Pelosi's Bombshell
[Program Note: This column was, pretty obviously, written in two segments. I was all set to solely write about the Republican National Convention today, but while I was busy doing that the Washington Post dropped a bombshell report under the headline: "Pelosi Has Told House Democrats That Biden May Soon Be Persuaded To Exit Race." So once again, the GOP convention news has been completely overshadowed by the Biden-on-the-brink news from the Democratic side of politics. Due to this stunning development, I abandoned my plans halfway through the column, but left in what I had written so far.]
After diligently watching three nights of the Republican National Convention, I guess it is time to write a full column about it all. Because last night served as a buildup to the introduction of Senator J.D. Vance, Donald Trump's selection for his running mate.
The general feel of the convention has been a very weird mix between some people trying to project some sort of "unity" to the country (which Trump called for, after his assassination attempt apparently caused some sort of epiphany) and the run-of-the-mill Republican red meat -- immigrant-bashing, hatred and fear towards Democrats, and apocalyptic warnings of what will happen if Trump doesn't win. But after watching three nights of it, a pattern has emerged. The reddest of the red meat is featured the earliest in the day. Hours before the broadcast networks show their slice of the convention, you get people on stage ranting and raving in true Trumpian form. The only people seeing these speeches are viewers of Fox News and other cable channels providing full coverage of the entire evening. By the time the biggest hour of the night rolls around (when the broadcast networks join in the coverage), most of the harsh edges have been filed off and what is presented is a lot more toned-down. This is obviously to avoid frightening off people who only casually tune in to see what the Republicans are doing at their convention.
Case in point from last night was Peter Navarro. He just got out of prison, and headed straight to the convention. He was allowed to speak -- early on in the day -- for a very long time, and aired every grievance he could think up. It's rather astounding that the Republican Party has now become the party that celebrates lawbreaking -- but only the lawbreaking they approve of, of course. Which is entirely fitting with the convicted felon at the top of their ticket, I suppose, but it is still jarring since the GOP used to so loudly proclaim itself (indeed, as some speakers actually attempted to do last night, unaware of the irony in doing so) "the party of law and order."
What else? Kimberly Guilfoyle still apparently hasn't learned what microphones are designed to do, so she gave yet another convention speech delivered at the top of her lungs. It was just as cringeworthy as her last one. Doug Burgum spoke and was notably uninspiring. Afterwards, there were plenty of Republicans breathing a sigh of relief that he hadn't been selected as Trump's running mate, because his speech was such a snoozer.
[Note: This was the point where I read the breaking news. I was going to continue here by talking about the speakers that were actually pretty effective (Trump's granddaughter Kai, the Gold Star families, and the 98-year-old World War II veteran) and then give my impressions of J.D. Vance's keynote speech (which can be summed up as: "kinda tepid, although it had its moments"). But the breaking news seemed more important to discuss, so I abandoned this plan at this point in my writing.]
The Washington Post just published an article that may produce a political earthquake, reporting that Nancy Pelosi is now telling people that President Joe Biden may soon drop out of his re-election race:
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi has told some House Democrats she believes President Biden can be convinced fairly soon to exit the presidential race amid serious doubts he can win in November, according to three Democratic officials familiar with her private discussions.
Following Biden's halting debate performance, and the panic it unleashed among Democrats in and outside of Washington, Pelosi is taking a strong, behind-the-scenes role in trying to resolve the political crisis by playing intermediary for upset rank-and-file Democrats and relaying those messages to the White House.
The former speaker, who left her leadership post in 2022 but still wields enormous clout, has told California Democrats and some members of House leadership that she thinks Biden is getting close to deciding to abandon his presidential bid. Some Democrats fear that by staying in, Biden will end up handing the White House to Donald Trump, three Democratic officials said.
. . .
Concerns among Democrats about Biden's bid have increased in recent days. Along with Pelosi, other Democratic leaders like former president Barack Obama, House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.), have conveyed their concerns about Biden's continuing candidacy to the White House. Jeffries and Schumer told Biden directly in separate meetings that his continued candidacy imperils the Democratic Party's ability to control either chamber of Congress next year. And Obama has told allies in recent days that Biden needs to seriously reconsider the viability of his candidacy.
