I’m not sure its sexism so much as wanting to make a name for himself for future Senate run should Warren take the presidential bid to fruition or when Markey is ready to step away.
To bad for Moulton, I think the young Kennedy has a clearer shot.
It is odd that old men don’t seem to be the problem. Only old women.
I guess I’m still not clear who even wants to be Speaker, let alone what’s wrong with Pelosi, what anyone else would do differently, or their odds of achieving a better result. It’s all completely pie-in-the-sky.
Yes, we need to separate the grandstanders from the genuine. The opportunists won’t be able to hide their true motivation, no matter how much they practice their talking points. What’s best for the country has to come first.
Love the idea of crowd funding his opponent if he continues on this course. If we’re going to live in a post Citizen’s United world let the peeps call some shots.
The Congressman is flailing here. I don’t disagree that we need younger leadership. But he isn’t stepping up to run. So he can make a statement - and then lead with the team that brought him to the party. Or continue to bleat nonsense. This continued protest is sloppy and unnecessary.
Not to mention harmful to any ambition of his to be in leadership. Seth, the smart thing to do here is run for deputy majority whip, get some experience, learn from the Master herself, then run for speaker in 4-6 years. Nancy has the votes, and you’re angering the people who delivered the House to the Dems. Be smart, Seth, not stupid.
Only Pelosi has shown a definite interest in the Speaker post - no one else has announced that they’ll run for it, even if some are hinting at it.
I don’t think Moulton’s motivations are sexist, at least not consciously. Pelosi rubs some people the wrong way, like Clinton does. It probably started because they were strong women, yeah, but then the hate went mainstream and opposition became more about them personally.
It’s starting to feel like many of the new people in the House are like a liberal version of the Tea Party - an absolutist outlook and an opposition to compromises. After an election where a big factor was being against Trump, they’re carrying on with being against someone (Pelosi) without offering a viable alternative plan.
…insisting that more women were quietly behind the effort…
Ah, the silent majority. I remember them.
It’s not sexism, is something worse: cowardice. They are afraid of the fox news crowd and their moronic viewers that have demonized very effective parliamentarian leader Nancy Pelosi.
I’m surprised to see doubts expressed here that this is sexism. This is exactly how it works when it is most insidious. Easy to recognize when someone is saying women are not as smart or capable or whatever. Harder when the sexism makes the ground fertile for more reasonable sounding pretext.
Or there’s a backscratcher deal being cut with some GOP ratf*ckers. Total shades of Cuomo and his passive non-opposition to the IDC here in NYS–“Will nobody rid me of being beholden to those dang progressives? Oh, lookie–some disaffected/ambitious turncoats!”"
Particularly the conservative media and Russian bots. Wall to wall fact-free coverage of how horrible she is dribbles down eventually and carries some weight with the simple minded. I’d question the motives of the never-Pelosi’s.
“organizers have set up a crowdfunding site to support a primary challenger in 2020.”
Good. Fuck him.
Fucking Democrats. They don’t just hang out their dirty laundry they run it up a flag pole. First thing, right at the get go post a wave in the election: infighting tailor designed by the GOP. No Democrat ever initiated a gripe with Pelosi The GOP manufactured all those “concerns” and slid them into Democrats minds with some less than artful concern trolling. And look at where we are. We finally get the gun and act one is Russian Roulette.
“demanding he at least name a replacement candidate.”
Yes, seems like that would be the least he could do. Like, precisely the very least.
What? No. This just can’t be. Why just last night, I heard a “Republican Strategist” explain that all sixteen of the signers are from “moderate districts” and are politically compelled to oppose far-left Pelosi, or face being primaried from the right.
My assumption is that during 15 years in power Pelosi has pissed some people off, possibly a few a lot. That is natural.
I like Pelosi and think she will make a great speaker in a time of Republican dominated government. She understands the levers of power and how to finesse them or use them bluntly. I do have a problem that an argument against her rivals is that none of them have any experience in a senior post, but that is only because she has surrounded herself with a bunch of senior reps for 15 years. I think the compromise is to dump hoyer or Clyburn. Let the younger generation into the leadership team.
I wouldn’t mind primarying these ones either. The new reps who will vote against her come from red districts. Most who signed this letter come from safe districts.
What confuses me more is accounts that the challenge is from the right. Which makes less than no sense in my view. I’m fine with thoughtful, sensible conservatives joining the party but if they’re not going to support the leadership team, they should call themselves independents or Republicans and be honest who they are.