The Nappy Cat Chronicles

Politics: None For The Team

Pelosi missed a huge opportunity to become an historic speaker and instead invited comparisons to Tom DeLay by deciding to deliver a more partisan speech than necessary at the time. There would have been time for partisan politics AFTER the vote, but to do it before seemed like a strategic blunder.

Pelosi played into the stereotype she had been very adept at avoiding most of these last two years. That said, did it really cost any GOP votes? Unlikely. But it did give the House GOP leadership a talking point to deflect from its own failure.

Chuck Todd’s usually sober but this part of his analysis is unpleasantly histrionic. Historic speaker? Strategic blunder? After eight years, it’s bleedin’ obvious that, if most Republicans want something to pass the House or the Senate, it passes the House or the Senate. Attributing the nays to Pelosi’s speech and not to specific disagreements with the package made the Republicans look like pathetic wieners.