This is a real standoff between Democratic titans. Pelosi is probably the most experienced Democrat alive when it comes to knowing how to use political machinery effectively. She learned all of this stuff at a very early age, being born into a dynastic Democratic political-machine family in Baltimore, Maryland -- and she is very, very good at it. She is arguably the most effective and successful speaker of the House of Representatives in my lifetime (although fans of Tip O'Neill might disagree with that assessment, to be fair). She successfully "herded the Democratic cats" for the first time in a very long while in the House. She knows how to play (and win at) political hardball -- she has been playing it a long time (most notably, getting the best of Donald Trump pretty much every time the two of them spoke during his term in office). Pelosi is actually older than Biden (she's 84) and she has already been through her own struggle with giving up power (she was finally convinced to turn over the reins of Democratic House leadership in 2022). So she is the perfect messenger to Biden right now in a lot of ways.
But Pelosi knows the ins and outs of how the game is played, too. She has tried to stay somewhat in the background of the whole "Pass the torch, Joe" effort, but when Representative Adam Schiff called for Biden to step down earlier this week it was seen as a sign of her influence (Schiff has always been close to Pelosi in the House). The picture that emerged was that Pelosi was indeed leading the effort to convince Biden to step aside, but that she didn't want this to be too public, to avoid making her the center of the story.
This is now at an end, obviously.
Earlier in the day, the Post had a different report, titled: "Obama Tells Allies Biden's Path To Winning Reelection Has Greatly Diminished." The timing of these leaks is interesting, coming so close to each other. On the one hand, nobody really wants to look like they are hitting Biden when he is down (he was just diagnosed with COVID-19 and is quarantining at his home in Delaware), but on the other hand the time for Biden to step down is already incredibly short -- and sooner is a lot better than later.
The New York Times had a slightly different angle on it all, reporting today:
Several people close to President Biden said on Thursday that they believe he has begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race, bowing to the growing demands of many anxious members of his party.
One of the people close to him warned that the president had not yet made up his mind to leave the race after three weeks of insisting that almost nothing would drive him out. But another said that "reality is setting in," and that it would not be a surprise if Mr. Biden made an announcement soon endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
. . .
The senior Biden aide said that at the campaign and the White House, senior staff members were increasingly, if informally, discussing among themselves their sense that Mr. Biden's exit from the race was starting to feel inevitable -- a matter of when and how, not if. Those conversations were taboo as recently as a few days ago, the person said.
This almost seems like a coordinated leaking effort, to move the discussions from happening in private with Biden to a much more public arena. Pelosi in particular usually doesn't leak things until and unless she wants them leaked. And today was a brilliant day to leak it all, since it may actually overshadow Donald Trump's acceptance speech at the GOP convention.
This is all going to raise expectations, both among Democrats and in the media, that Biden will indeed step down at some point (perhaps this weekend). And it is worth pointing out that none of this reporting may actually be true -- this could all be a chess piece Pelosi and the other Democratic bigwigs are moving in their efforts to convince Biden. Biden may be just as adamant as ever, not shifting his position one iota. You'll notice that all of those articles are speculative -- other people saying they think Biden is getting close to pulling the plug. So the entire narrative may have been manufactured as a gambit in the chess game, who knows?
But now the storyline is out there: "Biden to drop out, probably by this weekend." If it proves to be true, the timing simply couldn't be better. The news that the Democrats need a new presidential candidate and the speculation about who it will wind up being will be absolutely all-consuming in the political media. The Republican National Convention and whatever Trump says tonight will be quickly forgotten in the frenzy of reporting on the Democratic ticket. This very column is evidence of this fact -- when I heard the news I immediately decided I had to write about it right away. The story will spread like wildfire, that much seems guaranteed.
So even though it was pretty vague and even though it may just be a ploy in the effort to convince Biden it is time to go, today's news is likely to be seen later (historically) as a real game-changer. Pelosi seems to be staking out her position, and she's just as much of an old political bull (and as stubborn a one) as Biden.
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
For me, if Biden drops out, hope returns.
Which is entirely fitting with the convicted felon at the top of their ticket, I suppose, but it is still jarring since the GOP used to so loudly proclaim itself (indeed, as some speakers actually attempted to do last night, unaware of the irony in doing so) "the party of law and order."
I know, right!? So we're having an RNC convention watching event, and along comes Brenna Bird, Iowa Attorney General, and she exclaims:
We all fall out laughing.
Over on Earth 2, the "lock her up" hypocrites just memory hole all the convictions and verdicts for fraud and sexual assault and pretend like Defendant Donald hasn't confessed on multiple live media outlets that he retained classified documents (multiple felonies) and pretend like January 6 never happened.
maybe the GOP should re-brand as the "party of crime and chaos"
andygaus
1
For me, if Biden drops out, hope returns.
