If it wasn’t abundantly clear by now, Speaker Emeritus Nancy Pelosi is a powerhouse political player, an operative who knows no bounds.
While she is usually a punching bag of the right, the left seems to take her for granted. But it is very clear that she was the one who forced the sitting president to decide mere weeks before the nominating convention to step away.
Over the course of her tenure in office, Pelosi has been a force. She knows her caucus and she knows how to move people to her way. So for all the suggestions it was the Obamas, the Clintons, George Clooney or Jeffrey Katzenberg, no. They had a hand, but it was Pelosi who sent Biden to the farm early. The events of the last few weeks were a master class in political maneuvering.
What is also interesting is that Pelosi is 84, while Biden is 81, which clearly shows that people age differently. No one, and I mean no one, has said she has lost a step, even if they hate the steps she takes.
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Now that Kamala Harris is the inevitable nominee, let’s get one thing straight. Saying someone is a DEI hire is racist and/or sexist. The inference is that someone better should have gotten the job, and that person was white or male. It suggests the hire is inferior because of their race or gender. The phrase “DEI hire” should be stopped immediately.
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For all the energy over Harris, and her new status as nominee, it’s important to note she is still the same person she has always been. Harris had a mixed record as San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, virtually no record as U.S. senator and a typical vice presidential profile — meaning just there. Her presidential campaign ended before a single vote.
However, it sometimes takes a high-profile campaign for us to truly know someone and their strengths and weaknesses, and there is something to be said for a younger and more energized candidate. It would have been nice to have an actual primary season in which voters actually said she alone was the one they wanted at the top of the ticket. It is important to note, however, that she does seem to be in command of this moment.
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There has been some who suggest Trump was not actually hit with a bullet but rather something else. To them I say, does that really matter?
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There are people who are on the John Muir Trail right now, or maybe the Appalachian Trail, or the Pacific Crest Trail, who may not know what has happened in the past few weeks. Imagine the surprise when they come back to civilization.
What was to be a ho-hum campaign between two people we know well and on who most already have firmly entrenched opinions has turned into instead a whirlwind grab-bag of anything goes.
What’s the adage? “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Or something like that.
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I firmly believe recalls should be reserved for ethical lapses, criminal activity or dereliction of duty. Recalls for personal disputes or for a disagreement over policy sets a dangerous precedent, and should be avoided.
So it was sad, but not shocking, to see both Millbrae Vice Mayor Maurice Goodman and Angelina Cahalan recalled with fairly substantial numbers this week. In case you’ve been on the John Muir Trail, both were recalled because they wouldn’t sign a letter opposing county plans to buy a hotel for housing the formerly homeless on El Camino Real.
A large group of Millbrae residents are quite upset over the idea. How that happened, who knows, but it doesn’t matter now. They aren’t changing their minds. And that is a dynamic to take seriously in this day of districts, especially districts in some of our smaller cities. You put a few hundred people in front of a council and it can change policy direction, put them in front of some ballots and it can change the council itself.
At times, councilmembers lose touch with one of their primary responsibilities, and that’s constituent service, for consideration of larger needs, broader goals or a general political philosophy. You know, the greater good. Now, it’s a whole new ball game, and one decision could launch a political movement.
This kind of energy could bring back more retail politics, which could put elected officials more in touch with the needs of the everyday people, whether they agree or not. It could mean better governance, or it could mean candidates who are afraid to take a stand. I guess we’ll find out.
Jon Mays is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on X @jonmays.
(8) comments
Candidates and supporters should also refrain from referring to a candidate as "the first..." If one takes a step back and actually listen to the statement, it makes the candidate appear to be less qualified.
Thanks for your column today, Mr. Mays. Pelosi is a force – unfortunately that force is not being used in the interests of the American people, as past and current performance has shown. The phrase “DEI hire” should be stopped (although it’s doubtful how this would occur) and this would be in the interests of the folks who created the DEI movement. Corporate America and universities have begun dismantling their DEI departments because DEI has now become synonymous with Division, Exclusion, and Indoctrination. The fact Harris is still the same person she has always been will be used to usher her downfall. Sure, Harris will undergo the current honeymoon period but as time passes, people will become more informed on her past exploits, weaknesses, and failures, especially her time as “border czar.” As for recalls being reserved for ethical lapses, criminal activity, or dereliction of duty, voters might be saying Goodman and Cahalan met the bar in two of three of those items, resulting in their successful recalls of the two councilmembers.
All Trump can come up with against Kamala Harris, is that «she is a DEI, she’s so dumb, and she is so crazy!», basically same wording he has used against former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in addition to sending his nasty followers after her! How unpresidential, unmanly and immature! What kind of people would still vote for someone as childishly dangerous as that, - especially on background of all the damage he has already done, not to mention what he has promised to do if he, heaven forbid, makes it back into the WH!
Jorg, allow me to duplicate the Dem tactic used against those they don’t agree with, and JD Vance most recently - taking things out of context. So your opinion of Harris is that, “she is a DEI, she’s so dumb, and she is so crazy!”? How unmanly and immature is that!
Good commentary regarding recalls, Mr. Mays. I don't like recalls over issues rather than egregious behavior but I think the Council Members were not as plugged in to their constituents as they should have been. The San Francisco School Board and District Attorney were all too comfortable in their respective hives and paid the price as well. The Oakland Mayor and Alameda County District Attorney appear likely to pay the same price, although the Mayor seems to be getting close to meeting my egregious behavior criterion by being indicted.
That recall doesn't change anything as the decision came from the County. Doing a recall for not signing a meaningless letter is - of course - a joke and sends the wrong signals. If I remember correctly Maurice Goodman was on the Board of SMCCSD when their Chancellor and Vice Chancellor were charged for corruption. He and the rest of the SMCCSD Board should have been recalled for refusing to provide the necessary oversight. Heck, he should have been recalled for wasting precious education tax dollars for a 'Kinesiology Wellness Center' at Canada College. Cities around the country claim they can't afford public pools anymore. The Santa Clara International Swim Center says they have to close due to cost. But SMCCSD can afford to have three top quality athletic centers at three different colleges?
And why? The same Board members claim they can't afford certain classes because fewer than X people attend. Education doesn't need Athletics Centers, but Education is better with small classrooms. Maurice Goodman deserved to be recalled for that, but not for the Millbrae situation.
It turns out that Biden's was actually Obama's third term. It was not Pelosi but Obama who ruled the roost at the WH. He actually alluded to it. So much for saving our democracy and of all things the chutzpa by the ultimate Manchurian president. I wonder what names Jorg has in mind for the anointed nominee who consorted with married men. Saving democracy has yet been hijacked again.
How on flat Earth did you get me into this, you Dirk? Yes, of course, I’m all for Kamala Harris, such an intelligent, well educated and accomplished woman, such a great threat to Trump that he had to call her «dumb and crazy». How unmanly, unpresidential and stupid. I can’t wait for the debate between the two, - if he even dares to show up! She will wipe the basement floor with the sorry remnants of him.
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