want domestic drilling; Schumer's assertion that the issue has "peaked" makes clear that Democrats will run down the clock, refusing to enact any energy legislation until after the election. That's a gift to Republicans, because voters understand at this point that Democrats are the No-Drill party.

Does Moveon.org Know How To Swim?

Despite Senator Barack Obama's flip-flop on offshore oil drilling, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman John Yarmuth refuse to change their minds -- and Pelosi refuses even to let the House vote on the issue. But House Republicans, like the Israelites in Egypt, will not be suppressed. Their favorite slogan these days is "Let my people vote!"

Now comes word that Moveon.org will bring in reinforcements for Pelosi and Yarmuth as their troops attack the Republicans at the water's edge. The people that brought us the "General Betray Us" advertisement last year pledge to "to 'push back hard' against House Republicans who have been seeking to pressure Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to allow a vote on offshore drilling," according to TheHill.com. Count on Moveon.org to come up with an ad campaign that creates a disastrous drowning for Democrats in a sea of red voters.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Pelosi's Money Talks For Yarmuth

The Democrats apparently are worried about Congressman John Yarmuth's losing his seat to challenger Anne Northup. According to the Associated Press, Yarmuth is one of only 31 members of Congress who are receiving funds from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for television advertising. No doubt this is payback for Yarmuth's "messaging" the far left agenda of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Yarmuth's Remedy For Pelosi

We knew Congressman John Yarmuth is into "messaging" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but last week he became literally a mouthpiece for San Fran Nan. At her weekly press conference on Thursday, Pelosi had lost her voice, so she brought along Yarmuth, as well as Congressman Ed Markey of Massachusetts, to speak for her. According to the Washington Post,

Pelosi said she'd been advised that "something stronger" might really help her recovery, particularly a "good shot" of alcohol. She said that the Kentuckian Yarmuth might endorse that kind of liquid cure. "Some specific brands as well," Yarmuth joked.

No need to dilute it with all the water Yarmuth carries for Pelosi.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Hillary Hopes Money Talks

Boston.com reports that "[t]he 20 Hillary Clinton supporters who sent House Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter telling her to keep hands off the superdelegate fight warned ominously that they had been enthusiastic financial backers of the Democratic Party." And these were just ordinary mom-and-pops supporters: "the letter-signers, along with their spouses, have contributed $23.6 million to Democrats since 1999, the Center for Responsive Politics said." This is what should be called "pay to pray (she still has a chance) politics".

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

Pelosi's Valentine For Yarmuth

Rep. John Yarmuth must be doing a swell job "messaging" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Yesterday, while issuing contempt-of-Congress citations to former White House Counsel Harriet Miers and White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten, Pelosi gave Yarmuth a valentine:

To the new Members of Congress on this issue of Article 1, led by John Yarmuth, Article 1 protects the prerogatives of the Constitution of the Congress of the United States. I thank our new Members for their leadership on honoring their oath of office.

Too bad Yarmuth is more interested in courting attention from the House Speaker (and mixing it up with baseball players, as discussed below) than serving Kentucky constituents.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.

McConnell Wins on Stimulus Package

The Senate Democrats have folded -- again. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has out-maneuvered Democratic Senate Leader Harry Reid to pass the stimulus package that the House previously had passed with bipartisan support. That means that Americans will get the help they need without all the goodies for illegal aliens and the like that the Senate Democrats had tried to add.

Nor can McConnell be blamed for "obstructing" anything. After all, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi endorsed McConnell's approach to the stimulus package, which would add rebates for disabled veterans, widows and the elderly, but not illegal immigrants. Pelosi, however, was silent on all the add-ons that Reid proposed. Notwithstanding Reid's attempt to play Santa, bipartisan cooperation prevailed as a direct result of McConnell's and Pelosi's leadership, and now Americans can get their rebate checks in a timely manner.

What the Dems Call Leadership

Here's a video that sums up Mama Pelosi and Dingy Harry's stint at "leading" Congress.

http://corner.nationalreview.com/post/?q=M2M5YjBlODkyYzQxMWQ0NzkwMzhmMWVjNzZhNzg2YzM

They've had their chance. Now it's time to give Congress back to the grown-ups.

Yarmuth's "Messaging"

James R. Carroll of the Courier-Journal reports that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has tapped Representative John Yarmuth to serve on her "messaging group" of "10 Democratic lawmakers who advise Pelosi . . . about how to do better in getting her party's message out." According to Carroll, Yarmuth "has been part of the group since October, meeting about once every two weeks."

One wonders what sort of "messaging" Yarmuth has in mind as Pelosi's publicist, given his record. In September he was one of just 79 House members who voted against a House Resolution condemning MoveOn.org's advertisement that referred to General David Petraeus as "General Betray Us." A substantial bipartisan majority -- 341 Congressmen -- voted in favor of the resolution. According to TheHill.com, Yarmuth was the only one of "the most vulnerable Democrats" in the 2008 election to defend the ad.

Please note: The postings of "G. Morris", written by John K. Bush and which end in 2016, stated his views as of the dates of posting and should not be understood as current assertions of his views. The postings, which have not been altered since they came to an end, remain on this blog to preserve the historical record. In 2017, Mr. Bush took a position that precludes further public political comments or endorsements. He will no longer be contributing to this blog.