I don't have an opinion on what the Democrats should do, but if Biden does "drop out," it would sure be hysterical to watch the tables take a swift and immediate turn on Citizen Trump:
Who's the old man now!?
Heh. :)
Actually, it works quite well. The whole "will he or won't he" steals the press limelight from Trump and the GOP convention at it's crescendo. Then if Biden does exit this weekend, it completely takes the wind out of Trumps sails. Most the coverage will be this unusual situation and speculation who the Democrat nominee will be. A good chance all the way to the convention.
OK, I am going to break up my last comment to see if it will post..
The first part had to do with the announcements that Basement Biden was stepping down.. CW kinda took the winds outta my sails.. :( Hehehe..
Is This It for Biden? New Report Hints at When the President Will Drop Out of the Race
The mounting pressure from several close friends and congressional leaders will persuade President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race as soon as this weekend, several top Democrats told Axios.
WOW!! :D
I predicted this from the very beginning that Basement Biden would not be able to finish the campaign...
Granted, I figured he would croak... But I was still factually accurate nonetheless...
AM I GOOD OR WHAT!!!??? :D
@JL,
being "transitional" was NOT a promise not to run again.
Not factually accurate..
“When I originally ran, you may remember, Ed, I said I was gonna be a transitional candidate, and I thought that I’d be able to move from this, just pass it on to someone else.”
-Basement Biden, 2020 election
And yunno what is REALLY funny...
The REASON Basement Biden decided to run again was based on a COMPLETE and UTTER LIE by Democrats!!!
How ironic is that!?? For all of ya'all's whinings and cryings about President Trump and his alleged "lies"...
Basement Biden's ENTIRE 2024 campaign is based SOLELY on a LIE!!!
You can't make this stuff up!!! :D
but you're vastly out-kicking your coverage with all this talk of Stalin and Castro.
How so...
It's a FACT that ALL of the afore named "leaders" had their political opponents arrested and tried in a kangaroo court where the verdict was pre-ordained...
Just like Odumbo said that the verdict against the terrorists was "pre-ordained."
No "out-kicking" necessary...
JUST the facts... As I am wont to do.. :D
Biden has been a good president,
That's your opinion which is not supported by the facts...
I am sure there are 13 families of brave American soldiers who were killed by his incompetence in Afghanistan would not share your opinion..
Donald left himself vulnerable to prosecution, whatever the motive, by repeatedly breaking the law.
Not factually accurate..
Take the now dead and defunct Jack Smith case..
President Trump didn't do ANYTHING different in response to the 2020 election that Al 'Crazed Sex Poodle' Gore did in the 2000 election...
How do we KNOW this??
Because the head of Al 'Crazed Sex Poodle' Gore's legal team TOLD us...
So, your claim on THAT case has no basis in fact..
And all the other cases are as easily refuted..
deep inside where your objective self lives, you know this is true
In complete objectivity, I can honestly say that Basement Biden has been the WORST POTUS since Jimmy Carter at least.. And that's just in MY lifetime..
Basement Biden has done more damage to US prestige and the US economy that Carter could EVER hope to accomplish..
The economy... The border.. The Afghanistan catastrophe...
The list of Basement Biden's shortcomings is endless...
@Bashi,
No, we hated your long, emboldened, copy and paste from some crappy conservative rag posts...
As I said.. Ya'all hated my Pro America Pro President Trump comments...
Thank you for backing up what I said..
Actually it seems to be going the eleventh circuit where Jack can get a less corrupt judge to take it over...
OK... Stay with me here, Bashi, cuz it might be hard for you to grasp...
Let's say the appeals court disagrees with Judge Cannon...
What happens in America when a trial judge and an appeals court disagrees???
Com'on!! I KNOW you know this one!!!
What was that??
YES!!! That's right!!! It goes to the Supreme Court Of The United States..
VERY good... Gold star for you... :D :D :D
Now, since you Democrat Trump/America haters have already established that the 6-3 SCOTUS (THANK YOU HARRY REID!!! :D :D ) is "in the bag" for President Trump... This is another toughie for you..
HOW DO YOU THINK THE SCOTUS WILL RULE?? :D
Even if you Democrat Trump/America haters are WRONG and the SCOTUS rules AGAINST President Trump...
It will be long past the election and it won't even matter..
So, as per Democrat norm... It's a LOSE-LOSE for Democrat Trump/America haters.. :D
The youth vote in large numbers and Trump is toast.
You are obviously not up on current events...
The Youth Vote has been turning towards President Trump...
