I can’t fully explain the rationale. On its face it doesn’t even make sense.
All I can tell you is that it’s happening right before our very eyes.
Maybe Nancy Pelosi is just ready to be finished with public life. Maybe she is determining that the fate of the nation is more important than her own political future—hence crippling the heirs apparent in her caucus is what she must do.
But it appears on the surface that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is engaged in a torpedoing effort of her party’s own ability to maintain the House next year.
How else can it be explained?
By now most of us have been apprised of the “magical 31" seats taken in 2016 or 2018 by Democrats for Congress while electing (in some cases overwhelmingly) Donald Trump for President.
These 31 seats were the impetus that gave Speaker Pelosi her re-birthed speakership and the “mandate” for the Democratic agenda in 2018.
Yet instead of implementing anything resembling an agenda dealing with trade, infrastructure, jobs and healthcare, the 2018 Congressional class had a meltdown (several), got hijacked by disrespectful newcomers, pushed anti-Semitism, and began dissolving subcommittees dealing with terrorism in favor of Intel hearings to push impeachment.
Speaker Pelosi tried to pretend she had control, but by the time she gained it, terrorist sympathizing members were praising Al Qaeda, and another rookie had run off a job creating giant from her Congressional district.
The discussion centered on solar power busses who could give you a ride to Hawaii. The 2020 candidates were seeking out the newcomer’s endorsements. And the heavy favorite to win her party’s nomination had a flunky kid who was landing enormous paychecks from Ukraine while knocking up strippers and wives in America.
Speaker Pelosi had a problem.
The newcomers wanted to impeach the president. Her party had secretly been working on it for “two and a half years.” Yet she knew it wouldn’t be bipartisan, the evidence would be non-existent, and as an excellent vote counter she knew the public wasn’t with her.
This last week the Inspector General’s report eviscerated her party’s past actions, and she could have spiked impeachment and moved to a domestic agenda to quickly attempt some wins before the 2020 election arrived.
She’s not as adroit as she once was and every offramp flew past her faster than she could realize.
Her thoroughly unimpressive partners in this effort also failed her.
Chairmen Schiff and Nadler couldn’t even cobble together one fact witness in the impeachment proceedings, proceedings that had already been slated as the most manipulated and one sided in history. Witness testimony in secret dungeons, a chairman’s absolute autocratic control over the committee, and even direct coaching of the witnesses from the chair seemed to have no effect.
Then came the public hearings.
The “magic 31” had publicly pledged for the most part not to vote for impeachment unless it was bipartisan with overwhelming evidence.
Knowing he did not have the votes Adam Schiff began to buy votes. And interestingly enough almost all of the “magic 31” flipped their votes to move forward.
“But,” they argued, “that was just to open the hearings so that they could see all the evidence.”
But once the pathetically authored articles got voted out of committee the real vote has now arrived.
Max Rose from New York 11th Congressional District and Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey’s 5th are just two of the “magic 31.” Both won seats in districts where the president racked up wins. Both promised not to vote for impeachment. Both have changed their minds.
Never mind that Rose is doing so in a district where Trump won a larger margin than any Republican in the modern era. But he’s also doing so against a formidable candidate — Nicole Malliotakis — who won the same district as a mayoral candidate by 70 percent.
Gottheimer was a Hillary Clinton transplant that defeated a 16 year incumbent, held his seat as a sophomore on a genuinely “i did nothing” first term, and will likely face off against a powerful mayor who has brought jobs and renovation to local government and community — Mike Ghassali.
Both Democrats are in districts where Trump should win by a bigger margin in 2020 than he did in 2016.
Both also took money from Adam Schiff just before changing their minds to vote in favor of impeachment (close to the maximum donation allowed legally).
Look a bit closer and these “magic 31” districts are loaded with these kinds of races.
Schiff and Pelosi may have plans after the House of Representatives but they are about to experience a wipeout because they could not get their caucus under control.
That Schiff, Nadler, and Pelosi have been unable to quell the crazy—rather instead choosing to advance it—only demonstrates the potential the second term of Trump will have.
Especially with members like Ghassali and Malliotakis joining the ranks.