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Sorry Nancy.
Earlier this week, Joe Cunningham, a 1st district congressman, announced the signing of a letter with 15 other Democrats who had announced that they would not vote for Nancy Pelosi as president of the House. the United States.
Again.
"We thank Chief Pelosi for his years of service," reads the letter. "However, we also recognize that in the recent election the Democrats ran and won a message of change. … We promised to change the status quo and we intend to keep that promise. "
The only surprise here is that some people have been surprised. You know, since that's exactly what Cunningham had said that he would do throughout the campaign.
Cunningham is one of five newly elected members of the House who said they would vote not only against Pelosi in caucus but to speak in January. This casts doubt on Pelosi's chances of recovering the hammer. It has become a big problem.
"I told people where I stood and why I stood there," Cunningham told Caitlin Byrd of The Courier. "So, that's my position and I will continue to have it."
During the election campaign, some Republicans called Cunningham juvenile names like "Pelosi Joe" and claimed that he would yield under pressure from the national party – or simply lie.
I guess he showed them.
A scenario without a win?
The reaction to all this illustrates how low is the bar in politics these days: a politician who lives up to a promise is remarkable.
Cunningham would never keep his word.
You could argue that his promise to oppose Pelosi placed him above all his convictions – he undermined the most caricatural (and unique) argument his opponent had to vote against him.
It does not bode well for the first district democrat in 40 years to break a campaign commitment before even taking an oath. He therefore had no choice but to sign this letter if he wanted to keep his job beyond a two-year term.
But Republicans thought that there was perhaps a chance of trapping him. Several political types claimed that Cunningham was in a dead end position. A vote for Pelosi would condemn any possibility of reelection, but to oppose the Democratic leader could condemn him to the purgatory of the Congress.
Which is a fair evaluation, but not necessarily the only possible outcome.
Any first-year member of Congress, regardless of party, will have limited influence. Sanford was a veteran and he did not really run the ship.
Cunningham does not need to worry much. Pelosi can hold grudge, but it has been around for a long time and has not come through his stupidity. She does not try to hurt a Democrat in a Republican-style neighborhood.
And it's not like she's going to name it anyway.
If the Democrats elect a new leader, Cunningham will certainly have the merit of being at the forefront of the revolution.
New leader?
The people of the 1st district – including many Republicans – voted for Cunningham partly because of its promised independence.
So it was an easy call for him.
Of course, some Democrats are not particularly happy. Pelosi has been a fairly effective leader: it is obvious that Dems often finds new and creative ways to snatch the defeat from the claws of victory.
Dems should relax. It was either this drama or the Lowcountry would have voted its speaker vote for Congressman of Ohio Jim Jordan.
And it would have worked so well.
Cunningham and the other Democrats say that it's about new leadership, which is quite understandable and maybe even the right call.
But honestly, most of this concerns the toxicity of Pelosi after more than ten years of Republican demonization. Whoever the next speaker is, he will suddenly become the new devil incarnate. Just look.
It's quite telling that the president and some members of the GOP congress did not half-joke about helping Pelosi get back to his job. Because if she does not understand, they will have to invent new elements.
And, frankly, given Pelosi's negotiating skills, she may convince enough of her detractors to become a speaker again. She is already cooptante members of the insurgency.
Whatever it is, in January, Cunningham made the right decisions. He made a promise and kept his word.
That's more than you can say for many politicians nowadays.
Contact Brian Hicks at [email protected].
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