Trump cuts into Biden’s lead among young people, poll finds
The president is still leading with people under 30, but by smaller margins than four years ago.
Former President Donald Trump is cutting deeper into President Joe Biden’s lead among young voters, according to a new poll.
Biden leads Trump, 45 percent to 37 percent, among people ages 18 to 29 in a Harvard Youth Poll released Thursday, with 16 percent undecided. That 8 percentage point margin is much smaller than at this point in the 2020 election. At that time, Biden was leading Trump by 23 percentage points among young people.
Please accept this following advice with all the affection it is intended...
Nobody likes you. Everybody hates you. Yer gonna lose.. Smile, ya ****."
-Bruce Willis, THE LAST BOY SCOUT
:D You go and have a great weekend, Bashi!! :D I know I will.. :D
Apparently the word "Demo rat" is verboten around here.. :D It used to be such cleverness would be applauded, not censored.. :D
OK so let's address the FTP commentary.. :D
Just some minor typo corrections...
immigrant-bashing,
You, of course, mean ILLEGAL immigrant-bashing... Of course.. :D
hatred and fear towards Democrats,
You mean like the HYSTERICAL hatred and fear that Democrats have towards President Trump and his supporters?? You mean like that??
and apocalyptic warnings of what will happen if Trump doesn't win.
You mean like the apocalyptic warnings from hysterical Democrat Trump/America haters of what will happen if Basement Biden doesn't win??? You mean like that???
I have always found it so interesting how Democrat Trump/America haters always seem to accuse President Trump and his supporters of what they themselves do..
It's uncanny...
"Fascinating"
-Spock
It's a shame you didn't finish your commentary on the RNC... But considering what transpired, I can see why you didn't.. :D
President Trump hit a home run on his UNITY speech.. According to the word of a Democrat, "the election may already be over.."
Trump did something he's never done before with RNC speech. Now, the election may already be over
I may be a Democrat but I'm also a clear-eyed political analyst. Donald Trump clearly rose to the occasion with his RNC speech
Donald Trump may well have sealed the outcome of the 2024 election with a performance on Thursday night in Milwaukee that has largely been unmatched in recent American political history.
The former president eschewed the polarization and division that has marked much of his rhetoric in the past. In his speech officially accepting the Republican Party's nomination there were only a couple of references to the 2020 election. Trump was able to hit on key messages when speaking about topics like inflation, and especially immigration, in ways that were compelling and arguably responsive to the fundamental concerns of Americans.
I say this not to engage in hyperbole, as I have never been -- and am not now -- a Trump supporter. But as a political analyst, you have to acknowledge reality. And the reality of this speech was simple: Trump spoke of the American Dream, he spoke of bringing people together, he spoke of helping African-Americans, Hispanics and those who have been left behind.
In short, Trump did something he has virtually never done before: speak to all the American people. As he said, he wanted to speak not to 50 percent but to 100 percent of the American people.
One must keep in mind that THAT^^^ are the words of a Democrat that doesn't support President Trump...
Between the awesome unity-filled RNC and Basement Biden's vapor-lock and Democrat unity shattered over having to replace Basement Biden both as candidate and as (likely) POTUS??
No one with more than 2 brain cells together really believes that Democrats can prevail in the race for the White House...
Incredible. Guys shoot their whole life and never get stuff half this good. Just give me the {White House} right now. The competition's over, close the entries, I'd like to thank everyone who lost.
-Nick Van Owen, LOST WORLD: JURASSIC PARK
:D
"It was just ONE debate!!"
-Barack Hussein Odumbo
"It was just ONE iceberg!!"
-RMS Titanic
Basement Biden's ENTIRE 2024 campaign is based SOLELY on a LIE!!!
You can't make this stuff up!!! :D
Actually, Basement Biden's entire campaign is based on TWO lies..
The first lie being that President Trump praised the nazi protesters in Charlottesville..
The second (and much bigger) lie was that Basement Biden was cognitively capable of being POTUS for another 4 years...
It's ironic.. When Basement Biden's OWN DOJ said that Basement Biden was not mentally competent to stand trial, that should have been a clue.. :D
"First rule of assassinations. Kill the assassin."
-Captain James T Kirk
"When I originally ran, you may remember, Ed, I said I was gonna be a transitional candidate, and I thought that I’d be able to move from this, just pass it on to someone else.”
I don't see a promise in that quote. Not to mention Trump's lies are far beyond "alleged" and multiple orders of magnitude more frequent...
I am sure there are 13 families of brave American soldiers who were killed by his incompetence in Afghanistan would not share your opinion..
VS a million dead from COVID? Half of which were likely preventable had Trump been competent?
As I said.. Ya'all hated my Pro America Pro President Trump comments...
There is a difference between your words and the copy and paste of long articles from crappy conservative rags. Not a huge difference but an important one...
HOW DO YOU THINK THE SCOTUS WILL RULE?? :D
They won't rule as they won't take up the case as Judge Cannon went far beyond what even the conservative court can accept.
You are obviously not up on current events...
And your reading comprehension is at it's usual poor standards as the surrounding sentences made clear I was taking about a younger candidate vs Trump and your poll strictly Biden vs Trump...
The second (and much bigger) lie was that Basement Biden was cognitively capable of being POTUS for another 4 years...
Are you are sure Trump doesn't share that supposed lie?
Haven't seen such a dismal dreary FTP showing in a long time..
Well.. Given the circumstances, It's understandable..
Inside the ‘doom loop’ of Joe Biden’s campaign
Multiple leading Democrats tell CNN they feel caught in what one described as a “doom loop,” with every move to keep President Joe Biden in or push him out further destroying their chances against Donald Trump.
It’s breaking the resolve of even staunch allies. It’s feeding bad polls. It’s turning off more donors. It’s sustaining a media atmosphere where no matter what Biden does, he comes off looking like a failure.
And for those who were hoping Biden would quit, the public and private pressure, several top Democrats worry, has been backfiring.
Multiple leading Democrats tell CNN they feel caught in what one described as a “doom loop,” with every move to keep President Joe Biden in or push him out further destroying their chances against Donald Trump.
It’s breaking the resolve of even staunch allies. It’s feeding bad polls. It’s turning off more donors. It’s sustaining a media atmosphere where no matter what Biden does, he comes off looking like a failure.
And for those who were hoping Biden would quit, the public and private pressure, several top Democrats worry, has been backfiring.
https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/19/politics/inside-president-joe-bidens-campaign/index.html
I can understand why ya'all hate such comments..
It must be really tough for ya'all to accept the reality that President Trump is will return triumphantly to the Oval Office on 20 Jan 2025..
But look at the bright side, ya'all…
You still have me!! :D
I seem to remember you making such assurances the same time four years ago. How did that work out for you?
good times
Yup, the douchebag doesn’t pay as agreed troll is back. For right up until Trump gets wiped a second time. And I suppose until the next time he thinks the fascists are about to win. Whatever. I learned to neither read nor feed the trolll(s). Mustn’t forget Don Harris, human dartboard.
I hope that maybe this time around y’all wouldn’t engage in the troll’s provocations, but y’all gotta be who you each of you are. Just don’t think it’ll do any good.
I just don’t want to read a polluted Weigantia until November, give me an effing break!
Sorry that I try to avoid commenting on hot "flash-in-the-pan" topics for two reasons:
(1) everyone else is commenting on them, therefore someone else is bound to say what I'm feeling about them; and (2) I'd rather devote my time to shining a spotlight on the issues which I feel people are ignoring, rather than add to an overcrowded field of light being shined on the "scandal-du-jour."
Of course, nobody's perfect, and occasionally I will get sucked in to issues which the public (with a big help from the media) have determined are "the big story." But commenters to my stories (both here and on The Huffington Post) usually drag me back from such folly quickly, so I promise to keep them to a minimum.
Well, here I am. Voters picked Joe again, Trump still sucks and you’ve just climbed on the utterly pussy-like “Death to Joe” bandwagon.
This sucks and so do you, oh Bedwetter Chris Weigant.
In “County” and also “State Pen” I just laid a “chin check” on you, CW. C’mon…snap out of it!
You don’t fix it when it ain’t broken!
@m [6-12]
do you even read what you post? none of what you quoted reads like a promise not to run again. not a lie.
"not a girl"
-Janet, The Good Place
show-trials in dictatorships don't have randomly selected juries that the defense can challenge or disqualify. Donald broke a LOT of laws, some more serious than others. many criminals get off on technicalities, that's nothing heroic. ironic that he was convicted of the least serious and most spurious, while the crime that put our country's intelligence people's lives at risk was dismissed on a technicality, but neither result is particularly unusual or shocking.
as the priest said to the nudist, I'm happy to see you, but would be even happier to see a little bit less of you.
JL
Yep. And once again I ask what has changed since the first debate? This shouldn’t be a remotely close race — but that would reduce the clicks MSM would get, so fuck it why not boost the fascist?